Governor reaffirms stance on chemical weapons depot

This story was published Thu, Mar 9, 2000

By Terry Hudson
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - Straining to talk because of a case of laryngitis, Gov. John Kitzhaber discussed emergency preparedness after taking a tour of the Umatilla Chemical Depot on Wednesday.

Dozens of people connected with the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, or CSEPP, gathered to listen to the governor in the depot's Treaty Conference Room. Included in the audience were commissioners from Umatilla and Morrow counties.

CSEPP is designed to protect residents near the depot in the case of chemical release. About 12 percent of the nation's chemical weapons are stored at the depot.

The incineration facility being built to dispose of the weapons is nearly 80 percent complete.

"To me, the public health and safety is the No. 1 priority," Kitzhaber said in an initial address. "This thing can't be fired up without my signature, and it won't get my signature unless everyone is comfortable with it.

"Collectively, we will develop the criteria we are all comfortable with. That's a decision that won't be made without unanimous support."

After a false alarm in December of a chemical emergency, Kitzhaber sent Stephanie Hallock to the area from Salem to gather public opinion. He's also appointed Jerry Russell, a retired Oregon State Police major, to observe the progress of CSEPP for 90 days before reporting back. A 60-day independent investigation of the Alert & Notification System is now under way.

"I'm looking forward to getting the results of the independent investigation," Kitzhaber said. "Before I sign off on this, we'll sit around this table one more time to make sure everyone is comfortable. If it's not going to work, we won't go through with it."

Hallock said an executive review board will be formed by representatives from all involved parties, including the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The panel will develop a set of criteria to evaluate the status of emergency preparedness and report to the governor.

"There will be a public process to comment on the recommendations before they go to the governor," Hallock said.

The meeting lasted just 20 minutes.

At the start of the meeting, Hallock made it clear Kitzhaber would comment only on emergency preparedness issues.

Kitzhaber has been criticized by some in Eastern Oregon after reports that he supports the breaching of four dams on the lower Snake River system.

But he did comment briefly on the issue after the meeting.

"The point I've always held is that we should not take any fish recovery system off the table," Kitzhaber said. "The point I was making in my speech is that taking the dams off the table doesn't make the fish recovery decisions any easier."

While they had the ear of the governor, those at the meeting remained mostly silent when Hallock asked if there were any questions for Kitzhaber.

But Umatilla County Commissioner Dennis Doherty said he was pleased the governor showed up.

"He's out here despite the fact that he's obviously ill," Doherty said. "I think the reason everyone stood silent was out of politeness. There's a lot of sensitivity surrounding the dam issues, so he's shown me he really wants to check in with us.

"What we wanted out of this was to reconfirm a connection with the governor's office. He's shown he hasn't forgotten us. He's got a more demanding schedule than any of us, so I'm very pleased with today's meeting."

 

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