Birmingham News
May 31, 2003

Plan: Incinerator may start without safety items done

MARY ORNDORFF
News Washington correspondent

WASHINGTON The Anniston incinerator would start destroying chemical weapons before four remaining public safety items are completed, according to a proposed agreement under discussion by key officials.

One of the most critical issues, construction on local schools' ventilation systems to protect children in case of an accident, would be initiated but not finished when the burning began, according to the unsigned agreement obtained Friday by The News.

The agreement appears to defy the earlier demands of Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who has insisted the community be fully protected before any of the deadly agents reach the incinerator.

The proposed five-page memorandum of agreement details the work schedule of the incinerator during the "interim," or start-up, period, and allows that some safety precautions may not be in place when it speeds up to full-scale operations.

A Calhoun County commissioner familiar with the agreement called it an "11th hour" plan that contradicts Shelby's intentions.

"It's a sad case that the Army has not seen fit to implement the protective measures our citizens deserve," Commissioner Robert Downing Jr. said.

The Army is awaiting final approval from state environmental regulators to begin destroying 2,254 tons of outdated but deadly chemical munitions stored at the Anniston Army Depot, as required by an international treaty. Local and state officials have sparred for years with military and federal government officials about how best to protect residents in the area if agent were released into the atmosphere.

A spokesman for the incinerator said the agreement is intended to satisfy the residents and the public officials who represent them.

"The spirit of Senator Shelby's ... (concerns are) taken into account without being so restrictive that it paralyzes us," Mike Abrams said Friday.

In January, Shelby told Army officials he would oppose opening of the incinerator unless four safety requirements were met: protecting nearby schools; providing assistance for residents, such as the disabled, with special needs; equipping the Army to activate warning sirens instead of having to call county officials first; and updating the emergency response plan to take into account the greater danger posed by lower levels of toxins.

But when asked about the proposed agreement Friday, Shelby, in a prepared statement, indicated there was room for compromise.

"Initiation of these reforms is a step forward; however, I will hold my judgment until I know where we are in terms of the initiation of these necessary safety requirements and the Army's timetable for implementation," he said.

Gov. Bob Riley, who in January agreed with Shelby's demands and said he might sue over the issue, was not familiar with the proposed agreement. Riley spokesman Pepper Bryars said whether Riley agrees to the incinerator's starting before all safety conditions are complete "depends on how far and how fast the safety measures were to completion, and there are simply too many factors to make a judgment at this time."

Mayors push for start:

Pressure to crank up the incinerator has intensified recently, with supporters warning that the presence of the weapons storage igloos at the Anniston Army Depot poses a greater threat to the area than incineration. All seven Calhoun County mayors are calling for the incinerator to open as soon as possible. They will deliver their resolution to Army officials in Washington next week, according to The Associated Press.

The proposed agreement requires the signatures of representatives of the Army and the Department of Homeland Security, plus Riley.

Abrams said starting the interim burns in July, as is now expected, is acceptable before all of the schools are pressurized because most children are out of school during the summer.

The proposed agreement does require the school construction be completed before the full burn begins, possibly by October. But the other safety issues, including the plan for helping special needs residents, can "proceed concurrently with full agent destruction operations," the memo states.

Incinerator opponent Craig Williams of the Chemical Weapons Working Group said that provision breaks earlier agreements and is "the consummate reflection of bad faith in the context of this program."

One of the safety requirements moving the duty of triggering the emergency warning sirens from the county to the Army has been agreed to in writing but has not been completed. A spokesman for the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency said it may be another month before the necessary equipment is in place.

And while the Army intends to begin with M55 rockets that are filled with liquefied GB agent and that can be easily drained and destroyed, the agreement states that if operators find rockets with the trickier gelled agent, they also will be destroyed during the interim burns.

Abrams said the agreement could be altered before it is signed by all of the parties, and the Army has not given Congress the required 30-day notice to the start of operations.