More Emergency Protection Promised Umatilla Area

Tue., Feb. 17, 1998

Associated Press

Federal officials are saying they’ll do more to get emergency equipment to communities near the Umatilla Chemical Depot to be used in case of a nerve gas leak.

Umatilla-area mayors and emergency management officials say they think they can overcome past problems.

The announcement follows a visit to Washington, D.C., by the mayors of Umatilla, Hermiston, Irrigon and Boardman. James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), called the meeting to talk with local mayors about resolving key equipment shortages.

About 12 percent of the nation’s chemical arsenal is stored at Umatilla.

A total of $25 million was supposed to be spent on emergency preparedness to coincide with the construction of a chemical weapons incinerator at the depot.

The idea was to prepare the communities in case of a nerve gas leak as the weapons are destroyed. But there are questions as to where the money is going.

Last month a crew from 60 Minutes was in the area filming a segment on the issue. The show is expected to point a finger at FEMA and Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) at the federal level.

Myra Thompson Lee, administrator for the Oregon Division of Emergency Management, said the announcement about better relations was unrelated to news media accounts.

Friday, David de Courcy, FEMA regional director for the Northwest, said, “I think public officials at all levels have an obligation to these communities. This meeting was an effort to carry out these obligations in a collaborative effort.

“I don’t want to be Pollyanna-ish about these problems. They won’t all be resolved tomorrow.”

Witt, de Courcy and the mayors were joined at the Washington meeting by Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Hansell; Alma Moore, acting assistant secretary of the Army; Denzel Fisher, Army oversight for CSEPP; and Russ Salter, FEMA’s program manager for CSEPP.

“We weren’t sure what was taking place in the past, and now we have been identified as important persons, at least to be given information to if not listened to,” said Irrigon Mayor Don Eppenbach.

And Eppenbach says he has seen signs of a new relationship.

The Irrigon Rural Fire District’s radio equipment is being upgraded to allow communication with federal emergency agencies during a chemical accident.

And Witt promised FEMA will pay to install tone alert radios in homes, Eppenbach said. Those radios alert people in homes and office buildings during a chemical accident.

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