Gov. Don Siegelman Friday pledged to continue working for federal funds for equipment that would make local schools airtight to protect their inhabitants in the event of a chemical weapons accident."For our schoolchildren to be safe, we need overpressurization in our schools," Siegelman told The Star. "That's the next safety precaution we need."
Just days after the administration withdrew a motion in federal court to delay the startup of the Army's chemical weapons incinerator, Siegelman wrote a letter to local school officials expressing this commitment and threatening to take further legal action.
"Our fight for safety and adequate preparedness is far from over," he wrote.
Calhoun County officials have asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to protect 37 county schools and other facilities with systems that would pump clean air into sealed-off rooms in the event of an accident. But citing Army engineering reports, FEMA has insisted that not all of the buildings need the expensive equipment.
The schools issue is one facet of a wide conflict between county and federal officials. Monday, FEMA said it would release $7 million intended for protective equipment for residents nearest the Anniston Army Depot. The agency's initial refusal to fund this and other measures is among several factors that led the governor to file the lawsuit against the incinerator.
Although the administration has pulled back on a motion for preliminary injunction against the facility, the lawsuit is still in place.
Louis Higgins, superintendent of the Oxford school system, hailed the governor's efforts.
"It's a concern that this has been so prolonged, but I'm glad he's in the saddle with us," Higgins said.
FEMA officials could not be reached for comment late Friday. However, in an interview earlier this week, FEMA regional director Ken Burris said the Alabama Emergency Management Agency's plan for protecting the schools is being reviewed at agency headquarters in Washington D.C. He did not know when a decision would be made.
The Army plans to begin burning nerve agent at the facility later this year.
