U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Sixth District, and U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell have managed to protect or increase funding for the destruction of chemical weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot, according to Craig Williams, co-chair of the Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board.
At the quarterly CDCAB meeting Tuesday at Eastern Kentucky University, Williams said McConnell had secured an additional $5 million for the Senate bill to fund the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program.
The Senate proposal would appropriate $547 million for the effort.
ACWA is in charge of using chemical neutralization to destroy the 100,000 rounds of chemical weapons stored at the depot south of Richmond, as well as other chemical munitions at a Colorado depot.
In the House of Representatives, Williams said Chandler had thwarted an attempt to reduce by $50 million that chamber’s appropriations proposal, which stands at $542 million.
ACWA Program Manager Kevin Flamm had “gone to the mat” to defend and promote the program within the Defense Department, Williams said.
“We have a good team of people at multiple levels working to get (chemical weapons destruction) done,” Williams said. “I’ve never felt more optimistic about this.”
While such confidence has proved short-lived in the past, he said the program has never enjoyed such momentum.
Flamm deflected Williams’ praise.
“I haven’t had to go to the mat for anything,” Flamm said.
The Defense Department and the entire Obama administration have “a sincere desire to get rid” of the nation’s remaining stockpile of obsolete chemical weapons “as quickly as possible,” he said.
Flamm said he merely had “championed the good work done by people here at (the) Blue Grass (Army Depot’s) destruction project and at Pueblo (Colo.),” where the other remaining stockpile is stored.
Those efforts have inspired confidence among Pentagon officials and won Defense Department backing for the increased funding, he said.
In June, ACWA officials put 2021 as the likely date for destruction of the last chemical weapons stored in Kentucky.
One technical hurdle for the project has been overcome with the Pentagon Explosives Safety Board’s approval of the contractor’s design for walls in a blast containment structure within the destruction plant.
Mark Seely, project manager for Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, included the approval in his update of the plant’s construction.
The ESB’s rejection of an earlier containment wall design delayed the project by about five months and added about $2 million to its cost, officials said at previous CDCAB meetings.
Dr. John Barton, chief scientist for Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, summarized the chemistry of nerve- and mustard-agent neutralization, as well as the super-critical water oxidation (SCWO) that will be used to treat the hazardous wastes that will result after the agents’ neutralization.
Water for both neutralization and SCWO will be collected and stored on the depot, Barton said. About 70 percent of the water used for neutralization will be recycled into the process, he said.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
Local News
Chandler, McConnell protect depot funding
- Local News
-
-
‘She wasn’t just a teacher’ : Lambert retires after 43 years at Berea
Scroll to the bottom of the story to read "Love for Lambert: Berea graduates share memories of their teacher," as well as a list of other Berea retirees this year.
Writer’s Note: Brenda Lambert is the reason I write articles today (Class of 2000).
Years ago, a little blonde-haired girl from Rockcastle County gathered her friends to “play school” in a 10-by-10 foot playhouse her father built.
Even at 12 years old, Brenda Lambert knew she wanted to be a teacher one day.
“I always felt like an old person trapped in a young person's body,” said Lambert, who is retiring after 43 years of service to Berea Community School. -
Special Olympics return for 18th year at EKU
Next weekend, the Special Olympics Kentucky State Summer Games return to Eastern Kentucky University campus. This is the 18th consecutive year EKU has hosted the event.
The games will be Friday through June 2. About 1,300 athletes will compete this year. -
Assault charges reduced, dismissed by grand jury
Two men arrested in connection with serious assaults had their charges reduced, and in one case dismissed, by a Madison grand jury.
Jerry Wayne Edington, 34, of Berea Road, was charged Jan. 19 with second-degree assault after an altercation at the Blue Moon bar on East Irvine Street, according to a Richmond police report. -
Dump of the Day
The Dump of the Day is a recurring series the newspaper publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Page A7 in Sunday's paper to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Paradise Cove open through Labor Day
Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
-
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
-
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed. - More Local News Headlines
-
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
