FEMA's role in chemical weapons safety questioned

This story was published Wed, Jun 26, 2002

By Karen Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

Army officials and managers for the Federal Emergency Management Agency gathered Tuesday in Lexington, Ky., for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program's annual conference.

There was one pressing question on most of the minds of officials charged with ensuring the safety of people living near chemical weapons depot: What's FEMA going to do?

"FEMA's role is the biggest concern," FEMA spokesman Craig Conklin said during a telephone interview Tuesday.

Emergency managers want assurances that "their concerns are being heard and that they are involved in the discussions" between the Army and FEMA over the agency's role, Conklin said.
Questions about FEMA's future in the emergency preparedness program first arose in May, when the FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh expressed frustration over charges the agency had failed to adequately prepare communities near the nation's chemical weapons depots.

At that time, Allbaugh suggested to a Senate subcommittee that "The Army should run the entire program."

Communities in Umatilla and Morrow County surrounding the Umatilla Chemical Depot rely heavily on FEMA for emergency preparedness planning and funding

That's not going to change anytime soon, FEMA officials said. Conklin suggested that Allbaugh's previous remarks were primarily meant to ensure that "preparedness is done in an effective manner."

"Right now, we are not going to step away from the table," Conklin said. However, he added, "We still need to look at what kinds of things can make us more effective."

One area that needs some streamlining is getting the emergency funds to the local communities in a more timely manner, Conklin said.

"It's a complex process, but I can promise you we are talking at length about how to improve that," he said.

But Conklin stopped short of promising that FEMA would continue to play a role throughout the destruction of the deadly stockpile of nerve agent stored at Umatilla.

"I'm not in a position to promise we're going to do anything. But I have high hopes that we will continue to work at the process."

No matter what FEMA's long-term role might be, Army officials maintain they will continue to see that the depot communities receive the resources they need to ensure public safety, said Denzel Fisher, assistant with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army.

"The Army will stand by its commitment to the communities," Fisher said.

The discussions regarding FEMA's role in community emergency management do not reflect a fissure between FEMA and the Army, said Larry Skelly, a special assistant with the Pentagon.

"No one in the Army wants to change the relationship we have with FEMA. We want to continue to work with them on contingency planning for emergency preparedness," Skelly said.

Recent dialogue between the Army and FEMA has been beneficial, Conklin said.

"We've had good dialogue with the Army. We're making sure we are on the same page. We're listening to all the input, so FEMA can think about all the issues," Conklin said.

 

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