Pueblo Depot Activity
Upon this redesignation the missile maintenance mission was transferred to Letterkenny Army Depot in Pennsylvania, and responsibility for the Activity was shifted from Army Ordnance, to Tooele Army Depot in Utah. The Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure recommended realignment for Pueblo Depot Activity in its 1988 report. This realignment transferred most of the previous responsibilities to other installations. The only remaining mission for the Depot was the secure storage of the chemical agents already there. Responsibility for the Depot shifted from Tooele, to the US Army Materiel Command headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The empty bunkers and warehouses which used to store the non-chemical munitions and other supplies as well as repair and manufacturing facilities were turned over to the Pueblo Depot Activity Development Authority who currently offer these properties for civilian lease purposes.
Lethal Unitary Chemical Agents and Munitions
In 1952 Pueblo Depot Activity received its first shipment of chemical agents. These agents were trucked from Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver, Colorado. Upon receipt of these munitions for secure storage, PUDA became one of eight installations within the United States where chemical weapons are stored. The depot created an exclusion zone within its bounds specifically for this purpose. It was rather like a depot within a depot. It was designated as the Chemical Depot, of Pueblo Depot Activity. These actions would prove to save the installation from closure when it was considered in 1988. Because of the chemical stockpiles it was realigned rather than closed. It is scheduled for closure in 2022 when it completes what will be its last mission, the safe elimination of all remaining chemical stockpiles. This process began in 2015 and is being done through on-site neutralization.
See also
References
- ^ "Pueblo Army Depot mission and time-line". Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
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(help) - ^ "Pueblo Depot Activity". Archived from the original on March 12, 2012.
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(help) - ^ "Pueblo Depot Activity Development Authority". Archived from the original on 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
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(help) - ^ "The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) - Pueblo, Colorado". Cma.army.mil. Archived from the original on 2014-01-15. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
External links
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CO-22, "Pueblo Depot Activity, 15 miles east of Pueblo, Pueblo County, CO", 57 data pages