CWWG

Senators Push Pentagon to Remove Unjustified Cost Limits from Re-Design Work at Neutralization Facilities in KY & CO; Insist Any Changes Be Driven by Safety

Chemical Weapons Working Group
128 Main St. Berea KY 40403
859-986-7565  859-986-2695 (F)
www.cwwg.org    craig@cwwg.org
for more information:
Craig Williams:  (859) 986-7565
(859) 302-1103
for immediate release: Friday June 17, 2005

SENATORS PUSH PENTAGON TO REMOVE UNJUSTIFIED COST LIMITS FROM RE-DESIGN WORK AT NEUTRALIZATION FACILITIES IN KY & CO; INSIST ANY CHANGES BE DRIVEN BY SAFETY

Legislators Claim Forcing Army to Meet Outdated Fixed Costs Puts Public Safety at Weapons Disposal Sites at Risk
In a letter sent today to Under Secretary of Defense Kenneth Krieg, Kentucky and Colorado Senators explain why the fixed cost estimates certified under Public Law 105-261 for weapons disposal in their respective states are not only misguided but of great risk to their constituents.

Public Law 105-261 required the Pentagon to certify that any alternative to incineration be “as safe as, and as cost effective as” incineration. However it did not require a precise price tag. Nevertheless, Pentagon officials inserted specific figures knowing they were grossly underestimated and were based on outdated incineration costs.  

Signed by KY Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning and CO Senators Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar, the letter alleges that these outdated budget constraints are forcing the facilities to make critical design changes that could jeopardize the safe and expeditious disposal of weapons stockpiles. While acknowledging that there could likely be “appropriate efforts to minimize costs,” the Senators call forcing facilities to adhere to outdated cost estimates “foolhardy” and part of a “fundamentally flawed” process.
 
The Senators remind Mr. Krieg that the weapons disposal program at the Pentagon level has “been fraught with neglect and mismanagement from the beginning.” Then they call on him as a newly-installed official to “breathe new life into the program by correcting this condition by whatever means appropriate.”
 
 Craig Williams, Executive Director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, commented, “These budget constraints have got to be removed. The Pentagon continues to use these baseless cost limits to jeopardize neutralization projects at Blue Grass and Pueblo. Earlier this year they were used to stop funding and put both ACWA projects on hold for up to five years. Once again our Senators are acting in the best interests of their communities.”
 
Senator McConnell said, “DOD has painted itself into a corner by unnecessarily placing a cap on the cleanup costs at Blue Grass. I will never allow misguided cost savings to come at the expense of the safety of Kentuckians. DOD's current position would irreversibly bind ACWA to outdated cost estimates -- regardless of safety concerns or future lessons learned from other facilities. Such an action is unacceptable.”
    
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Copies of the Krieg letter are available from the CWWG office.
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