NEWS

The Pueblo Chemical Depot's mission to destroy munitions is winding down. What comes next?

Justin Reutter
The Pueblo Chieftain
Maintenance employees wear protective equipment used in one of the final destruction processes at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) on Thursday, June 8, 2023.

The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant is looking toward the future and celebrating its success as it nears the completion of its longstanding campaign to destroy all remaining 4.2-inch mortar shells loaded with mustard agent.

The Pueblo Chemical Depot originally stored 780,078 munitions, containing 2,613 tons of mustard agent, or around 8.5% of the U.S. stockpile.

Kingston A. Reif, deputy assistant secretary of defense for threat reduction and arms control, praised the work of the 1,500 workers that made the destruction of the chemical munitions possible by the treaty deadline of Sept. 30, 2023, saying the workers helped make a "safer, more moral world."

"As recently as a few years ago, we weren't sure if we could meet our treaty commitment, so the fact we're on the doorstep of doing so is no small feat," he said.

"I can't emphasize enough the importance of meeting our treaty commitment, for the strength of the chemical weapons convention, for strengthening the norm against the possession and use of chemicals weapons — especially amid the current international security environment — and for our moral and diplomatic leadership."

Here's why the stockpile is being destroyed

Pueblo is one of the last two sites nationwide to complete destruction of chemical munitions; the other facility is located in Bluegrass, Kentucky.

These stockpiles are the last declared stockpiles to be destroyed by signatory nations to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was signed by all but four countries across the globe. However, Reif noted that the United States believes that Russia and Syria have undeclared stockpiles, and both countries have used chemical weapons in recent years in violation of the convention.

Additionally, nations not party to the convention, particularly North Korea, are also believed to have large stockpiles.

"A key challenge for the convention, currently and moving forward, will be noncompliance. It will be important for the international community to speak with one voice, the United States is certainly a leader in this area, to hold those violators accountable," Reif said.

"Another goal continues to be the universalization of the convention, bringing the four states that are not party to the treaty into the treaty. And that is why it is so important for the U.S. to meet its obligation to destroy its declared stockpile by its commitment date under the treaty, to maintain that moral high ground as we continue to hold violators accountable, push for universalization of the treaty and build support among other parties to the convention for both of those objectives."

Chemical munitions sit in rows waiting to continue the destruction process at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) on Thursday, June 8, 2023.

What's been destroyed to this point, and what remains?

The depot originally stored three types of munitions: 155 mm artillery shells, 105 mm artillery shells and 4.2-inch mortar shells, according to the Pueblo Chemical Depot.

Chemical weapons destruction in Colorado began in March 2015, and the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) began destruction of chemical munitions in Pueblo on Sept. 7, 2016. From September 2016 through September 2020, the Pueblo team destroyed nearly 300,000 of the 155 mm shells.

From December 2020 through July 2022, they destroyed more than 383,000 105mm shells.

"We started out with (destruction of) 47,000 rounds in a given year, and we turned that around to 243,000 rounds in less than four years," said Kimberly Jackson, plant manager for PCAPP. "That is unbelievable performance, and it's all attributed to the workers who really care about each other and really care about the mission."

Maintenence employees work the Lareral A Entry at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) on Thursday, June 8, 2023.

What happens to employees when the mission's complete?

After destroying the final shells, of which there are approximately 4,000, much of the land will be repurposed and the facilities torn down. The process of tearing down and repurposing the land is expected to take two to three more years after the completion of the destruction campaign, according to Michael S. Abaie, program executive officer for the Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternative, which is responsible for overseeing the destruction of chemical munitions.

The roughly 1,500 employees at the facility will stay throughout closure operations, according to Abaie.

Abaie described the workforce as a highly trained, specialized group, many of whom receive clearances before being allowed to work at the facility. Roughly 50% of the workforce is from Pueblo County, he said.

The plant is also working with companies both across the United States and locally to connect workers with job opportunities, said Jackson, who also holds the title of vice president at Amentum, one of the four main companies whose employees work at the plant.

"We've had a strategy for several years about, what can we do to take care of this incredible workforce? We've been working with our companies about what other projects are available, and how can we get those folks programmed into those other projects? We don't want to lose our employees, they're phenomenal," she said.

Munitions work their way through an explosive containment unit at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) during a media event on Thursday, June 8, 2023.

Career fairs are also being held for both national and local employers, Jackson said.

"We had a corporate career fair in April, we brought in 20 different projects, and the day they left, they told (Bechtel Pueblo Team Project Manager Todd Ailes) and myself, 'This is a gold mine of talent,' " she said. "They've never seen a workforce so energized and skilled, and for the next three years they're going to keep coming back to help us and line up with our closure plan."

For employees that want to stay local, Jackson said they will be holding a local career fair next week, and local employers have been coming out to the plant to speak to workers about what they do and what opportunities may be available.

"We're going to continue doing that so that every single person has an opportunity, because it matters. These are people that have done something so important for our company, we need to do everything we can to help them as they leave this adventure and move on to the next," Jackson said.

Site is likely to be repurposed for industrial development in the future

Meanwhile, the land itself will be likely repurposed for industry, said Russel Desalvo III, president of the local redevelopment authority PuebloPlex.

"PuebloPlex currently has 16,000 acres of surplus property and we're presently redeveloping that land," DeSalvo said.

"As we move forward to acquire this facility in the not-too-distant future, our intent is to reuse those assets that can be safely reused for some type of industrial purpose. We have commissioned a study to study the infrastructure and the facilities here and the PCAPP footprint and we are awaiting a response from the consulting team as to which systems can and should be reused and what types of industries can use this type of infrastructure — think battery production, think aerospace, biofuels manufacturing, recycling. There's lots of potential."

A heat treated munition rolls off the line for disposal at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) on Thursday, June 8, 2023.

As the end of the project draws near, U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet introduced the Promoting Utilization and Economic Benefits from Land Optimization (PUEBLO) Act on Thursday.

The bill would direct the U.S. Army to close the Pueblo Chemical Depot no later than one year after completing the chemical demilitarization mission using the base realignment and closure process, allowing "seamless transfer of Department of Defense land to a designated Local Redevelopment Authority to redevelop the land," according to a joint news release from the two senators.

PuebloPlex has been formally designated as said LRA, according to the release.

In a rare show of bipartisan cooperation, U.S. House Rep. Lauren Boebert also introduced the “Pueblo Jobs Act” bill in the House of Representatives in April.

The House bill would require the U.S. Army secretary to close the plant “in a manner that will provide economic certainty and support at least a thousand jobs in Pueblo,” Boebert’s office stated in a news release.

On Aug. 30, PCAPP will hold an event celebrating the end of the chemical weapons stockpile in Colorado at the Pueblo Convention Center, starting at 2 p.m.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.