Berkeley County Commissioners heard from the director of the Berkeley County office of Homeland Security Steve Allen at Thursday’s commission meeting to discuss what should be done to recover costs from a deployment of the county’s Hazardous Incident Response Team to Morgan County earlier this year.  The team was dispatched to the Berkeley Springs Water Treatment Plant after a chlorine leak was reported, but after leaving the homeland security office they received word that a team from Washington County was already on the scene.  The vehicles and crew turned around in Hedgesville and returned to the office.

A bill for $1,400 for labor and vehicles was sent to Morgan County, but there is dispute about whether or not they should have to pay the money since the Berkeley County team never actually arrived on the scene.  Allen said that it costs money to maintain and operate the advanced equipment used by the Hazmat team.  Normally whoever is responsible for the incident requiring cleanup is billed by the county, but Allen said the bill has never gone to another governmental agency before.

There is currently no policy in place for this type of interaction, but Thursday County Commissioners recommended that one be established.  Commissioners will look at the situation again at their next meeting.  Berkeley County Commissioner Ron Collins appeared on Friday’s Panhandle Live and said he hopes the county can recover some of the money from Morgan County, but does not expect to see it all.

Categories: Local News
Tags: Allen, Berkeley County, Berkeley Springs, Collins, Hazmat, Homeland Security, Morgan County