So it looks as though the check is indeed in the mail. That's the word from the Department of Defense on the matter of funding emergency preparedness needs in Calhoun County. Seems military officials have decided to take some $40 million from existing programs instead of waiting for months for Congress to approve the money.The money, which will be used to pay for everything from protective masks to additional staffing for the local emergency management agency, could be here in a matter of days, say Army officials.
Now, then, is the time for the Calhoun County Commission and the local EMA to declare that they will join in on a region-wide public information campaign to educate everyone about what they should do in the event of an incident or accident at the Anniston Army Depot.
Up until now, county officials have refused to participate in the region-wide program, arguing rightly for the extra money to enhance emergency preparedness in the county. But now that we have the funding, there should be no further delay. And the importance of this cannot be overstated.
The argument between the local officials and the federal agencies has gone on for far too long and all the while the residents of this county have been vulnerable. We were and still are vulnerable because the greatest danger we face from the stockpile is its continued storage. The minute the incineration process begins, the level of danger drops off.
So now that we have these assurances that the money is on the way, our commissioners and our local EMA officials need to show us they will abide by the region-wide plan and that they will now support the plan to incinerate the stockpile.
There is no perfect way to dispose of the stockpile. But there is a best available way to do it and that is incineration. The question is: Should we wait around a few more years to try something that might appear to be safer but has never been fully tested or should we go with incineration, a technology that has been proven? The answer is obvious, especially in this environment.
We will and should continue to ask tough questions of the military, contractors, state environmental officials and the scientists about the incineration process. We will and should be diligent in demanding that the officials at the incinerator conduct the operation as safely as humanly possible. We will and should continue to demand the environment and the health of the community be protected, that stack emissions fall within that allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
But we can no longer afford to engage in endless arguments over this issue.
Sept. 11 changed the world and it changed the way we should look at this situation. It was always important that we go with the safest, fastest technology available to destroy the stockpile. That is truer today than ever.
Now let's see the County Commission and the local EMA get behind the public education effort. And let's see them come out in favor of incineration.
