Army closer to relinquishing ownership of chemical depot

PENDLETON, Ore. – The U.S. Army has submitted a draft agreement to transfer ownership of the former Umatilla Chemical Depot into local control.

The East Oregonian reported members of the Columbia Development Authority met by phone Tuesday to review the 22-page document.

Director Greg Smith says the draft agreement is a milestone, but delays in getting it have cost the authority millions of dollars in lost economic development over the past two years.

The CDA plans to use a portion of the Eastern Oregon land for industrial development. Smith says industries that have shown an interest in the property include data centers, hotel chains, animal feed producers and aggregate mining.

The depot opened at the beginning of World War II and at one time stored 12 percent of the nation’s stockpile of chemical weapons.