Published: August
25, 2006 09:14 pm
$300 million in
funding allotted
By
Ronica Shannon
Register
News Writer
Funding has been secured to take the chemical weapons disposal project at the Blue Grass Army Depot through 2012.The Pentagon's Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) confirmed Thursday that the depot's future weapons disposal facility will receive $300 million over the next five years. The facility in Colorado will receive the same amount.
"The numbers coming out of the DAB review are most welcome and reassuring," said Craig Williams, director of the Berea-based Chemical Weapons Working Group. The group continues to serve as advocates for the environment and community during the weapon disposal process.
"It appears that the efforts at the local and state levels and on Capitol Hill have translated into action at the Pentagon," he said. "Apparently, they have heard our arguments and have taken heed."
The previous amount for the Bluegrass Army Depot and the facility in Colorado was $30 million each year for the next five years.
The Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, who is the decision-maker on this project, placed both sites on "caretaker" status.
This action, should it have been carried out, would have caused activities at both sites to come to a halt and pushed the completion date for disposal out well past 2020, Williams said.
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell wrote a letter, co-signed by other members of the Kentucky and Colorado congressional delegations, to the Undersecretary in April urging more adequate funding for the years to come.
"This new posture of recognizing the need to adequately fund these projects, if reflected in the upcoming budget requests, will ensure steady progress toward ridding ourselves of these dangerous weapons," Williams said. "Citizens have lived in the shadow of these for far too long."
Aside from receiving funds to take the weapons disposal projects through the next five years, two Senate Appropriations Subcommittees approved $360 million for the 2006-07 fiscal year.
The funding request came from McConnell and represents an increase of $327 million more than the amount the Pentagon estimated they would request for 2007.
Last year, the Department of Defense's request for ACWA (Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives) was $33 million.
McConnell's intervention, which prevented ACWA funds from being spent at other sites, forced the Department of Defense to begin spending funds for disposal efforts at the two ACWA sites. This provided $20 million in extra funding for the program and disposal efforts were revived.
The $360 million will allow the Army and its contractors to continue ongoing construction activities and continue work on facility design, equipment testing and other activities associated with the chemical weapons disposal project.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the destruction plant at the Blue Grass Army Depot is scheduled for Oct. 28.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.