May 18, 2001

The Honorable Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, DC 20101

Dear Mr. Secretary,

I am writing to follow up on our recent discussion regarding the health of the Chemical Demilitarization Program. On April 25, Senator Stevens held a hearing before the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to receive testimony regarding the CDP and the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program. Mr. Secretary, after what we both did and did not hear on April 25, and considering the troubling and damaging revelations that have since surfaced regarding schedule slippage, it is incumbent upon this body, which acted to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention and which has exercised oversight of the CDP, to demand an honest accounting and act swiftly to address obvious and serious organizational problems.

My greatest concern continues to be the safety of Anniston and the surrounding communities in my state. After hearing the testimony on the 25th, I am more concerned than ever. Today, an incineration facility costing $1.2 billion stands beside the chemical limited area of Anniston Army Depot (ANAD) and nearly $120 million has been spent in Alabama on Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) efforts to ensure the maximum protection of the community once the incinerator begins destruction operations. Yet, the Director of the Alabama Department of Emergency Management (ADEM), Mr. Lee Helms, puts our preparedness level at 60% and the emergency preparedness needs outlined by our elected leaders in Calhoun County continue to go unmet.

We must destroy these weapons as soon as possible using the safest technology available. While I support the use of baseline incineration at ANAD, I will insist that the Army fully meet its
statutory duty to provide maximum protection to every Alabamian who could be affected by this operation. Honesty and transparency are absolutely necessary to the success of an effort such as this, but have been demonstrated to have been lacking within this program for
far too long.

According to the May 2000 GAO Report, Chemical Weapons Disposal: Improvements Needed in Program Accountability and Financial Management (NSIAD-00-80):

" Effective management of the CDP has been hindered by its complex management structure and ineffective coordination among program offices. With 3 separate lines of authority, no one single office is clearly accountable for the execution of the program.
Accountability for program performance is unclear, and state and local officials have expressed concern about conflicting information and the lack of a single office to be accountable for execution of the program."

Mr. Secretary, the lack of accountability within this program has led to counterproductive fingerpointing and dangerous inefficiency and left communities scrambling to prepare for destruction and worried because of the cloud of distrust that continues to surround this program. The failure of the most recent emergency preparedness exercise at Anniston Army Depot on March 7 should send a clear signal that much work remains to be done.

This is not a new situation, and I believe the evidence clearly shows that the CDP is in dire need of central leadership and organizational reform. I want to work with you to see that this program is reorganized and fundamentally reformed so that it might function effectively to execute its statutorily mandated mission - to safely destroy the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile and provide maximum protection to our affected communities.

Sincerely,

Richard Shelby
United States Senator