United States:  Anniston Chemical Weapons Disposal to Begin Next Week

After receiving a legal thumbs-up from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the U.S. Army is set to begin destroying chemical weapons stockpiles at the Anniston Army Deport next week, acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee said yesterday (see GSN, July 28).

Brownlee ordered the destruction to begin Aug. 6 despite concerns about the 250,000 residents who live within 30 miles of the depot.

“Public safety remains our principal interest,” Brownlee said yesterday (Kyle Wingfield, Associated Press/Birmingham News, Aug. 1).

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United States:  Alabama Governor Wants Power to Shut Down Anniston Incinerator

Alabama Governor Bob Riley has refused to sign a memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Army over a chemical weapons incinerator located at the Anniston Army Depot unless he is given the authority to stop the incinerator if necessary, the Birmingham News reported Saturday (see GSN, July 24).

Riley is requesting a clause in the memorandum that would state that he would have the authority to shut down the incinerator if the Army does not fulfill its safety commitments, Riley’s spokesman David Azbell said.  The Army is considering Riley’s request, a Defense Department spokeswoman said.

The Army does not need Riley’s permission to operate the incinerator, according to the News.  Even so, earlier this year officials began discussing the memorandum, which sets the terms agreed to by Alabama and the Army to begin the incinerator’s operation.  The memorandum requires the signatures of Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee, a Homeland Security Department official and Riley.

“By having the MOA, it gives the governor the assurance that his concerns have been resolved and at the same time, with this clause it gives him the ability to take action on behalf of the people of Alabama,” Azbell said (Katherine Bouma, Birmingham News, July 26).

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