March 1, 2005
Wolfowitz: DOD Reconsidering Cuts To Chem Demil Program

The Pentagon is reconsidering proposed funding cuts to chemical demilitarization facilities slated for construction in Kentucky and Colorado, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said today.

"We're taking another look at that whole decision to see whether there's maybe a different way," Wolfowitz said at a Senate Budget Committee hearing. However, he added, "there's no question that the costs were . . . going through the roof, and we need to do something about that."

Defense Environment Alert reported in January that the Defense Department planned to drastically cut funding for chem demil facilities under development in Blue Grass, KY, and Pueblo, CO. The two facilities comprise DOD's Assembled Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program, which Congress established to force the military to consider alternative destruction methods to incineration.

If enacted by Congress, the proposed cuts to the ACWA sites would last through fiscal year 2011 -- just one year before the United States, if granted an extension under the Chemical Weapons Convention, will be required to have all of its stockpiled chemical weapons destroyed.

Citing internal budget documents obtained by the Chemical Weapons Working Group, DEA reported in January that from FY-06 through FY-10, DOD planned to fund the two ACWA sites at a little more than $31 million annually, rather than the $2 billion the budget documents say the two sites need over those five years to meet schedule plans. According to the plan, DOD would begin funding construction of the two plants in FY-11.

Separately, a December program budget decision obtained by InsideDefense.com described Pentagon plans to reduce funding for the chem demil "contracting support" line item by $29 million each year through FY-11.

But those proposed cuts may now be up in the air, according to Wolfowitz.
"I think one of the parameters that has to be in there, though, is how to contain costs in addition to all the others, and that's what led to the current budget proposal," he said. "I acknowledge there are some issues there that we really do need to look at."

Wolfowitz was responding to questions posed by more than one committee member about the proposed cuts to the Blue Grass and Pueblo facilities.

Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), who in January issued a statement opposing the proposed cuts, said at today's hearing that the delays that DOD claimed had increased costs were due in part to the Army's "asking for more studies" on the proposed facilities. "Well, we've already done three studies on transportation issues out of there, and I don't understand why you include . . . part of your restudying transportation issues related to that, when you've already done three studies on that.

"And we've, in fact, passed legislation that says that transportation is off the table, and the legislation says that if it's going to go across state lines, that it has to have the agreement of the governor as well as the president, has to go to the presidential level. And none of that has happened," he continued.

"So as far as I can tell, it's off the table, and yet we're still going ahead and having these included in the study," Allard said. "So it seems to me that some of the costs that have gone here is because of a fault in the demilitarization program itself and not being focused and moving forward like it should."

-- John Liang