By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

In the event of a disaster, each county is responsible for managing and clearing debris and, after a six month process, Ellis County has a federally approved plan.

Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Ring told the Ellis County Commission on Monday night that six members of the public works staff and one from information technology took part in a three-day class conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ring said the group of county employees took what they learned in the class and developed a plan from a list of federal and state rules and guidelines.

Once the plan is approved by Ellis County, it is then sent to the state for approval and then to FEMA for their approval.

According to Ring, the county is required to have a plan to remove debris in the event of a disaster.

“Normal disaster debris cannot be co-mingled with normal household trash, so we have to have a site designated for where we are going to manage the debris until we determine how much there is, what kinds we have and then what the final outcome will be,” Ring said.

Ring also said that because the plan was approved by FEMA, the county is entitled to an additional 2 percent reimbursement payment for removing debris.

The plan is good for five years.

Ring also recently completed training allowing him to lead two upper level FEMA Incident Command System courses.

Ring said he is working on a plan of teaching an ICS class for elected officials designed to show senior officials what they could encounter during a disaster.

He said he would like to offer the class to all government officials in Ellis County and possibly include Trego County officials.