HERMISTON — Plans to begin destroying the 7.4 million pounds of chemical weapons stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot by mid-July have been delayed, authorities said.

Members of the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission will meet in early August to decide on a new date, possibly Aug. 14, to begin operating the incinerators that will destroy the aging stockpile of weapons, according to Mary Binder, an Army spokeswoman.

The state Department of Environmental Quality asked for the delay because it had not received all the readiness reports it needs from the Army and the incinerator's contractor, the Washington Demilitarization Co.

Additional tests also need to be done on the incinerators.