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Worcester County OKs letter asking federal help to remove unexploded ordnance on Assateague
Summary
County commissioners approved sending a letter to the federal delegation asking for federal remediation of unexploded ordnance on Assateague Island after the fire marshal outlined multi-hour, recurring responses and per-incident costs.
Worcester County commissioners voted Jan. 20 to send a letter to the county’s federal delegation asking for assistance to remediate unexploded ordnance found on Assateague Island.
Commissioner Bertino introduced the request from county staff, saying the memo was clear and asking how much time, effort and money each incident requires. The county’s fire marshal (unnamed in the transcript) described standard incident response: park and secure a perimeter around the item, call the Ocean City bomb squad (or Dover Air Force Base before remote review procedures), and have the ordnance X-rayed and evaluated. "Time wise it's between three-five hours on each incident," the marshal said, and Ocean City charges about $450 for an on-site response; that figure does not include county personnel, vehicle fuel or equipment maintenance costs.
County staff said rangers typically take a hands-off approach until bomb technicians evaluate the threat, and that most finds occur near the North Beach parking lot, a high-use area in summer. Commissioners said the objective of the letter is to ask the federal government to take primary responsibility for cleanup or remediation rather than leaving recurring operations and costs to the county.
The board moved and seconded the measure and recorded a unanimous vote in favor.
The letter will ask the federal delegation to consider remediation options for unexploded ordnance on Assateague; the county did not specify a timeline for federal action or exact funding requests at the meeting.
