LATEST NEWS
Monday, April 11, 2005
Walden urges adequate
Depot funding
By the East
Oregonian
eonews@eastoregonian.com
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep.
Greg Walden of Hood River urged the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional
Threats and Capabilities last week to provide adequate funding to keep the
chemical demilitarization program safe and on schedule.
Walden told legislators that during a recent visit to the Umatilla
Chemical Agent Disposal Facility near Hermiston he was able to observe "the
good work being done to safely destroy the munitions and chemical agent stored
there. The efforts under way exemplify the safety, security and commitment
to task necessary to complete this essential operation and set a high standard
for how this important mission should be conducted to destroy these dangerous
weapons."
"Necessary funds must be provided to continue destruction of chemical
agent at operating sites, bring demilitarization facilities at other sites
into operation and, most importantly, maintain a tight watch on potential
hazardous environmental releases and emergency preparedness capabilities to
ensure that communities are safe from the hazards posed by chemical munitions
storage and disposal," he said.
Walden lauded the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
and highlighted the CSEPP operation in Umatilla and Morrow counties.
"This program has significantly enhanced the ability of state, tribal,
and local officials to respond to chemical incidents at the stockpile sites
and give community members and local leaders peace of mind in the event of
an emergency situation," he told the subcommittee. "I urge that funds continue
to be allocated to communities facing the greatest risk from chemical weapons
storage."
Walden said public safety and homeland security "must be considered
before all else" when talking about the destruction of the nation's chemical
weapons.
"For that reason, I have serious concerns about proposals to help
meet a 2012 deadline for destruction established by the Chemical Weapons Convention
Treaty by allowing interstate transfer of chemical weapons," he said.
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has publicly denounced the proposal to
transport chemical weapons from other states to the Umatilla Chemical Depot
for destruction. Hermiston and Umatilla city councils have also opposed the
proposal.
The Oregon delegation is supporting legislation that would prohibit
using federal dollars to study the proposal.
"Being at the Umatilla Depot last week and hearing detailed concerns
from facility and community leaders only reaffirms my belief that transporting
weapons is a potentially dangerous alternative that we simply should not explore,"
Walden said.