HERMISTON -- Critical pieces for protecting the community in the event of an accident at the Umatilla Chemical Depot are in place, and now the agency responsible for emergency planning is focusing more on improving and maintaining the safeguards.

The last major project that needs to be completed is an evacuation project for the Hermiston area, including road widening, signs and coordinating signal lights. The project is to be finished by spring 2005.

"We are entering a new phase where most of our critical requirements are in place," said Casey Beard, director of the Morrow County Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program.

Even the evacuation project is an enhancement to the original emergency response plan, which focused on people within 10 miles of the depot sheltering in place.

Over time the Federal Emergency Management Agency asked the area to look at having a more balanced approach, including evacuation, Beard said. "We've always known that we would have a certain number of people who have to be evacuated in any event."

One of CSEPP's top priorities for the emergency response community was a 450 megahertz radio system, which allows emergency agencies to communicate better. That was completed shortly before the depot, 35 miles south of the Tri-Cities, began burning chemical weapons Sept. 8.

Now that the system is up and running, attention has shifted to who still needs to be included in the system and how to maintain it after the last chemical weapons are gone and federal funding ends.

"We've been given a gift, this legacy that we have to maintain," explained Umatilla County Emergency Manager Meg Capps.

Maintenance is now becoming a larger aspect of the program, she said. There is a 13-page list of items that need to be maintained, including items such as alert sirens, reader boards and tone alert radios some nearly 10 years old.

Technology also has improved from what was available 10 years ago, said Chris Brown, manager of Oregon CSEPP. "Things have gotten much more sophisticated."

In addition, authorities are spending time considering what's needed in the days after a potential accident, he said.

"Things were so focused initially on the response phase, we now have the opportunity to turn to other aspects," like the evacuation project, Brown said.

Also, groups that used to meet monthly, like the CSEPP Governing Board which includes representatives from the major groups involved in disaster planing around the depot, are moving to quarterly or bimonthly meetings.

He saw the transition as a natural part of the process. The program's initial goal was to hit an adequate level of community protection but was always working toward a maximum level.

"We've reached sustainment level but also have in the back of our minds a sense of urgency," Brown said.

A clock started ticking when the depot began burning weapons, so the preparation continues. "Should there be an accident we need to know we did the best we can," he said.