Congresman Buyer received the following response to an inquiry about the possibility of the Divine Strake explosives testing occuring in Indiana. Hoosiers will be happy to know that the testing is NOT being considered in Indiana.

Click Here to read the Response to Buyer from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Read the story below from the Bloomington Herald Times, August 30, 2006

No Big Bomb Blast Coming to Mitchell: Federal Government says it has 'no plan' to detonate 700 tons of explosives in Indiana

Story by Jason Mullis and Laura Lane

MITCHELL - The federal government says it will not be detonating 700 tons of explosives in Lawrence County. Rumors have been flying in recent weeks about a $23 million bunker-busting weapons test - dubbed "Divine Strake" - for a Rogers Group Inc. limestone quarry on Ind. 60 near Mitchell.

"The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has no plans to conduct Divine Strake in the state of Indiana," Michael Evenson, the agency's acting director, said in a letter dated Tuesday. "Any discussion to the contrary is incorrect."

On Monday, Rogers Group Vice President Greg Gould also said no immense military bomb testing would take place at the company's Mitchell facility.

"We do not intend to have any blast beyond what we typically have for our mining operations," said Gould, vice president at Rogers Group, which owns the quarry west of Mitchell.

"Rogers Group has not been in contact with the DTRA (Defense Threat Reduction Agency) about Divine Strake, and we do not expect to be."

Gould made his comments in the wake of a news conference outside of city hall in which Mitchell's mayor had decried the test plan.

Rogers Group has cooperated with the U.S. Government two previous times in the testing of much smaller ordnance than Divine Strake would entail.

"About a year ago, they called us and asked if Rogers Group would be interested in allowing them to do some basic testing at our Mitchell facility," Gould said. "We said, 'Maybe, tell us exactly what you have in mind.'"

After the same process used in evaluating blasting rock faces, it was determined the tests would be safe.

"Those shots were not huge," said Gary Pavlis, a professor of geological sciences at Indiana University. "They were smaller, actually, than what a quarry typically explodes, anyway."

Pavlis noted the effects of those tests in ground-readings that had been collected in the area around the test site for educational purposes.

He said the blasts didn't exceed the state maximum of one inch per second of ground velocity, which dictates how big an explosion is allowed in Indiana.

Divine Strake could exceed that maximum - if it happened here.

Speculation about the test began when a Nevada newspaper reported the test site might not be Nevada and mentioned quarry tests near Bedford.

Rogers Group said the previous tests were conducted in 2004 and 2005. Spokeswoman Margaret Angell said Rogers Group was compensated for allowing the tests, but would not say how much the payment way.

Since then, environmental groups and peace coalitions have met in Bloomington to discuss how to keep the tests from coming to Mitchell.

Congressional hopeful David Sanders, a Democrat running against Republican incumbent Steve Buyer, has called a news conference for 10 a.m. today in Mitchell to review citizen concerns.

According to Gould, none of the upset was necessary.

"The first I ever heard of Divine Strake was a week to 10 days ago when I read about it in the paper," Gould said. "Prior to that, I was ignorant of what Divine Strake even was."

Mitchell Mayor Morris "Butch" Chastain said he is relieved the situation has been straightened out.