HERMISTON -- The board that oversees chemical emergency preparation around the Umatilla Chemical Depot will continue meeting although one of its members has pulled out.

In July, Umatilla County announced that it would no longer participate in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program's governing board.

The board, which started five years ago, brought together representatives from different groups dealing with the emergency planning.

Umatilla County officials contend the board no longer is necessary because the depot near Hermiston already has started destroying chemical weapons.

But at a board meeting Wednesday in Hermiston, several members of the board and emergency preparation groups said that the meetings still are necessary.

Casey Beard, Morrow County's emergency manager, said several of the emergency preparation projects have to be coordinated among multiple counties and departments.

And next year, the entities are expecting a 2 percent drop in federal emergency money so the agencies need to decide what programs will get cut. In the past, program money has paid for emergency radios, improvements to emergency evacuation routes, public service ads and more.

"We could not have gotten to the point we are at without this body," Beard said.

The board still serves a purpose but he agreed it might be time to make some changes.

Meg Capps, Umatilla County's emergency manager, said that while her county remains committed to the CSEPP program officials believe the remaining projects can be achieved other ways.

Members of the 10-person board represent Umatilla and Morrow counties, the 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's permits that were needed before weapons destruction could begin at the depot incinerator.

Hermiston Mayor Bob Severson said the governing board has been a valuable place to get information on the progress of different projects, and it still is working on issues.

Other members worried that while some of the major projects are finished or near completion, communities around the depot face future challenges, including what will happen to the depot land after all the chemical weapons are destroyed.

While the CSEPP board members agreed to continue meeting as a board, they plan to talk more in December about the purpose and focus of the group.