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Tuesday February 03, 2004
The program to destroy chemical weapons here could be put on hold indefinitely after being all but cut out of the defense budget President Bush submitted Monday to Congress.
Local officials were warned last week that the Army might go so far as to cut all funding for fiscal 2005 for the Pueblo work, and shift what money it had to incineration projects in other states that reportedly have been hit by cost overruns.
The only real surprise was that while Pueblo's estimated budget of $151.7 million was cut to $4.9 million, a similar water-based treatment program at the Bluegrass Army Depot in Kentucky is budgeted for the full $105.8 million it expected.
The Bluegrass facility has both mustard and nerve agent. The Pueblo Chemical Depot has only mustard agent shells and cannisters.
Pueblo's Citizens Advisory Commission sent off a resolution to the Army last week urging that nothing be done to slow down the demilitarization process at the Pueblo base. Commission Chairman John Klomp is in Washington this week to meet with Defense Department officials.
The demilitarization program has been touted as probably the biggest economic boost for Pueblo in decades.
The project is expected to generate more than 1,000 construction jobs over an initial three-year period and as many as 800 high-paying jobs over the decade it's expected to take to destroy the weapons.
There also would be numerous spin-offs from purchases made from local vendors and subcontractors.
Construction was expected to begin in fiscal 2005 with several hundred people quickly put to work in union-scale jobs.
Also in the plans, after the Army's departure, the sprawling depot with its buildings and infrastructure would pass to Pueblo County for a new industrial park.
Ross Vincent, a member of the local commission and head of the local Sierra Club chapter that led the fight to get the Army to use an environmentally-friendly water-based system instead of incineration, said that the way the Defense Department budget was structured indicated Pueblo was being punished for doing things well.
"The incinerators at other sites have never worked well," he said. "The Pentagon continues to throw good money after bad, rewarding failure, while punishing the success we have had here in Pueblo. It's bizarre."
The budget estimates for 2005, published a year ago, set funding for the national weapons destruction program at $1.46 billion but the number released Monday totalled $1.37 billion, $85 million less than hoped for.
However, Vincent said that incineration sites saw their funding increased by a net $107.4 million.
Angela DeRocha, spokeswoman for Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said, "We got an indication that there might be a considerable reduction (in Pueblo's share) but justification materials haven't come through yet, so we don't know what's going on yet.
"There's plenty of room, if a mistake has been made, to correct it," she said, adding, "Sen. Allard did request a briefing from (Defense) officials but they haven't responded yet, and I would not presume to try to interpret their reasons for doing things."
Allard serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Blair Jones, spokesman for Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Grand Junction, said the congressman wants to "look at the numbers and talk to experts" before commenting.
Camden Hubbard, spokeswoman for Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., said, "Senator Campbell will work to make sure the project receives reasonable funding. As an appropriator, he has said his goal is to have no half-completed worthy projects."
Alton Dillard, another Campbell aide, pointed out, "The budget is a blueprint, so you know the numbers are going to evolve continuously between now and the fiscal year.
"It is too early to panic about anything. Keep in mind that the ink on the fiscal year 2004 budget has only been dry since Jan. 26, about four months into the fiscal year."
Staff writer Karen Vigil and Jim Geraghty of The Chieftain's Washington Bureau contributed to this report.