Defense Environment Alert
February 12, 2002

GOVERNOR THREATENS LAWSUIT OVER ANNISTON INCINERATOR SAFETY

Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D) is vowing to file litigation to stop the incineration of chemical weapons at the Anniston Army Depot until the federal government responds to local safety concerns and provides alreadypromised funding for safety issues. He is also pledging to become personally involved in the permitting process until safety concerns are addressed.

Citizen activists who are opposed to chemical weapons incineration are praising the governor's Feb. I announcement. 'This is a major step in exposing the Army's incineration program for the shell game that it is," said Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, in a Feb. I statement Incineration is scheduled to begin in Anniston this spring.

But the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the federal agency responsible for community safety issues around the Army's chemical weapons stockpile sites, announced the same day that it was releasing most of the funds Alabama is seeking. And last week, representatives from the Pentagon and FEMA and members of the Alabama congressional delegation met to discuss ways to ensure all the promised funding is quickly provided.

A spokesman for Rep. Bob Riley (R-AL), whose district includes Anniston, says the congressman believes Siegelman's threat is premature and that the situation will be resolved once Riley, Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh, DOD acquisition chief E.C. "Pete" Aldridge and Seigelman can meet. While progress was made at last week's meeting, Allbaugh was not present, and Riley believes the top officials are the ones that must work this out, the spokeman says. A date for that meeting has not been set, he says.

At issue is $40.5 million that FEMA and the Army agreed last year to pay for safety efforts such as public education, response plans, communication systems, and improvements to schools and hospitals as part of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP). Local officials in Calhoun County, near the depot, have long complained that the Army and FEMA are not providing adequate safety planning (Defense Environment Alert, Aug. 1, 2000, p13).

"I am committed to pursue every possible avenue to remedy this situation, because the safety of the citizens of Calhoun County and surrounding areas must come first," Siegelman said in a Feb. 1 statement. "Thus far, the federal government has failed to provide the maximum protection necessary for the citizens of Calhoun County, and as governor, I will not stand for it."

Siegelman said that since reaching the agreement for the $40.5 million last year, the federal government has failed to provide the funding, and "despite repeated appeals to federal officials, they have not cooperated with state and local officials in preparing for incineration startup." The chemical weapons incinerator at Anniston Army Depot is slated to start surrogate trial bums later this month and operations this summer, according to a spokeswoman for the Army's chemical demilitarization program.

The Calhoun County Commission released a statement Feb. I supporting Siegelman. "It is unfortunate that the Governor may have to go to court to stop the destruction process; however, the Army and FEMA's refusal to fund and implement all of the items on our safety checklist, as well as all of the items on the Governor's safety checklist, leaves Governor Siegelinan with no other choice," the commission said.

Within hours after Siegelman's legal threat, FEMA announced that it was releasing $25 million of the $40.5 million. Of that $25 million, $16 million will go toward special needs planning, public education, response plans and the procurement of re-circulation filters and communication systems, according to a FEMA press release. Another $9 million will be used to fund collective projects that are protective such as enhancements to schools and hospitals and special facilities planning, FEMA said. The agency said the remaining $15.5 million will be provided once FEMA is assured that the "entire allocation will be used for proven protective measures in the state." Ken Burris, regional FEMA director for the area that includes Alabama, said, "We will continue to work with Alabama and the Anniston community to ensure the best emergency preparedness possible."

But the county commission says the $15.5 million is earmarked for the items it believes are the most critical: protective suits for police, fire and emergency personnel; protective hoods for citizens who live close to the depot; "a vital upgrade to the software system" that the county's emergency management agency "must use to warn and notify our citizens and track the direction of a toxic plume if it gets off-post;" and money to collectively protect schools that are close tq the depot.

"While FEMA's announcement may appear to be 'progress,' without the additional $15.5 million for these four items, Calhoun County will not be able to protect its citizens," the commission said. DOD will not have met its duty to provide maximum protection to the county's citizens, and the county "will not be prepared to support the initiation of the destruction process until all of the items on our safety checklist have been implemented and are in place," the commission said.