I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 979
To require the Secretary of the Army to submit to Congress a report regard-
ing the management of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness
Program and to require that additional emergency warning sirens be
provided for communities near chemical stockpile sites.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 16, 1995
Mr. BROWDER (for himself and Mr. HANSEN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on National Security
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Army to submit to Congress
a report regarding the management of the Chemical
Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program and to re-
quire that additional emergency warning sirens be pro-
vided for communities near chemical stockpile sites.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings:
(1) In section 1412 of the Department of De-
fense Authorization Act, 1986 (Public Law 99–145;
50 U.S.C. 1521), Congress required the Secretary of
Defense to carry out the destruction of the United
States stockpile of lethal chemical agents and muni-
tions. In subsection (c)(1)(A) of that section, Con-
gress required that the Secretary, in carrying out
the stockpile elimination, provide for maximum pro-
tection for the environment, the general public, and
the personnel involved in the destruction of lethal
chemical agents and munitions.
(2) In order to carry out the statutory require-
ment to provide maximum protection for the general
public while carrying out the destruction of the
chemical munitions stockpile, the Secretary of the
Army, as executive agent for the chemical munitions
stockpile destruction program, established the Chem-
ical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
(CSEPP) to enhance the capabilities of local com-
munities to respond to an emergency arising from a
chemical munitions stockpile site. In furtherance of
that emergency preparedness program, the Secretary
entered into an agreement with the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency to provide Federal emer-
gency response funds and assistance to State and
local emergency management agencies for the pur-
pose of that program.
(3) The Comptroller General of the United
States, in a report to Congress in February 1994
entitled ‘‘Chemical Weapons Stockpile: Army’s
Emergency Preparedness Program Has Been Slow
To Achieve Results’’ (GAO NSIAD–94–91), re-
ported the following:
(A) Although the Army has worked for five
years and spent about $200,000,000, commu-
nities near chemical weapons storage sites are
not yet prepared to respond to a chemical emer-
gency.
(B) The Chemical Stockpile Emergency
Preparedness Program has experienced delays
in acquiring and installing essential equipment,
such as warning sirens and automated systems.
(C) Although planning documents for the
Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness
Program identify requirements for installation
of warning sirens to alert surrounding commu-
nities, for tone alert radios to provide instruc-
tions on what protective actions to take, for
computer automation to help local officials plan
for evacuations, and for sheltering-in-place for
persons who, because of their proximity to the
chemical weapons storage site, would not have
time to evacuate, the communities involved do
not yet have the equipment needed to perform
these tasks.
(D) Weaknesses in program management
have contributed to program delays.
(E) Officials in many of the States and
counties visited by investigators of the General
Accounting Office for purposes of the Comptrol-
ler General’s report said that, because of the
lack of guidance and standards, they are unable
to complete their emergency response plans.
(F) Delays in acquiring and installing
warning sirens and tone alert radios have oc-
curred for several reasons, including disputes
between some counties and the State or the
Federal Emergency Management Agency over
the numbers and placement of the sirens.
(G) Although the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency has administered nearly 70
percent of funds allocated for the Chemical
Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program—
$130,000,000 out of a total of $200,000,000—
it could not accurately account for how those
funds were spent.
(b) CONCLUSION.—In light of the findings in sub-
section (a), Congress is greatly concerned that the funds
being provided for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Pre-
paredness Program are not being allocated to provide the
maximum protection for the general public as required by
section 1512(c)(1)(A) of Public Law 99–145.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON EXPENDITURES.
(a) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of the Army shall submit to the Committee on National
Security of the House of Representatives and the Commit-
tee on Armed Services of the Senate a report on expendi-
tures for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness
Program since 1986.
(b) ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENT.—The report shall
contain a detailed accounting of all expenditures related
to the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Pro-
gram, shown by expenditures for administration, person-
nel (including those on the State and local level), travel,
contract work, communications, automation, alert and no-
tification devices, and emergency operations centers.
(c) JUSTIFICATION.—The report shall include a jus-
tification for all of the monies expended for the Chemical
Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program administra-
tion, as well as a detailed plan for reducing administrative
costs under that program in order to allow more money
to pass to the communities near chemical stockpile sites
in pursuance of the statutory requirement that the Sec-
retary of Defense, in carrying out the chemical munitions
stockpile destruction program, provide for maximum pro-
tection for the general public.
SEC. 3. PLACEMENT OF ADDITIONAL WARNING SIRENS.
In order to expedite accomplishment of the statutory
requirement that the Secretary of Defense, in carrying out
the chemical munitions stockpile destruction program,
provide maximum protection to the general public, the
Secretary of the Army shall approve immediate placement
of a minimum of three additional outdoor sirens in every
county in the United States that is situated within a des-
ignated Immediate Response Zone (IRZ) and Protective
Action Zone (PAZ) covered by the Chemical Stockpile
Emergency Preparedness Program. Those sirens shall be
placed within each such county at the discretion of the
director of the county Emergency Management Agency.
Funds for the sirens shall be provided from funds available
for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness
Program.
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