CDA signs for depot land
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, September 27th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – The Columbia Development Authority has signed the papers accepting the transfer of the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot land to the CDA. There’s one more step. The U.S. Army will be signing the agreements and returning them to the authority.
“I’m told that will take just a few weeks,” Umatilla County Board of Commissioners John Shafer said.
It’s been a long time coming. The process has involved years of red tape as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Act.
“I thought it would be today, but I know how long it’s taken, so I didn’t want to say anything before it was a sure thing,” Shafer said.
The land that used to store chemical weapons is being divided by the partners in the CDA. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will create a wildlife preserve on it and the Oregon National Guard is already working on a large training center, Camp Umatilla. A relatively small but geographically important piece of the depot will be opened for industrial development by Umatilla and Morrow counties and the ports of both counties. That piece of land is the closest to Interstate 84 and Interstate 82.
Destruction of all the chemical weapons at the depot began in 2004. The site covers almost 20 square miles.
