News Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Over the weekend, Day & Zimmermann, Inc., (D&Z), a leading provider of caliber munitions and components, announced that they signed the Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&SA) with the U.S. Army on a negotiated sale of 4,112 acres of property near Parsons, Kan., formerly known as the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant. Today, the Army announced that they will accept the P&SA as executed by both parties, which marks the end of more than seven years of negotiations. Sens. Roberts and Moran have worked with Congresswoman Jenkins and the Army to help facilitate this resolution.

“The Army announced today it will accept Day and Zimmermann’s commitment to the purchase and sale agreement for their portion of the Parsons’ property,” Sen. Roberts said. “We are one step closer to closing the book on a long effort to transfer the site to the community and industry. It has been an eight year effort working hand in hand with then Senator and now Governor Sam Brownback, Senator Jerry Moran, Reps. Jim Ryun, Nancy Boyda and later Lynn Jenkins. This is great news for Parsons as it begins to redevelop the remaining section of the Army Ammunition Plant and focus on creating even more jobs in Southeast Kansas.”

“I am pleased to see that negotiations are resolved and the Army will accept the P&SA signed by D&Z,” Sen. Moran said. “The agreement will preserve 150 jobs and keep plant operations open—all good news for the Parsons community and for Kansas.”

The Army provided a final P&SA offer in December, and in January, Sens. Roberts and Moran and Congresswoman Jenkins wrote to Secretary of the Army John McHugh to continue to work through the negotiation process regarding environmental cleanup and other services to come to an amenable resolution. It was clear that if D&Z did not sign the P&SA, 150 jobs would be at risk with closure of the plant in July 2013. The Senators expressed then and still believe now that the community of Parsons depended greatly on the success of this transfer.

The next steps in the property transfer will involve coordination of environmental permit transfer and property deed execution. Then, the Army will provide $20.25 million in Base Realignment and Close Process (BRAC) environmental restoration funding to D&Z. Together with the conveyance of the munitions infrastructure, this funding is intended to compensate D&Z for completing the tasks as specified in the executed P&SA.

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