Published: June 03, 2006 11:36 pm      

Depot funding cut could cost up to $220 million

Ronica Shannon
Register News Writer

A recent proposal to cut $40 million from the Pentagon’s chemical demilitarization military construction budget could end up costing Kentucky and Colorado taxpayers millions of dollars, according to a release from Berea's Chemical Weapons Working Group.

An unofficial internal document from the Pentagon states, "Including all costs associated with storing the stockpiles at the Blue Grass Army Depot and in Pueblo (Colorado) for an additional year, the total cost impact to the Department of Defense would be $220 million."

The one-year delay would be a direct result of the funding cut that was proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It would delay Kentucky’s deadline for destroying all chemical weapons past the 2015 deadline recently proposed by Army officials.

This one-year delay comes on the heels of having lost at least a year when the Pentagon froze more than $300 million in 2005. Those funds were restored through congressional efforts spearheaded by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“It appears that the Pentagon finally recognizes the need for adequate funding and now it is Congress that is missing the point,” said Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group. “Hopefully, in the near future, everyone will get it at the same time, so we won’t be dealing with this sort of problem every fiscal year.”

The House of Representatives proposed the cut from the Pentagon's chemical demilitarization military construction budget request for fiscal year 2007. The Senate has yet to bring forth their version of '07 Defense Bill.

Because Kentucky and Colorado are the only chemical demilitarization sites in line for construction funding, the cut impacts only these two locations.

The budget request asked for $131 million, but the House Committee is recommending $91 million.

"Ultimately, what may be seen as a short-term cost savings by the House will result in the increase in actual expenditures over the life of the project as schedules are extended," Williams said.

The delay would add $80 million to $90 million per site to the life-cycle costs of these projects, according to a report from the Department of Defense.

"Including all costs associated with storing the stockpiles at Pueblo and Blue Grass for an additional year, the total cost impact to the Department of Defense would be nearly $220 million."

The report continues, "To communities living in the shadow of these aging stockpiles of obsolete and deadly munitions, further delays to the program to eliminate the risks posed by the stockpiles' continued existence are unacceptable."

The Pentagon document containing this information is internal and has not been released to the public, nor has it been given to congressional members and therefore is considered to be "unofficial."

"We felt it was important to share the information with House members as soon as possible so they can appreciate the impact of their proposed cuts on communities and the United States obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty," Williams said. "Hopefully, they will rethink their ill-conceived cuts."

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.