IDAHO'S GOP GOVERNOR DECRIES LACK OF METH LAB CLEANUP FUNDS

WASHINGTON - Federal funding that states use to clean up seized
methamphetamine drug labs has dried up, leaving communities with a
legacy of toxic chemicals and no money to get rid of them, Idaho's
Republican governor complained today.

"Every time a meth lab is shut down, we're left with a toxic time
bomb. And the more labs that we put out of business, the more time
bombs are left ticking," Gov. Dirk Kempthorne said in the GOP's weekly
radio address.

The Drug Enforcement Administration told state and local agencies this
month that cleanup funds that were supposed to last until the end of
September have been used up. It can cost as much as $10,000 to dispose
of the chemicals and equipment left over from each drug lab.

Methamphetamine, also known as meth or speed, "remains one of the most
dangerous substances America has ever confronted," White House drug
policy director Barry McCaffrey told a congressional committee Thursday.

He said that while "substantial progress" had been made in the fight
against illegal drugs during the past year, methamphetamines have a
"serious potential nationally to become the next 'crack' cocaine epidemic."

Kempthorne said an alliance of federal, state, and local law
enforcement has had great success in breaking up meth labs in Idaho,
which saw a 74 percent increase in the number of labs shut down last
year. But more seizures means toxic materials to clean up, he said.

The criminals who produce meth are reckless, leaving behind extremely
poisonous and environmentally hazardous byproducts, Kempthorne said.

In one Idaho case, he said, a suspect was caught dumping chemicals out
the window of a house that was next door to a church preschool.

In Arkansas, which led the nation last year in meth lab seizures, per
capita, DEA officials are working with representatives of local
agencies to find other funding.

One possibility is the DEA's asset-forfeiture fund, but use of that
money requires DEA involvement at the beginning of a meth
investigation and the likelihood that assets will be seized.

Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating has written a letter to Attorney General
Janet Reno asking her to work with the DEA to find an additional
$500,000 needed by his state's Bureau of Investigation to continue
their cleanup program through June.

Kempthorne said the Clinton administration should revise its proposed
budget for the coming year because it currently lacks any money for
the cleanup efforts.

He added that the House should address the situation next week when
it's scheduled to take up an emergency appropriations bill for the
current fiscal year.