The Pentagon promised U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar of Colorado on Tuesday that mustard-agent weapons stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot will not be transported to another site for disposal.

Pueblo leaders were outraged last week after learning that the Pentagon planned not to begin funding construction of a plant to destroy the weapons until at least 2011. A separate Dec. 21 memo said the Pentagon should consider minimizing risk, including "relocation."

During an hour-long meeting, Allard and Salazar talked to Patrick Wakefield, deputy assistant to the secretary of defense, and Dale Klein, assistant secretary for nuclear and chemical and biological weapons. The senators said they were assured that the weapons would not be incinerated, as some in Pueblo have feared, but would be neutralized with water followed by biodegradation, which introduces bacteria to devour toxics.

Confirmation of the agreements is due from the Pentagon this week. The senators will meet monthly with defense officials for updates.

"So I'm glad to hear what they said. It doesn't make me any less concerned or vigilant," said Ross Vincent, a Pueblo resident and Sierra Club member. "The key question now is, how soon are they going to start construction."

Pueblo broke ground in September on a plant, but only a few days after the ceremony, the Army halted design work for nine months because the government believed the project would be too expensive. The project was originally expected to cost $1.6 billion.

Allard said the group talked "in general" about the Pentagon's plan not to fund construction but reached no agreement about the proposed budget.

Salazar said he is "cautiously optimistic that the meeting here in Sen. Allard's office will result in clarification and a sense that things are still on track."

Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.