Bids for chem demil work should be sought in May

By JOHN NORTON
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Two contracts are expected to be put out for bid in May as Bechtel finally returns to work on the first phase of the chemical demilitarization program.

Joe Nemec, Bechtel's project manager for the Pueblo operation, told the Colorado Citizens Advisory Commission Wednesday night that the company will call for bids for surveying and soils and concrete testing next month.

He said that contracts for fencing and the new road from the demilitarization site to a new northwest entrance to the depot would be awarded in July and the contract for a new access control point will be awarded in September.

He said that the control point would have been started sooner but is being redesigned because of new security regulations.

That access point will be at the location where the DOT road to the Transportation Technology Center passes by the northwestern corner of the Army base. Traffic to the demilitarization facility will then use the DOT road and the roads through the airport industrial park, which are being widened and extended with a mix of federal, county and state funds. The road project is expected to get underway in September, including the long-awaited extension of William White Boulevard to Colorado 47.

Bechtel and a local citizens group are developing a scaled down plan for the facility to hold it within the new Pentagon requirement that the lifetime cost of the project not exceed $1.7 billion.

A public forum has been tentatively scheduled for June 20 on the plan before it's passed on to the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives agency which will then present it to the Pentagon. Bill Pehlivanian, ACWA deputy program manager also attended the meeting and said that $140 million in funds for the Pueblo project, recently freed by the Defense Department, were becoming available. That money, in the 2005 fiscal year budget, is expected to provide enough carryover so that, combined with about $30 million requested for fiscal 2006, there will be enough for work planned through next year.

Commission member Ross Vincent asked Pehlivanian about the Pentagon's projection of a five-year caretaker status after 2006 with nothing being done and Pehlivanian said that although he had nothing in writing, the recent decision to release the funds indicated that the Pentagon probably would keep the program going after next year.

He added that after the redesign is complete, ACWA will have a better idea about how much to ask for in the 2007 budget.

Commission Chairman John Klomp praised the ACWA management for its tenacity in pushing for the Pueblo program despite Pentagon opposition and he also thanked the state's Congressional delegation for the pressure they applied to get this year's funds released. Up until a couple of weeks ago, the Defense Department gave appearances it wanted to call off the water neutralization program here and try to ship the nearly 800,000 rounds of mustard agent weapons to another facility for incineration.