The 1994 Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress Wednesday should stop some missiles from flying over Utah and preserve manufacture of others on the ground there.
It should also ease the closure of Tooele Army Depot, help ensure the safety of destroying chemical arms there and allow nearly $40 million worth of construction at Utah military bases - including a controversial germ warfare defense lab.The Senate voted 77-22 Wednesday to give final approval to the bill, which the House approved earlier this week. Utah provisions in it include:
- A one-year ban on firing missiles from Green River, Utah, to White Sands, N.M. - where other missiles would attempt to shoot them down. The tests would have dropped a 1,100-pound booster in a 200-square-mile area near Canyonlands National Park.
The tests were opposed by environmental groups and Moab residents but sought by Green River residents who hoped it would bring jobs. Rep. Karen Shepherd, D-Utah, led the drive to temporarily ban the tests within 50 miles of Canyonlands.
She hopes to make the ban permanent next year. Until then, she said "hikers and mountain bikers (will) be able to enjoy this area without worrying if a missile is about to drop out of the sky on them."
- Allowing continued construction of the D-5 missile, which provides about 1,000 jobs in Utah - evenly split between Hercules and Thiokol. The bill allows spending $983 million to procure 24 of the nuclear missiles for submarines next year. Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, led the fight to protect the D-5.
- Allowing spending $248 million to buy 216 Tomahawk cruise missiles for the Navy. Williams International in Ogden, which employs 400 people, makes the engines for those missiles.
- Allowing $40 million worth of construction at Utah military bases. That includes $16.5 million for a controversial new Life Sciences Test Facility at Dugway Proving Ground to develop defenses against biological warfare.
The Army said it will replace old facilities, but critics worry it could lead to new exotic testing. Five years ago, the Army dropped plans amid stiff opposition for a similar lab that would have allowed work on germs with no known cure. The new lab now will allow work only on germs and diseases with cures.
The bill also includes $16.3 million to upgrade utilities and fire protection at Hill Air Force Base; $1.5 million for a Treaty Compliance Facility at Tooele Army Depot; $1.92 million for Battle Training Range Improvements at Camp Williams; and $3.6 million for improvements to Utah Air National Guard facilities at Salt Lake International Airport.
- Preventing the Defense Department from removing high-tech robotics and other truck repair equipment at the Consolidated Maintenance Facility at Tooele Army Depot's North Area. The North Area was ordered closed by 1997, and Hansen wanted the language to increase chances that private industry may buy the facility.
- Other provisions allow sale of facilities at closing military bases for less than market value to communities - and to give communities higher priority than other federal agencies and homeless organizations in obtaining the bases.
- Requiring the Defense Department to certify that a new plant to burn chemical arms at Tooele Army Depot's South Area will not jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of surrounding areas. It also requires a report outlining how the plant will be operated and managed once Tooele's North Area is closed.
- Providing $253 million for the "Brilliant Eyes" program for advanced spy satellites. Utah State University's Space Dynamic Laboratory receives much of its funding through such programs.
- Providing $2 billion to continue production of the C-17 cargo plane, which is built by McDonnell-Douglas, which has a Salt Lake manufacturing facility. Flameco Engineering in Ogden is also a major supplier for the C-17, Hansen said.
- A Hansen provision that says Congress feels military depot maintenance should be performed in the United States as long as it is cost-effective. Hill Air Force Base has been battling a Canadian firm, Heroux, over a $16 million contract for the overhaul of landing gear.
All members of the Utah delegation supported final passage of the bill - except Hansen and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch. Ironically, Hansen, had fought to include most of the Utah provisions as a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
He said he opposed it because it cuts defense too much. He said when he complains to the Clinton administration about that, "you get this `vacant cow' look. They don't know what you're talking about. It hasn't sunk in yet."