Chemical Weapons Working Group
P.O. Box 467
Berea, Kentucky 40403
(606) 986-7565 (606) 986-2695 (fax)
kefwilli@acs.eku.edu www.cwwg.org
for more information contact:
Craig Williams: (606) 986-7565
for immediate release Friday, June 18, 1999
COALITION CALLS FOR RESIGNATION OF SENIOR ARMY OFFICIAL FOR LYING TO CONGRESS, PUBLIC ABOUT FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR CHEMICAL WEAPONS DISPOSAL OPTIONS
Internal Defense Department Documents Show Funds Were "Hidden"
From Promising Alternative Disposal Program
A Department of Defense (DOD) auditor's memo made public today by a coalition of citizen groups shows that Deputy Secretary of the Army for Chemical Demilitarization, Dr. Theodore Prociv, falsely told members of Congress, the media and community groups that no more federal money was available to demonstrate non-incineration technologies to destroy the nation's chemical weapons arsenal. The DOD memo, titled "Pot of Gold" by its agency author, concludes that Prociv's program actually had about $400 million in unspent funds on hand.
In a letter to Army Secretary Louis Caldera, the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG) called for Prociv's resignation, noting "Dr. Prociv misrepresented the fiscal situation within the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program in order to derail the progress of non-incineration technologies."
From May to December of last year Prociv continually stated that his budget was not sufficient to demonstrate viable alternatives to incineration even though Congress had directed the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program to assess these non-incineration disposal methods. In May 1998, ACWA announced that six technologies passed its stringent criteria, making them eligible for a demonstration phase. However, Dr. Prociv claimed repeatedly that the $25 million needed to demonstrate all six technologies could not be found in his agency. Thus, only three technologies moved forward.
But in a DOD document released today, a February, 1999 memo reporting the results of a fiscal review of "the CHEM/DEMIL program in the Army," it is stated that:
CWWG spokesman Craig Williams explained, "For months, Dr. Prociv told Congress, state regulators, and the public 'the money is just not there.' Now there is clear evidence that his statements were false. In order for the chem weapons disposal program to move forward with any integrity, Dr. Prociv should step down."
The Army chose incineration as its preferred alternative for destroying chemical weapons in 1982 and has pressed forward with that plan despite growing opposition and the development of alternative disposal technologies. According to the General Accounting Office (GAO), the incineration program is now 14 years behind schedule and $ 13.2 billion over budget. It was in this context that Congress created the ACWA program to carefully evaluate non-incineration options.
Reacting to this new information, the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee Report reads, "The Committee is concerned with the lack of oversight afforded the Chemical Demilitarization Program within the executive branch. In a review of the program's funding, the Committee discovered that funds had systematically been obligated without being expended and in some instances funds were unobligated. Rather than facing a shortfall in funding, the program had over $200,000,000 of Operation and Maintenance funds unexpended at the end of fiscal year 1998."
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), author of the ACWA legislation reacted to the disclosure of the financial memo saying, "This information shows clearly that there is no truth to the assertion that there were not sufficient funds available to allow for the demonstration of all viable alternatives to baseline incineration."
In a letter to her Congressman, Bob Riley (R-AL), Brenda Lindell, member of Families Concerned of Anniston, Alabama said, "I am furious that by this lying and deceit he has potentially sabotaged the ACWA program. Yet, the local citizens will be the ones that will pay the price. Prociv does not have the integrity to be over, or even involved, in this program."
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Copies of the DOD financial memo and the CWWG letter to Army Sec.Caldera are available on request.
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