LOCAL

Thursday, August 05, 2004

Decision on filters delayed

By AMYJO BROWN of the East Oregonian
ajbrown@eastoregonian.com


PENDLETON — Umatilla County Commissioners faced passionate pleas from Umatilla City Council members Wednesday afternoon during a hearing on whether or not to allot funding for air recirculation filters for residents living near the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

The commissioners put off making a decision on the issue for a week, until their next scheduled meeting Aug. 12. Commissioner Dennis Doherty, however, hinted he was not inclined to change his mind on the board’s earlier decision against the funding request.

“It was my feeling coming into the meeting that we needed to hear something new and persuasive,” he said, and then added, “I definitely don’t agree with some of the sentiments expressed.”

Umatilla council members, along with Umatilla’s mayor, told the commissioners they wanted the air recirculation filters distributed to their constituents in order to provide them an extra layer of protection if there was an accident at the depot involving chemical weapons.

The depot stores about 7.4 million pounds of nerve and blister chemical agents — about 12 percent of the U.S.’s total stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. It will begin incinerating the weapons this month. The filters, small, portable machines that can be used on a daily basis to filter dust and allergens from the air, are to be used primarily to enhance sheltering-in-place, the procedure residents closest to the depot would follow in the event of an accident involving the chemical weapons.

“Because of the prevailing wind, Umatilla would almost surely have to shelter-in-place,” said George Hash, Umatilla’s mayor. “I’m calling on you to give these people down where I live the maximum amount of protection within our means.”

In making their earlier decision, Umatilla County’s commissioners said the filters would do little to mitigate the risk, calculated at a 1 in 270,000 chance of a fatality in Umatilla from a depot accident, roughly equivalent to the chances of someone being struck by lightening.

The cost to supply approximately 1,400 homes would be about $500,000 (or about $300 each) and would be paid for and distributed by the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP), a federally funded program meant to ensure the protection of communities living near the depot. CSEPP is administered locally by both Umatilla and Morrow County officials.

“We’re using taxpayer dollars and they should be used efficiently, justifiably and responsibly,” said Commissioner Bill Hansell, in response to Hash’s comments.

Hash sparred heatedly with both Hansell and Doherty during the two-hour long meeting, saying at one point that not having the filters in place could result “in a lot of dead people.”

“Just wait a minute,” Hansell said. “That type of response just inflames people. It’s an emotional response. What are the facts that you’ll ‘have a lot of dead people.’”

Hash simply replied, “It makes sense to me. I’m there.”

In addition to Hash, several other Umatilla City Council members testified in support of distributing the filters. One Umatilla resident — Hash’s next-door neighbor — also asked the commissioners to change their minds.

“I would urge you to think in terms of individuals, not a total amount of money,” said Umatilla resident Boyd Sharp. “I don’t believe $300 for my wife and I is an outlandish amount of money to spend to give us an advantage in the event of an accident at the depot.”

Another Umatilla resident, Sam Nobles, testified against funding the filters.

“You’ve gone way beyond what I think you should have done,” he said about the county’s overall preparations for a depot accident. “I would recommend not getting the filters. I can’t see the expense of it. We have way more serious issues we should be spending money on.”