DEA no longer paying for meth lab cleanups

Wednesday, March 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation will have to tighten its belt in order to pay for the cleanup of methamphetamine labs, now that a federal agency is no longer handling the costs.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stopped paying for cleanup of labs it is not involved in investigating because money from a federal program has dried up, OSBI spokeswoman Kym Koch said.

"What this means is that if a local sheriff calls us today, we'll process the scene and do the analysis, but we don't have money for the cleanup," Koch said.

"But since we're mandated, we'll have to look at cutting other programs in our budget to the tune of a half million dollars."

The OSBI is required by state law to coordinate the cleanup, transportation and disposal of chemicals from Oklahoma meth lab sites.

For the past three years, the state has relied on DEA money andmoney from a federal Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, program to help with cleanup.

In the year ending Oct. 31, the state spent about $110,000 on lab cleanups. During that same period, the DEA contributed $930,000, with about equal amounts coming from its own budget and from the COPS program.

Bureau officials planned to meet today with leaders in the state House and Senate to discuss a supplemental appropriation. The agency has about two weeks worth of meth lab funds left and is asking for $500,000 to process an anticipated 276 meth labs before the fiscal year ends June 30.

The bureau also is asking Oklahoma congressmen to sign a letter requesting Attorney General Janet Reno to add $5 million to the drug administration budget this year and specifically direct $500,000 to Oklahoma for meth lab cleanup.

"This isn't just a plea for money; we budget conservatively," Koch said. "We consider this a crisis."