[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 979 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 979

  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 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 require that additional emergency warning 
   sirens be provided for communities near chemical stockpile sites.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In section 1412 of the Department of Defense 
        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 munitions. In subsection (c)(1)(A) of that section, 
        Congress required that the Secretary, in carrying out the 
        stockpile elimination, provide for maximum protection 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 requirement 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 Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness 
        Program (CSEPP) to enhance the capabilities of local 
        communities 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 Emergency Management Agency to provide Federal 
        emergency response funds and assistance to State and local 
        emergency management agencies for the purpose 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), reported the following:
                    (A) Although the Army has worked for five years and 
                spent about $200,000,000, communities near chemical 
                weapons storage sites are not yet prepared to respond 
                to a chemical emergency.
                    (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 communities, for tone alert radios to 
                provide instructions 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 Comptroller 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 occurred 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 Management 
                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 subsection (a), 
Congress is greatly concerned that the funds being provided for the 
Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness 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 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate a report on expenditures 
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 Program, shown by expenditures for 
administration, personnel (including those on the State and local 
level), travel, contract work, communications, automation, alert and 
notification devices, and emergency operations centers.
    (c) Justification.--The report shall include a justification for 
all of the monies expended for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency 
Preparedness Program administration, 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 Secretary of Defense, 
in carrying out the chemical munitions stockpile destruction program, 
provide for maximum protection 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 designated 
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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