Pentagon officials met with state and county officials here Tuesday to explain a plan they say will make incineration of chemical weapons as safe and efficient as possible.
The plan: formation of a two-tiered committee, comprising officials from various agencies from all levels of government, to discuss issues and create policy concerning the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP).
The committee will be divided into a "working group" and a "steering group," said Dr. Anna Johnson-Winegar, deputy assistant to the secretary of defense.
The working group will discuss and study CSEPP issues. It will start with points detailed in an April 24 letter from Gov. Don Siegelman to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The letter lists several needs county officials say must be met to ensure safety of county residents.
The needs include revised toxicity numbers that could change the size and shape of the so-called "pink zones," or areas closest to the incinerator; updated software, and additional warning sirens and tone alert radios.
The working group, also termed the "operational assessment team," will report to the steering group, which is to make sure methods and procedures established by CSEPP meet the requirements and expectations of all entities involved - including the public, Dr. Johnson-Winegar said.
The operational assessment team could begin work as early as two or three weeks from now, she said, but the steering group won't be able to start its work until mid-October.
The mid-October date concerned local officials because it falls after the end of the fiscal year and could affect CSEPP funding.
"Dr. Winegar, do you agree that some of these issues will require funds?" asked Giles Perkins, an attorney with the governor's office.
"If (the committees) agree that's what needs to be done to move forward," Dr. Johnson-Winegar said.
Fite and other local officials were skeptical.
"The incinerator project began with $400 million budgeted. Now it's at $1.2 billion," Fite told the Pentagon officials. "Some $800 million appeared out of nowhere, yet we're constantly told there's no money available."
Dr. Johnson-Winegar said that took place under the previous administration. She reiterated her commitment to the plan.
"We want to provide the forum for the right people to come together and have open and frank discussion about this," she said of the committee.
Pentagon officials gave county commissioners a list of possible candidates for membership on the committees. Commissioners will discuss the list and recommend any changes they feel are needed. The list includes federal, state and local EMA personnel; officials from the Army, the governor's office, local governments; and members of the business community,
Fite told the officials he has reason to be skeptical.
"We have heard this same thing over and over again," he said. "It just seems no one is interested in our focus or what we have to say."
Some state and local officials expressed optimism, however.
"This structure puts the right people in position to address these issues," Perkins, from the governor's office, said.
"Hopefully this is a step in the right direction," said Commission Chairman Randy Wood. "This ball needed to be rolling long ago."
Commissioners and county EMA personnel, many of whom were still at home or engaged in other meetings, were caught off-guard by the unannounced arrival of the Pentagon officials at the county offices early Tuesday.
The local officials scrambled to get together, only to learn that the Pentagon officials wanted to meet with the commissioners two at a time in order to skate around Alabama's Open Meetings law and keep the meeting closed to the public.
"This is a public issue. (The media) has a right to be in there," Commissioner Robert Downing insisted when he arrived and heard how the meeting was being conducted.
Commissioner Lea Fite agreed, demanding the press be allowed access to the meeting.
After Air Force Lt. Col. Cynthia Colin, a public affairs officer for the Department of Defense, consulted with the Pentagon officials, the media was allowed in the meeting with the understanding that no interviews would be allowed after the meeting.
