Pentagon requests $550M for weapons destruction

Local News

May 7, 2009

Bill Robinson The Richmond Register Thu May 07, 2009, 08:22 AM EDT

The U.S. Defense Department has requested $550.4 million in next year’s budget for destruction of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot and at a Pueblo, Colo., depot.

Previously, the department had projected a $300.4 request to destroy the stockpiles.

“The Pentagon has stepped up in dramatic fashion and delivered on commitments it made to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, last December to fully fund the chemical weapons disposal projects,” said Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group.

The weapons stored at the depot between Richmond and Berea and at the Colorado depot are to be “demilitarized” by chemical neutralization rather than incineration, as was done at other storage facilities.

The neutralization program, known as the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA), has been “the misguided target of funding cuts for many years,” Williams said.

“Inadequate funding has retarded progress towards eliminating the risks associated with the weapons and undermining the United States’ commitments under an international treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention.”

Since the decision on what technology to use at the ACWA sites was made in 2003, some Pentagon officials had repeatedly sought to undercut the ACWA budget, Williams said.

“It got so bad in 2005 that the Kentucky and Colorado projects were put on ‘caretaker status,’ meaning no funds were available to move towards disposal,” he said.

Repeated efforts by the Kentucky and Colorado Congressional delegations, spearheaded by McConnell, have kept the program funded at levels needed to make some progress, Williams said, “Now, a more vigorous effort can be made to destroy the weapons.”

The latest Pentagon request bodes will for future funding, according to Williams, McConnell and U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Ky.

“It was critical that the Defense Department seek adequate funding in its 2010 budget, and it is equally critical that Congress follow through on the appropriation,” Williams said. “Otherwise, communities around these two depots will remain at risk and the United States will fail to meet its treaty obligations.”

In 2007, Congress mandated that all chemical weapons in the United States be destroyed by 2017 — five years beyond an already extended treaty deadline. At previously projected funding levels, the weapons would not have been destroyed until 2023. If the latest Pentagon request is funded, destruction could be completed by 2020, Williams said.

He said ACWA and its contractors, along with Kentucky and Colorado citizens advisory commissions, continue to look at options to expedite demilitarization at both locations while ensuring safety to the workforce and surrounding communities.

In a statement to the CWWG, McConnell said, “If acceleration options are implemented, I expect even more time can be cut from the schedule to bring it into compliance with the 2017 Congressional deadline.”

U.S. Ben Chandler, D-Sixth District, told the CWWG, “If this request is funded, we can move the timeline forward, bringing about a faster resolution to the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile. This is a big win for the people of Madison County and the surrounding communities.”

Williams said an accelerated schedule could realize a savings of almost a billion dollars over the life of the projects.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.

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