The Department of Defense will appropriate $40.5 million to meet Calhoun County's demands for emergency preparedness, including gas masks for the 35,000 residents living closest to the Anniston Army Depot and its stockpile of chemical weapons.
In a teleconference late Thursday, Undersecretary of Defense Edward "Pete" Aldridge told Alabama's political leaders he would come through with the money. The meeting included Gov. Don Siegelman; Congressman Bob Riley, R-Ashland; Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa; and representatives of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R- Mobile.
"It appears from the conversation that these precautionary items that would ensure the safety of the citizens in and around Calhoun County have been significantly met," Siegelman said in a telephone interview after the meeting.
Department of Defense officials could not say when the money might become available.
"Most everything will be funded," Riley said after the meeting. Aldridge nixed a $5 million request for a new county road department building, as well as requests for surplus vehicles and a new radio tower.
Aldridge also cut half of the county's $10 million request for gas masks. Calhoun County has not selected a particular mask and does not have an exact dollar figure for the cost.
Riley quoted Aldridge as saying he would provide more funding for gas masks if it were needed.
"He agreed that they are necessary but we need agreement on the number and cost," Riley said.
Randy Wood, chairman of the Calhoun County Commission, said, "It makes me feel great that it is a verbal commitment because that's better than 'No.' "
The lack of agreement on the county's emergency preparedness needs had threatened to stall the June 2002 start-up of a chemical weapons incinerator slated to destroy the 661,000 chemical weapons at the depot.
When asked if he expected the incinerator to begin destroying the weapons as scheduled, Riley said, "I certainly hope so."
Gov. Siegelman wrote Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in April with a list of 12 shortfalls in the county's emergency readiness, and said he could not support the incinerator's start until those needs were met.
The governor's so-called "12-point safety checklist" came at the behest of Calhoun County officials who were worried about community readiness in the event of an accident at the depot's stockpile or the incinerator.
County commissioners repeatedly complained that Army officials were unresponsive to their demands.
Aldridge organized an Operational Assessment Team to sort out the issues and arrive at a hard and fast figure for funding. The team included Army, state and local officials as well as representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Defense.
The meetings originally were slated for a December conclusion. Aldridge accelerated the process after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and promised to make a funding decision by Oct. 31.
"Secretary Aldridge took this issue very seriously," said Pat Wakefield, a Department of Defense official and director of the Operational Assessment Team.
After receiving the $50 million request, Aldridge pared the number down to $38 million and added another $2.5 million for any additional needs.
Wakefield could not say when the Department of Defense would put the request before Congress in a defense appropriations bill.
"But (Aldridge) is a man of action," Wakefield said. "He will take steps to move out on this now."
The Defense Department has agreed to meet 11 of 12 points on the checklist, Siegelman said. They include providing:
·Revised data on the toxicity of the nerve agents to be destroyed at the depot.
·Updated computer software for the county.
·24-hour staffing for the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency.
·More emergency sirens around Calhoun County.
·Individualized emergency planning for those with special needs who can't protect themselves with existing methods during a chemical accident.
Another of the governor's concerns, expanding Alabama 109 to allow quick access to Interstate 20 in case of an evacuation, remains unresolved, said Ted Hosp, the governor's legal advisor.
Siegelman emphasized that the agreement still needs to be put in writing and evaluated by all the local and state officials involved.
"I'm not saying I'm signing off on this," Siegelman said. "But I am saying that I think the secretary has moved this matter forward in a way that reflects concern for the people of Alabama, and I'm deeply grateful."
