Deseret Depot is getting reprieve

WASHINGTON — The Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted 7-1 Wednesday not to close the Deseret Chemical Depot — apparently after Republicans in the Utah delegation called on the Army to conduct a feasibility study of a proposal by local officials to convert it for the "demilitarization" of conventional weapons.

The proposal is being billed as coming from the local community, something the commission called "intriguing." And the commission lamented the fact it had not had sufficient time to consider it in detail.

The commission vote ignored Army officials, who told the commission Deseret Chemical was not designed for demilitarization of conventional weapons and that it would be too costly.

The BRAC vote directed the Army to take a closer look.

"We think it is a wise thing to do to at least allow a little more flexibility as to Deseret's future," said Scott Parker, chief of staff to Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah. "All we are saying is let us look at our options further."

The commission on Wednesday signed off on all but a handful of the Pentagon's plans to close, shrink or expand Army and Navy facilities from coast to coast. The two biggest rejections — the commission voted to keep open the Portsmouth shipyard in Kittery, Maine, and the New London submarine base in Groton, Conn. — would save 12,000 jobs.

The commission continues voting today. Its recommendations must be sent by Sept. 8 to President Bush, who can accept them or reject them in their entirety. Congress also will have a chance to veto the plan but has not taken that step in four previous rounds of closures.

Regarding Deseret Chemical Depot, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. wants to wait and see the results of the Army study but "will continue to stand firm against the transportation and the storage and disposal of chemicals that pose harm to citizens," his spokeswoman, Tammy Kikuchi, said.

Jason Groenewold, director of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, said that by voting to keep the depot open, the federal government broke its promise to Utah. "The promise we were given is that once the last chemical weapon is destroyed here, they would take down the facility and forever remove the problem from our community," he said.

Alaine Southworth, Deseret Chemical Depot public affairs spokeswoman, it would be "unfair for me to comment" since it's still just part of the BRAC process. She said Deseret officials would wait until the president made his final decision before commenting on "how it will affect us."