Defense Department allots money for construction work at Pueblo facility
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
March 24, 2005
But a watchdog group called it mere "life support" that could still mean
delays in a planned chemical-weapons destruction project.
Under congressional pressure to keep the cleanup on track, acting Undersecretary
of Defense Michael Wynne released the money for road building and other preliminary
work that will be needed no matter what shape the final design takes.
Wynne also ordered major design changes to cut the projected cost of a chemical agent destruction plant to $1.5 billion.
He said costs are "nearly double what the department certified to Congress just two years ago."
Colorado's two U.S. senators, Republican Wayne Allard and Democrat Ken Salazar, called the $40 million investment a step in the right direction.
However, Craig Williams, of the watchdog group Chemical Weapons Working Group, said the limited funds would stall weapons destruction and put nearby residents at continued risk.
"It's life support," he said.
Under an international treaty, the United States has pledged to destroy chemical munitions by 2012.
Earlier this year, the Army was ordered to study the feasibility of moving more than 2,600 tons of chemical weapons from Pueblo to other locations rather than build an on-site disposal plant.
Allard and Salazar have co-sponsored legislation to prevent the Pentagon from spending money for that study