Published: June 11, 2006 10:21 am      

Open house to educate about chemical weapon destruction

Ronica Shannon
Register News Writer

The community will have a chance to learn about the chemical weapon destruction process at Wednesday's open house of the new Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office at 1000 Gibson Bay Dr. Suite 2.

Members of the community are welcome to stop by between 4:30 and 6 p.m.

The office has been in operation since March 13 and provides information about the chemical weapons disposal program.

Employees are responsible for providing informational brochures, producing technical documents and reports about the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant and coordinates to address a variety of Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant topics.

"The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant project wants to provide the community with an opportunity to visit the new office location, update stakeholders on the project’s accomplishments and communicate the project’s commitment to providing the greatest degree of openness and transparency," said Dave Easter, public information officer for the Blue Grass Army Depot.

Residents will have an opportunity to browse through the office, interact with the project team members and become familiar with the outreach office staff.

Employees who represent the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives representatives and Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant staff will be available to answer questions about the Blue Grass chemical weapons destruction program.

Informational papers and technical documents will be available in the outreach office information area, Easter said.

"As the project continues to move forward with the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile located at the Blue Grass Army Depot, public awareness and involvement become increasingly important," he said. "In response to this need, the Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office serves as a one-stop source of information about the chemical weapons destruction program at the Blue Grass Army Depot."

Public involvement is the cornerstone of the project, Easter said.

"The outreach office serves as a communication outlet for the community to provide input to project leadership," he said. "Partnering with the community to discuss issues and concerns allows everyone to make informed decisions based on the facts."

The Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office was one of a series of eight offices to open in and around chemical stockpile communities in the mid-1990s. Assuming the program will continue to be funded by Congress, government officials expect the outreach office to continue to offer information to the community at its new location on Commercial Drive throughout the life of the chemical weapons destruction project.

While the outreach office is staffed by three full-time employees, the success of the BGCAPP project depends heavily on partnerships.

The hub of information is located at the Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office, but the scope of public outreach expands down several other avenues, including the he Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office, Blue Grass Army Depot Public Affairs, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass and the Madison County Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program.

Yvonne Riding serves as manager of the Bechtel Outreach team that will focus on informing the public of Bechtel's mission and the pilot plant operations. Riding was formerly worked in Las Vegas for the United States Department of Energy.

Stephanie Parrett is assisting Riding on the Bechtel Community Outreach team. Parrett will be visiting local classrooms and community organizations.

Parrett also is in charge of the Blue Grass Exchange newsletter, which is a publication keeping the public up to date on the progress of the chemical weapon demilitarization process.

The Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office is managed by Booz Allen Hamilton under a contract with the Department of Defense's Program Manager Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives. Jim Fritsche, site project manager, provides local oversight of the outreach office contract, as well as the Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass systems contract to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile.

For additional information about the project, call the outreach office at 626-8944 or e-mail to bgoutreach@bah.com, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information about the Program Manager Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, visit www.pmacwa.army.mil.

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