WASHINGTON - The Base Realignment and Closure Commission left open the possibility Wednesday that Deseret Chemical Depot could be spared closure by converting its chemical weapons incinerator to destroy conventional munitions.

The commission voted 7-1 to require the Pentagon to study whether it was practical to convert the weapons incinerator once it completes its mission of destroying nearly 45 percent of the nation's chemical weapons stockpile. If the changeover is not feasible, Deseret would close as scheduled.

"We're upbeat and feeling very positive about the future of Hill [Air Force Base] and our other military installations in Utah," Sen. Orrin Hatch said in a statement. "The commissioners accepted our recommendation to push back the closing date of Deseret and are exploring other ways to use the facility."

It may not be an easy case to make, however.

"At this point, the information we have from the Army indicates that the plant was not designed to handle [conventional weapons] and that it would cost a significant amount of money to do so," BRAC analyst George Delgado told commissioners.

Delgado noted that Commissioner Jim Hansen, a former Utah congressman, disagreed with that assessment. Hansen recused himself from the Deseret vote.

The BRAC Commission also voted to reverse a Pentagon recommendation and keep open Hawthorne Army Depot in Hawthorne, Nev., which now disposes of much of the military's conventional weapons stockpile. The 300,000 tons of munitions stored at Hawthorne were slated to be moved to Tooele Army Depot in Utah. None of the Hawthorne workers were expected to move, but it could have meant future jobs at Tooele.

"We were hoping for the extra work from Hawthorne, but today's decision doesn't affect Tooele's existing mission," Hatch said.

Hawthorne's survival could make it harder to show that the military needs another conventional weapons disposal site, which Deseret would offer.

About 397,000 tons of conventional munitions were awaiting disposal at the end of the 2004 budget year, according to the Army Materiel Command, which disposes of munitions. Existing facilities can dispose of up to 156,000 tons a year, although just 41,000 tons were disposed of last year. Another 56,000 tons were added to the stockpile.

In a letter to the commission last month, Utah's congressional Republicans asked commissioners to consider the Deseret conversion, noting taxpayers had already invested more than $1 billion in the incinerator.

"This large investment should not be abandoned," they wrote. "It would be a more responsible use of taxpayer funds, as well as more environmentally friendly, to consider converting the chemical destruction plant to a conventional munitions disposal operation rather than completely dismantling and tearing down this facility."

Jason Groenewold, director of Families Against Incinerator Risk, said extending Deseret's life would break a promise and prolong the risk posed to Tooele.

"We were promised, as a community, that this facility would be taken down and closed when the last chemical weapons were destroyed and it appears there are those that want to break that promise chasing after elusive waste streams that, in the end, could be potentially very dangerous," he said.

The Commission is expected to vote Friday on whether to save Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, now slated for closure. Hill Air Force Base in Ogden is scheduled to get upgraded F-16s fighter jets from Cannon to replace older F-16s that would be sent elsewhere.

"The indication that we get right now is Cannon is probably going to get closed," said Rick Mayfield, executive director of the Utah Defense Alliance, which is lobbying on behalf of Utah's bases. "That's the inside word I get now, but it's not official."