The U.S. Defense Department is seeking $550.4 million in fiscal 2010 to prepare sites in two states for chemical weapons disposal operations, the Richmond, Ky., Register reported yesterday (see GSN, May 6).
The Pentagon had earlier indicated it would request $300.4 million for the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. However, the agency reportedly plans to expedite demilitarization operations by increasing funding at the installations by $1.2 billion through fiscal 2015.
“The Pentagon has stepped up in dramatic fashion and delivered on commitments it made to U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last December to fully fund the chemical weapons disposal projects,” said environmental activist Craig Williams, head of the Chemical Weapons Working Group.
Blue Grass and Pueblo are the only two storage depots to hold their original complement of warfare materials banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Three sites have eliminated their stockpiles, while work continues at another four locations.
Funding for construction of chemical neutralization facilities and associated infrastructure has fluctuated in recent years for the Colorado and Kentucky facilities.
“It got so bad in 2005 that the Kentucky and Colorado projects were put on ‘caretaker status,’ meaning no funds were available to move towards disposal,” Williams said.
The international treaty requires the United States eliminate its chemical arsenal by April 2012, while Congress has demanded that work conclude by 2017. The Pentagon has acknowledged that it cannot meet the CWC deadline, but has been studying options for finishing off the stockpile by 2017. Current estimates have operations at Blue Grass and Pueblo finishing several years after that date.
The funding boost could enable disposal to wrap up in 2020, Williams said.
Fiscal 2010 begins Oct. 1 (Bill Robinson, Richmond Register, May 7).