The plan to destroy the aging chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky is back on track after the Pentagon does an about-face and releases money to build the disposal facilities.

Earlier this year the Pentagon froze the funds while officials looked into cheaper ways of getting rid of the munitions.  That move angered Central Kentucky residents and Kentucky's political delegation in Washington, D.C.

Kentucky's most powerful and influential lawmaker, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell took the Department of Defense to task on the Senate floor.

He also sent a letter to Pentagon officials telling them to restore the funding and get the weapons destruction program back on track.

In a short time, that's exactly what the Pentagon did.

Craig Williams, the Director of a Berea-based chemical weapons watchdog group, says the Pentagon's move is one of the most significant developments in the 20-year battle over how to safely get rid of the aging weapons.

"Without this change Central Kentucky would have been saddled with sitting on weapons of mass destruction for another five years with nothing going on," said Williams.

In addition, the Pentagon is no longer considering transporting the weapons being stored in Richmond to disposal sites in other states, according to a memorandum sent last week by Michael Wynne, acting undersecretary of defense.

So what's next?  Williams says preliminary construction, such as the road to the eventual destruction plant site, could begin within the next two months.

Other support buildings at the destruction site, such as office space, could start going up early next year.

In the meantime, Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, the company that will build and operate the Kentucky plant, is developing cost-cutting changes to the plans and refining the plant design.