East Oregonian - 12/14/01

Army shifts oversight of weapons disposal

Secretary of the Army Thomas White announced Thursday that responsibility for the Chemical Demilitarization Program is being moved from the Army's Acquisitions Office to its Environmental Office. That means oversight of the program is now in the hands of Dr. Mario Fiori, assistant secretary of the Army for installations and environment.

White's announcement has been eagerly anticipated by community groups at chemical weapons stockpile sites across the country since U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., called for restructuring of the program last May.

In his letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, McConnell expressed his "frustration with the alarming lack of oversight and accountability in the program" and accused program officials of "providing misleading testimony and ignoring the concerns raised by citizens who are directly impacted by the program."

Craig Williams, national spokesperson for the Chemical Weapons Working Group, said the national coalition of community groups working for safe disposal welcomes the shift in responsibility. "Up until now, there has really been no oversight of the Army's chemical weapons disposal program," Williams said. "Program officials have been able to lie and deny with impunity."

However, according to the CWWG, new leadership must be accompanied by a change in the program,s preferred technology of incineration if the program is going to complete the disposal task safely and expeditiously.

"A bad technology operated by incompetent officials has been a recipe for failure," Williams said. "We look forward to working with Dr. Fiori toward a solution for the disposal issue that will provide maximum protection to all stockpile communities."