"Even though the weapons are now gone, we have these legacy issues to deal with from that successful operation," says Craig Williams, who has long been the public’s go-to guy when it comes to the weapons destruction at the Blue Grass Army Depot. The member of the Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board said, while Friday was a milestone for the project and the entire country, it’s not the last chapter in the story.
"Obviously there are going to be a number of issues associated with the infrastructure that is where the disposal facility was located, as well as the workforce that was there, to see if we can't integrate them into existing industries or attract new industries to take advantage of the highly trained, highly security-cleared workforce there," he explains.
And so, the public meetings will continue, now shifting the focus to what happens next – with the first of a series of listening sessions scheduled for this Thursday.
Williams says a number of entities are working on transitioning workers and several as-of-yet-unnamed industries that are interested in the facilities. The meetings will be a chance for people to weigh in on what they do and don’t want to see happen in and around the depot.
"If there are proposals on the table that the community believes would not be acceptable due to environmental or public health concerns, those could be brought up as well," Williams says.
Also underway right now is a feasibility study that’s taking a broad look at the future of the depot that was included in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act.
So while the chemical weapons work wraps up, it’s actually a busy time at the depot as new discussions begin about what lies ahead for the workforce and operation built up over years – and what might take its place.
That public conversations starts at 6 PM, July 13, at the Madison County Joint Information Center.
