It isn't unusual for people to get excited about a new program, then grow complacent after it's established.

That appears to be the case with the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program's governing board in Umatilla and Morrow counties. It was launched five years ago to help prepare nearby residents should nerve agents ever accidentally be released at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

By all accounts, the board has done a good job. If that's to continue, however, its members will have to make more of a commitment to it.

Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Doherty recently sent a memo to fellow CSEPP governing board members saying he wants his county to withdraw from the organization.

Doherty pointed out that it's been months since the board has dealt with anything substantive, and he complained that attendance has declined to the point where board positions at meetings are being filled by staff members acting as alternates.

The practice is inappropriate because it sidesteps the board's oversight role, essentially allowing staff to set their own policy.

His concerns are valid and need to be addressed. But walking away from the board isn't the solution. Instead, the group should discuss its mission now that the Army's incinerator is up and running and continue to provide guidance to the CSEPP program.

When the board was first created, CSEPP officials were miserably unprepared for a chemical disaster. This was before the incinerator was operational, and it was critical at the time that CSEPP get its act together to ensure the community knew what to do in the event of an accident at the depot.

The governing board helped coordinate the program, and under its direction the CSEPP system became effective. With brochures, meetings, public service announcements, drills and training for medical and emergency workers, CSEPP has done a commendable job of preparing the community for the worst.

The incinerator started work last year. Its mission is to destroy about 7.4 million pounds of deadly nerve agents and M55 rockets that are stored at the depot seven miles west of Hermiston. It is expected to take 10 years to destroy the stockpile.

That's a long time. There's only a remote chance an accident might occur, but it won't go away until the job is finished.

That's why it is imperative the CSEPP governing board continue, even if it is only to maintain the status quo.

Doherty was right to acknowledge the problems, but he needs to stick around and make the CSEPP governing board better. Quitting isn't the answer when the danger for a catastrophe remains.