Pentagon Dedicates Money for Construction Projects

The U.S. Defense Department plans to use $44 million in fiscal 2006 to begin construction of chemical weapons disposal facilities in Colorado and Kentucky, the Chemical Weapons Working Group announced Friday (see GSN, Dec. 23, 2005).

Congress late last year allocated $51 million in this fiscal year for the projects at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado and the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.

Defense Undersecretary Kenneth Krieg indicated in a memo last week that the Pentagon is prepared to use most of that money.

The contractor at Blue Grass is now accepting bids for preparatory work for the disposal facility (see GSN, Jan. 20).

“This memo should allow the contract to start ‘moving dirt’ [to] be awarded, and we hope to see such activities beginning this spring,” said Craig Williams, Chemical Weapons Working Group director, in a press release.

The memo also indicates that the Defense Department plans to seek additional construction money for fiscal 2007, according to the release (Chemical Weapons Working Group release, Jan. 27).

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