The leader of Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA) addressed the Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens’ Advisory Commission (CAC) Oct. 28 in Pueblo, Colorado.

Conrad Whyne, program executive officer, PEO ACWA, presented the Baseline Chemical Demilitarization Success Model, to explain his outlook for reducing risk and identifying savings at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP).

Whyne said the baseline program, managed by the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity, was able to cut years off the operations schedule by working with regulators, communities and systems contractor operators.

Permit modifications for individual pieces of equipment, processes and procedures and minor adjustments were key points to safe acceleration of the baseline program, he said.

“By reducing risk early, money was saved,” Whyne said. ”I’ve challenged the ACWA program to capture some of those key lessons from baseline sites in order to achieve the fastest and safest elimination of the stockpile.”

“The first time personnel operate equipment, they are going to find things that need to be improved,” Whyne said. “PCAPP needs to work as a team [with state regulators] to come up with a solution, fix the problem, complete the proper paperwork and get it [the equipment] back into operations.”

“We recognize not everything will apply to Pueblo because we will use different technologies and have different state laws,” said Irene Kornelly, chair, CAC. “However, I am encouraged that we are using lessons learned from other sites.”