County leaders cut off CSEPP

This story was published Sat, Jan 8, 2000

By Terry Hudson
Herald Oregon bureau

Leaders from Umatilla and Morrow counties have had enough of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program.

At least for the next three weeks.

Thursday night, commissioners from the two counties announced a temporary moratorium on any meetings with federal and state agencies concerning the CSEPP program. Specifically, that means they won't be holding any meetings with CSEPP-connected members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Oregon Emergency Management.

"My purpose was to find something that delivered the message to the public that we've heard you, and to let these agencies know that we're not going on with business as usual," said Dennis Doherty, Umatilla County commissioner. "We wanted to say in a clear way to these agencies that we expect them to negotiate with us in good faith, to really look at the system and to listen to concerns and new ideas. We want them to engage with us to make any reasonable changes possible."

In three weeks, the commissioners in each county will review the moratorium to determine if they will lift it.

A press release from the commissioners said the moratorium will be lifted automatically if a public emergency arises. In that event, county personnel will respond with other agencies, according to CSEPP plans already developed and practiced.

The flap arose after recent high-profile problems with the warning system designed to warn area residents in the case of a chemical weapons accident at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

Last week, a false alarm sounded with sirens and instructions in Spanish saying there was an actual emergency at the depot. It occurred when a Morrow County CSEPP official was attempting to activate a highway reader board near Boardman to display a message warning motorists of icy road conditions.

"We're pulling out of program meetings, the kind we have all the time where 15 to 20 agency people talk about the same things they've talked about before," Doherty said. "Meanwhile, the system goes on, and what we have doesn't work."

The moratorium came as a surprise to Chris Brown, a CSEPP coordinator for Oregon Emergency Management.

"I'm concerned because my focus is that I want to identify problems and fix them," Brown said. "Some of these meetings are off now, and these meetings are ways we get business done. Some people may not believe that, but in order to fix these problems, we need to meet with these folks.

"It's my concern that this moratorium could have a negative impact. It doesn't do anything for the process of team building."

At least four meetings scheduled over the next two weeks have been canceled or postponed.

"What it means is the cancellation of a lot of important meetings," said Tom Worden, an OEM spokesman. "If the counties won't participate in any multi-jurisdictional meetings, there's no sense in us being there, either."

Part of the problem, as seen by local officials, are too many bureaucratic hands in the mix. The CSEPP program is funded by FEMA, whileÊOEM is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the system's equipment. Counties are responsible for spreading information andÊfor public notification in theÊevent of an emergency.

"I want the public to know that despite the counties not taking part, the state is still accountable in case of a problem," Brown said. "We plan to fulfill our obligations as best we can."

The two county commissions met Friday with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and plan to meet next week with Stephanie Hallock, a representative from Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber's office.

Brown said that during a meeting Friday with Wyden, the senator suggested looking into an independent evaluation of the system to be completed within 60 to 90 days by a private company.

 

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