In November 1985, the Congress directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to destroy the U.S. stockpile of obsolete chemical agents and munitions and also directed that the disposal program provide for the maximum protection of the environment, the public, and the personnel involved in disposing of the munitions. Although the Army considers the likelihood of a chemical release at one of its eight storage sites to be extremely small, the health effects of an accident can be severe. Some munitions contain nerve agents, which can disrupt the nervous system and lead to loss of muscular control and death. Others contain a series of blister agents commonly, but incorrectly, referred to as mustard agents, which blister the skin and can be lethal in large amounts. State and local officials, in accordance with state laws, have primary responsibility for developing and implementing emergency response programs for communities in the event of an emergency. In 1988, the Army established CSEPP to assist communities near the chemical stockpile storage sites to enhance existing emergency preparedness and response capabilities in the unlikely event of a chemical accident. Most communities near the sites had little capability to respond to a chemical emergency when CSEPP began. Threats to the stockpile include external events such as earthquakes, airplane crashes, and tornadoes and internal events such as spontaneous leakage of chemical agent, accidents during handling and maintenance activities, and self-ignition of propellant. The effect of a chemical stockpile accident would depend on such things as the amount and type of agent released, meteorological conditions, and the community’s proximity to the storage site and emergency response capabilities. The Department of the Army is responsible for managing and funding CSEPP. Section 1521(c)(3) of 50 U.S.C. states that the Secretary of Defense may make grants to state and local governments, either directly or through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to assist those governments in carrying out functions related to emergency preparedness. Under a memorandum of understanding, the Army delegated partial management of the program to FEMA. As the primary source of technical expertise in chemical weapons, the Army determines overall program direction and provides funding. As the primary source of expertise in emergency preparedness, FEMA distributes Army funds to states through cooperative agreements and provides technical assistance. “Cooperative agreements” are legal instruments that provide federal funds when there will be substantial involvement by federal agencies in the management of state and local programs. In contrast to cooperative agreements, “federal grants” are legal instruments that provide funds when there will be no substantial federal involvement. Program funds flow from the Army to FEMA headquarters, through FEMA regional offices, and to the states. States provide funds to counties as their subgrantees. According to CSEPP guidance, FEMA is responsible for working with state and local governments in developing emergency preparedness plans, upgrading community response capabilities, and conducting training. A combined Army and FEMA office, called the CSEPP Core Team, coordinates and implements public affairs, exercises, training, communications, and other activities for the program. (See app. I for funds allocated to CSEPP entities for fiscal years 1988 through 1995.) At the state level, the Alabama EMA is responsible for CSEPP and other emergency programs. Six Alabama counties participate in the program: Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, St. Clair, and Talladega. Of the six counties, Calhoun County has the largest population at risk and has received most of the funds. Calhoun EMA manages CSEPP and other emergency programs for the county. Anniston Army Depot in Alabama stores 661,000 chemical weapons containing more than 2,200 tons of nerve and mustard agents. Included in Anniston’s stockpile are approximately 78,000 nerve agent-filled M55 rockets, the stockpile’s most unstable weapon. Before constructing its chemical stockpile disposal facility at Anniston and other stockpile sites, the Army is required to obtain certain permits and approvals from federal, state, and local regulatory agencies. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq), the Environmental Protection Agency has delegated the administration of the environmental permitting process to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (DEM). Since 1989, the Army and FEMA have awarded Alabama $46 million, more than any other state, for CSEPP. Table 1 shows that as of March 1995 Alabama had spent only one-third of the $46 million and that Calhoun County, whose share of the $46 million is $30.2 million, had spent only one-fifth of its money. Alabama and its counties have not been able to spend most of the CSEPP funds allocated to them because (1) FEMA, state, and local officials cannot agree on specific requirements for major capital projects and (2) FEMA has not provided Alabama or Calhoun County officials permission to spend some of the funds. According to FEMA, the unexpended funds are mostly the result of Calhoun County’s refusal to initiate the CSEPP projects until the Army and FEMA agree to all of the county’s demands related to specific requirements. According to Calhoun County EMA, the agency does not initiate actions that do not conform to CSEPP guidance and could be detrimental to providing maximum protection to the public. When disputes related to specific requirements occur, there is no established approach for negotiating an agreement among federal, state, and local officials. More than 83 percent of Alabama’s unexpended funds are associated with four projects: 800-MHz communications system, collective protection of special facilities, tone alert radios, and personal protective equipment. On the basis of CSEPP-funded studies, Calhoun County EMA concluded in 1990 that the county’s conventional communications system did not meet CSEPP requirements. In 1992, the Army and FEMA determined that every CSEPP jurisdiction should have a functioning communications system connecting the Army installation, state EMA, and immediate response zone counties. The immediate response zone is the area generally extending approximately 6 to 9 miles around the storage site and the area considered at the greatest risk from a chemical release. The Army and FEMA approved a CSEPP 800-MHz communications system for Alabama in 1993 and authorized $8.8 million and $4.4 million in fiscal years 1994 and 1995, respectively. FEMA subsequently authorized an additional $3 million, bringing total funding for the system to $16.2 million. The communications system is an integrated, simulcast network with 20 channels that operate at a frequency of 800-MHz. The system will enable Alabama emergency workers to communicate inter- and intra-agency without having to wait for a channel to clear if someone is using it. The system is also the platform to simultaneously activate sirens and tone alert radios. In the authorization, FEMA also said the precise number of radios, their distribution, and follow-on radios would be decided by negotiations among FEMA, state, and county officials. Despite several years of studying, meeting, and negotiating, Alabama does not have an integrated 800 MHz communications system for CSEPP. Federal, state, and local officials did not agree on the number and distribution of the 800-MHz radios until April 23, 1996. In addition, FEMA officials decided to place a $1-million repeater tower and some radios in Talladega County’s precautionary zone. The “precautionary zone” is the area beyond 21 to 30 miles from the storage site and, under most conditions, beyond where CSEPP activities are required and where a repeater tower would be located. However, Calhoun and St. Clair county officials believe placing the tower and radios in the precautionary zone does not comply with program guidance. Some equipment will be nearly 50 miles from the Anniston Army Depot. As a result, Calhoun EMA, which is managing the contract for the 800-MHz system, was reluctant to award the contract. According to FEMA, the 800-MHz communications system is not in place because Calhoun County EMA refused to initiate work on the contract until the county’s demand for additional radios was met. According to the Calhoun EMA Director, his agency only supports projects that provide goods, services, and equipment in compliance with CSEPP guidance. On April 23, 1996, federal, state, and county officials met to resolve the issues that were delaying the implementation of the CSEPP 800-MHz project in Alabama. At the meeting, federal officials agreed to provide additional 800-MHz radios to Alabama and Calhoun and Talladega counties. Calhoun County EMA awarded the 800-MHz contract on May 30, 1996. According to Calhoun EMA, the contractor has 16 months from the contract award date to manufacture and install the communications system. In 1989, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory concluded that, in the event of an accidental release of chemical agent, a chemical plume could cover sections of Calhoun County’s immediate response zone in 1 hour. (See app. II for a description of the potential distribution of the hazard from a chemical release.) Oak Ridge also concluded in the 1989 report that evacuation was not recommended for the general population in Anniston’s immediate response zone and recommended expedient sheltering. According to another Oak Ridge National Laboratory draft report in 1991, Calhoun County residents would take 5 hours and 45 minutes to evacuate the greater Anniston area. The Oak Ridge’s estimate is the clearance time required for 100 percent of the vehicles to evacuate the area during bad weather at nighttime. On the basis of the Oak Ridge studies, Calhoun County EMA officials believe that it would be impossible to safely evacuate everyone.