Anniston Star
February 23, 2003

Funding to protect Calhoun County residents has arrived

By Jason Landers
Star Staff Writer
02-23-2003

Millions of promised federal dollars have arrived to prepare Calhoun County residents for the possibility of a chemical weapons release from the Anniston Army Depot.

Local officials learned last week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided the state with the money.

The $5 million will be used to purchase protective home-sheltering kits, indoor air re-circulation filters, and protective hoods.

More than 2,200 tons of aging nerve and blister agent are stored at the depot, awaiting destruction at a state-of-the-art incineration facility the Army has finished building.

When that facility will begin burning the weapons remains unknown, but county officials seemed optimistic that the latest funding development signifies a shift in the federal government's commitment to preparing the community.

"We have been waiting on this for several years, and now we can move forward with the protective measures and get this show on the road," said County Administrator Ken Joiner.

County emergency management officials and legal advisors spent this weekend ironing out details of an agreement with the Virginia.-based firm, Centech Inc. - the company that won the bid to provide residents with the equipment.

Mike Burney, executive director of the county Emergency Management Agency, said he hopes a completed agreement will go before the county commission for a vote by Thursday. Once that happens, the clock to provide people with the emergency items starts ticking. Residents living nearest the depot can expect to receive the emergency items in as little as 60 days form the vote, Burney said.

"We've been working nights and weekends to make sure we're not doing anything to slow the process," Burney said.

The state Emergency Management Agency has received an additional $1.35 million in federal funds for the city of Anniston to fit its fire department with equipment so firefighters can respond to a chemical weapons incident.

Scott Adcock, spokesman for the state EMA, said the state will send Anniston the money for the equipment as soon as city leaders formalize an agreement with the state.

A few minor administrative hurdles must be crossed before the department can get the equipment. First, the city must develop a mutual aid agreement with the county, said City Manager Rick Whitehead. That agreement would clear the way for the Anniston Fire Department to respond to a chemical weapons incident outside its jurisdiction.

Whitehead was confident the city and county would develop a draft agreement this week.

Once an agreement is struck, elected officials must vote on it. Whitehead said he expects a document could be presented to the city council and county commission for a vote within the next three weeks.

"We are looking forward to starting this process, and we're sitting on ready to start ordering our equipment as soon as the council gets through with the paperwork," said Assistant Fire Chief Gary Sparks.

For County Commissioner Eli Henderson, the sudden influx of federal dollars signals the nearing of the end of a long, and often heated, battle with federal officials over community preparedness.

"It's good news," Henderson said of both funding developments. "I've been arguing all along that we need somebody equipped to respond."

Henderson said two outstanding preparedness issues remain.

One is getting the Army to take over responsibility for notifying the public of an incident. Henderson says the move would save residents an additional eight minutes in crucial warning time.

The other outstanding issue is better equipping residents with special needs, such as the elderly and disabled, for an emergency.

Henderson estimates that both issues could be fully resolved within six months. "Once they get those two things out of the way, we should be able to start burning," he said.

A startup date for the Army's incinerator has not been set. State regulators are expected to issue the facility a permit within the next few weeks. That would open the door for trial burns to begin.