PENDLETON -- Umatilla County on Tuesday pulled out of the governing board that has overseen chemical emergency preparations for the past five years in Northeastern Oregon.

While the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program's governing board, which brought together representatives dealing with emergency planning, has been a valuable tool in preparing to start destroying chemical weapons at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, the board is no longer necessary, said Umatilla County Commissioner Dennis Doherty. He helped form the governing board, but recently proposed his county should withdraw.

There still were some projects that need to be finished, but those can be handled by the separate agencies, Doherty said.

"The administration of the different aspects of CSEPP is in good hands," he said.

Members of the 10-person board represent Umatilla and Morrow counties, nearby cities, emergency responders, local residents, the medical community, the state, the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, Umatilla Chemical Depot and the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

The board was formed to satisfy the state Environmental Quality Commission permits needed before weapons destruction could begin at the depot incinerator near Hermiston and to begin agent destruction, Doherty said. Both goals have been accomplished.

Doherty's fellow commissioners echoed his comments at a Tuesday board meeting when the three voted to withdraw from the board.

Commissioner Bill Hansell emphasized Umatilla County was withdrawing from the board, not from the CSEPP program.

Not everyone agrees the board no longer has a purpose.

Last week, Morrow County commissioners sent out a letter countering Doherty's comments in an earlier memorandum.

"We believe that the governing board was necessary and is still necessary," said Morrow County Commissioner Ray Grace.

The board still would be needed to plan annual CSEPP budgets and look into future issues when the depot is closed down, Grace said. Morrow County plans to keep participating in the governing board, although Grace said he is not sure how the board will work without Umatilla County.