Tri-City Herald
July 15, 2003

Oregon-based group asks for probe into CSEPP permit

This story was published Tuesday, July 15th, 2003

By Kathleen Gilstrap Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON -- A Hermiston-based group opposed to the incineration of deadly nerve agents at the Umatilla Chemical Depot is asking for the Oregon Attorney General's office to investigate the agency responsible for public safety.

In a letter to Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, members of GASP asked for an investigation into the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, alleging violations of the hazardous waste permit issued to the Army by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

GASP members are questioning CSEPP's decision to take $200,000 from a 450-megahertz radio system project meant to aid communications in an emergency and put it into a fund to pay for a computer-assisted dispatch system. The group said in the letter to Kulongoski that moving the funds will delay the implementation of the radio system.

Marian Hammond, the governor's deputy chief of communications, said no one has seen the letter from GASP yet.

"Obviously, we'll respond to the letter when we receive it," Hammond said.

The depot, seven miles west of Hermiston, stores 220,604 munitions and containers filled with 7.4 million pounds of deadly nerve and mustard agents. The chemicals are set for incineration, which could begin sometime this year.

The group also is questioning whether work done by CSEPP so far will provide adequate protection to the communities surrounding the depot, as required by the permit.

But Meg Capps, Umatilla County emergency manager, said there is no connection between the radio system and the permit. And, she said, there is plenty of money to complete the radio system and the computer-assisted dispatch center.

Capps said the $200,000 are surplus funds left over when the radio system came in under budget. The radio system is scheduled for completion next March.

Sue Oliver, a chemical demilitarization specialist with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, said CSEPP met its permit obligation more than a year ago.

"There's absolutely no connection between the hazardous waste permit and the radio program," Oliver said.

Karyn Jones, founding member and director of GASP, said one of the major issues is that the communities surrounding the depot were supposed to get maximum, not adequate protection. The fact that CSEPP funding by the federal government may decrease endangers the safety of those communities, she said.

GASP also is asking for an annual audit of CSEPP.