Calhoun County's emergency preparedness in the event of a chemical accident at the Anniston Army Depot is in dire straits, according to congressional investigators.In a report released Wednesday, the General Accounting Office cites severe rifts between local and federal officials for the shortcomings of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program.
The report places much of the burden on the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army for failing to take a more proactive role in emergency planning.
The General Accounting Office, which serves as the research and investigative arm of Congress, studied eight communities with chemical weapons stockpiles. Communities in seven states had failed to meet essential emergency preparedness guidelines but Alabama, Indiana and Kentucky were especially lacking, the report said.
"There should be no doubt after this report that we're not where we should be and we have a tremendous amount of work to get to that point," said Rep. Bob Riley, R- Ashland.
In 1997, the GAO said in a similar report that none of the communities had met the criteria for emergency preparedness.
Federal officials have said that storage of the chemical weapons presents a greater risk of an accident than incineration does, and that emergency preparedness is needed now. Although the weapons have been stored at the depot for 40 years, the emergency preparedness issue has nonetheless only come to the forefront as the date for incineration has approached.
The Army plans to begin destroying its stockpile of 2,253 tons of lethal nerve agent and mustard gas in an incinerator at the Anniston Army Depot next spring. As part of its mission to destroy the chemical weapons, the Department of Defense is obligated by federal law to provide "maximum protection" to area residents.
According to the GAO, that is far from reality in Alabama.
"Thousands of people who live near at least three of the eight chemical storage sites are still at a higher risk of exposure to a chemical accident than necessary," the report says.
It places much of the blame with FEMA for failing to provide more leadership to local emergency management agencies and leaders.
"It sounds consistent with past GAO reports," said Mike Burney, director of the Calhoun County EMA. He had not read the report and would not comment on the specific findings.
Lt. Col. Bruce Williams, who oversees the chemical weapons stockpile and the Army's emergency planning, said he had not read as of Wednesday evening and would not comment.
Investigators cited the rift between Calhoun County and federal officials as the cause for many of the program's shortcomings.
While federal officials stress shelter-in-place and evacuation as the best response to an accident, county officials accept only evacuation as an option. Shelter-in-place calls for residents to barricade themselves in a room and seal off doors and windows with duct tape and plastic.
A 1999 study found evacuation to be ineffective and a practical impossibility, but the Calhoun County Commission has said that shelter-in-place is inadequate and that federal officials must do more to protect the community.
Much of the conflict is the result of "poor relations with Calhoun County CSEPP officials," the report says. "FEMA has had other controversies that led to similar public relations problems, though not as severe, in Indiana, Kentucky and Oregon."
Dan Civis, the head of the CSEP Program for FEMA, takes exception to some of the report's conclusions and says progress has been made since February, when the investigators completed their fact gathering. He cited additional warning sirens, more funding and the public information campaign now under way in the five surrounding counties.
While Calhoun County may need more attention, much of the surrounding area is prepared, he said. The problems in the report are due to Calhoun County's refusal to accept shelter-in-place as a viable protection against a chemical accident.
"I'm not sure how we bring it to closure," Civis said. And the lack of a clear plan hampers any attempts at public education.
"Those two issues will continue to haunt us," he added.
Burney agrees that the agencies have made headway since February but a number of questions still remain.
A written statement from the Calhoun County Commission said, "This lack of preparation is due to the fact that the Army and FEMA continue to refuse to provide the funds the Calhoun County EMA has requested every year for the past five years regarding several critical emergency preparedness and safety requests."
County Commissioner Lea Fite said most of the problems boil down to $31 million. That's the amount the county commission says it needs to buy protective hoods - essentially gas masks - for residents closest to the depot as well as provide pressurization systems to schools, hospitals and nursing homes that would prevent nerve agent from seeping inside. The county has also asked for and upgraded software system and 24-hour staffing for the Calhoun County EMA.
"Hopefully it (the report) will move some things along," Burney said.
