for more information:
Craig Williams: (859) 986-7565
for immediate release Wednesday February 19, 2003
As of Wednesday, February 18, the U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Program is officially under new leadership: Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Claude Bolton, Jr. A January 15, 2003 memo by Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White had earlier spelled out the shift in authority of the chemical weapons program to Bolton, from Dr. Mario Fiori, with the Army's Environmental Office.
White's January memo also called for establishment of a new agency under which management of weapons disposal plant construction, operation and closure, and storage activities would take place. The person named today to head this new agency is Mr. Mike Parker, currently Deputy Commander of the Army's Soldier and Biological Command. Parker has also been the Program Manager for the Pentagon's Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program since it's conception in 1997. The ACWA program successfully identified and demonstrated alternatives to incineration for chemical weapons disposal which have recently been selected for deployment in Colorado and Kentucky.
Parker will manage this new office, called the Chemical Materials Agency (CMA), and retain his authority as Program Manager for ACWA as well.
"This means that even sites which now have incinerators can benefit from the kind of honesty and transparency Mr. Parker has established in the ACWA program," said Brenda Lindell of the Anniston, Alabama group Families Concerned About Nerve Gas Incineration. The demilitarization program under the old leadership had been severely criticized by citizens like Mrs. Lindell, community organizations and numerous federal elected officials, including Senators Richard Shelby (AL) and Mitch McConnell (KY) who have spoken out about mismanagement, cost overruns and schedule slippage. For two years in row the program has been called "ineffective" in the Administration's budget--the lowest possible ranking.
Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, has hopes that the program can finally have some integrity. "Mr. Parker has earned the respect of federal and local elected officials and community members, because he has treated everyone with respect, rather than secrecy or contempt," he said. "We are confident Mr. Parker will maintain his commitment to true community involvement which has been a cornerstone of the ACWA program."
The January 15 memo from Secretary White and a link to the
Army News Release on the creation of the Chemical Material Agency
is available at <www.cwwg.org>.
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