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Blue Grass, Pueblo Depots Receive $70 Million
Chemical weapons depots in Colorado and Kentucky are set to receive $70 million to prepare for the construction of munitions incinerators at both sites, the Denver Post reported today (see GSN, March 16). The Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado will receive $40 million, while $30 million was set aside for the Blue Grass Army Depot, according to a memo from the Pentagon signed by acting Defense Undersecretary Michael Wynne. Money will be used site preparation, fencing and installing utilities, the Post reported. “I’m glad the DOD has finally decided to release these funds,” Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) said in a prepared statement. “It is the first positive sign we’ve seen in a long time. Pueblo has been patient, but they’ve waited long enough. It is time to get these projects going” (see GSN, Feb. 24). U.S. Army officials have been studying whether weapons stored at the depots might be shipped to operating incinerators, saving billions in construction costs and helping the United States meet the expected 2012 deadline for full disposal of its chemical arsenal. “My feeling all along has been that once we spend this much money, even for phase one (infrastructure), that the project can’t stop,” said John Klomp, a former Pueblo County commissioner. “I think this $40 million is more significant than just the dollars themselves. Whether it’s intended or not, it’s a commitment to the project” (Erin Emery, Denver Post, March 24).
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