Anniston Star
October 11, 2002

By Jason Landers
Star Staff Writer
10-11-2002

Congress asked to probe readiness of depot employees

County leaders are calling on Congress to investigate how prepared Anniston Army Depot
employees are for an accident involving chemical weapons. "At a minimum, we hope you would request the United States General Accounting Office conduct an investigation " reads a letter from the County Commission, dated Oct. 8. Addressed to Congressman Bob Riley, the letter applauds the Ashland Republican for seeking answers from the Army on worker preparedness at the depot. It also accuses the Army of sending the community mixed preparedness messages.

Referencing a story in Saturday's edition of The Anniston Star, the commission blasts the Army for relying on evacuation and relocation as the primary methods of protecting the depot's more than 3,000 employees. That article also reported that Riley was seeking answers from Under Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee about worker preparedness.

Riley, Sen. Richard Shelby and Sen. Jeff Sessions met with Brownlee Thursday in Washington. It was a follow-up meeting to one Riley held with the under secretary last week, after which the congressman reported the Army was considering restructuring the program that oversees the destruction of chemical weapons.

In its letter, the commission informs Riley that Army officials strongly discouraged local leaders from adopting evacuation as the primary safety measure for residents living nearest the depot. The Army argued that to do so "would be very dangerous for civilians," the letter reads.

On the Army's advice, the county has been instructing those residents to shelter-in-place -seeking shelter inside a room at their home - in the event a plume of chemical weapons accidentally seeps off-base. "Without dwelling on the obvious contradiction between the Army's on-post plan to evacuate and the Army's opposition to an evacuation plan for the off-post community, how can the Army expect our EMA (Emergency Management Agency) to carry out a plan of shelter-in-place when the Army says it will be telling its own workers to get in their cars and drive away as quickly as possible?" the letter, unanimously endorsed by the commission, asks.

This is the second time in recent weeks that the commission has called for a congressional
oversight hearing of the Army. It first did so after newspaper reports that the Army was planning a public relations ambush on local leaders should the county fail to participate in upcoming preparedness exercises.

In its letter to Riley, the commission professed shock at a report by the Star that the Army had not conducted an employee evacuation drill for more than 10 years. It gave commissioners an opportunity to say touche. "Given the severe criticism leveled at our local EMA for boycotting just one exercise earlier this year, it sounds mighty shocking that the Army feels it does not need to test its own emergency plans," the letter reads.

As was reported, Army officials have said evacuation drills are anticipated in the future.
A depot spokeswoman said the Army was not prepared Thursday to respond to the commission's letter, but would respond today.

According to an official in Riley's office, the congressman doesn't anticipate an oversight hearing in which the sole topic would be worker preparedness at the depot.

Dan Gans, Riley's chief of staff and press secretary, didn't rule out a hearing, but said the
congressman is more concerned with implementing measures that protect workers and the
community.