Tribes confirm depot emergency center plan

This story was published Wed, Aug 14, 2002

By Karen Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

MISSION -- Tribal leaders for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation confirmed Tuesday that they're working with Army officials to get federal money for an emergency operations center.

But negotiations for a center, which would be used in the event of a leak at the Army's Umatilla Chemical Depot, still are preliminary, said tribal board member Armand Minthorn.

"We are going to be treated and accorded the same consideration as others in the overall emergency response plan," Minthorn said.

"We need to be prepared just like anyone else," he said.

So far, the Army and tribes have agreed that their emergency communication system will be upgraded to the same 450 megahertz system that other emergency workers in Umatilla and Morrow counties will be receiving.

And there's the possibility the tribes may get their own emergency operations center via Army funding. Similar centers in Pendleton and Hermiston have cost about $450,000 each.

"The ideal place to build is to add on to our existing fire station," Minthorn said.

Umatilla County Commissioner Dennis Doherty expressed surprise that the Army would be considering funding another center. Mission, home base for the tribes, is only 10 miles from Umatilla County's operation center.

"We have a lot of unanswered questions, such as what's the reason for a center? Why is the Department of Defense and Army paying for it?" Doherty said.

Doherty also questioned the manner in which the parties have been negotiating. Tribal meetings are not subject to Oregon's open meeting laws.

"My impression is the federal government is willing to do for the tribes what it's not willing to do for other jurisdictions," Doherty said.

But Umatilla Tribal Chief Rob Burnside questioned why the Army should fund an emergency operations center for Pendleton, Hermiston or Heppner and not the tribes.

He noted that on any given day there may be 2,000 people at Wildhorse casino or golf course that may need to be evacuated.

"Where would they go?" Burnside asked. "I don't think we are out there for wanting our own emergency operations center."

Tribal emergency officials have been involved in some preparedness training, Burnside said.

Even so, it's mostly been a struggle for the tribes to get recognition from the Department of Defense, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army, Minthorn said.

Historically, he noted, the Chemical Emergency Preparedness Program failed to include tribal emergency officials.

However, Indians are more at risk than the depot's closer neighbors because of their reliance on hunting and fishing for subsistence, he said.

Minthorn credited the efforts of Wayne Thomas, program administrator for the state's environmental regulatory agency, and Melinda Eden, chairwoman of the state's Environmental Quality Commission, as crucial partnerships for the tribes.

The reluctance of Umatilla County to form a partnership with the tribes has been "disheartening," Minthorn said.

"County responders have failed to acknowledge the tribes, failed to acknowledge our capabilities and failed to acknowledge our government."

It has appeared at times that county commissioners have made a distinction between Indians and non-Indians, Minthorn said.

"There shouldn't be a line between who they represent."

Minthorn was particularly distressed by Doherty's suggestion that tribes were shutting out local jurisdictions by privately conducting negotiations with Army officials.

"I very adamantly disagree with him," Minthorn said. "This has been a wedge between this particular commissioner and
the tribes. The tribes have always tried to maintain a working relationship with the county."

 

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