By Phil Kabler
Staff writer

The Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State officials insisted Tuesday they did the best job possible responding to major snowstorms in December and this month, within the constraints of the state's budget.

Despite limited snow-removal budgets compared to some neighboring states, West Virginia was the only state hit by the Feb. 5-6 "Snowmageddon" that was able to keep all major highways open, Homeland Security Director Jimmy Gianato noted during a two-hour public hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee.

Likewise, state National Guard Adjutant General Allen Tackett said the storm recovery efforts by the Guard, Division of Highways, emergency services agencies and local authorities were the best he's seen.

"In the 47 years I've been doing this, it was probably the best coordinated effort between all the agencies we've ever had," said Tackett.

However, Transportation Chairman John Unger, D-Berkeley, said constituents in the snow-ravaged Eastern Panhandle don't share that enthusiasm.

"When I went home, I tried to find a person who was well-satisfied, and I couldn't," he said of the February storm, which dumped 28 inches or more on parts of the Eastern Panhandle.

Unger asked Highways officials why Interstate 81 through West Virginia was still snow- and ice-covered after counterparts in Virginia and Maryland had cleared their sections of the highway.

State Highways Engineer Marvin Murphy noted that Virginia pays private contractors to be on standby for snow-removal efforts, something West Virginia can't do.

"We can't afford every time we have a snow to hire contractors at $200 an hour," he said.

"We can't afford not to do it," Unger shot back.

"We have children in the Eastern Panhandle who haven't gone to school for a week -- how can we afford that?" he said. "We have people on hourly wages who can't get to work -- how can we afford that? We have stores that can't get customers -- how can we afford that?"

Assistant Transportation Secretary Danny Ellis said costs for snow removal, as with all highway maintenance costs, have soared in recent years, with the $54 million budgeted for this winter nearly double the snow-removal budget in 2005-06.

Ellis said the state will exhaust its snow removal budget by the end of the week, and may have to transfer funds from other accounts.

"As of today, every county was either overexpended on snow removal, or close," he said.

Nodding toward the wintry scene outside the committee room's windows, Ellis added, "As you can see, we aren't done yet. We've got another month [of winter] to go."

Gianato noted that Gov. Joe Manchin is seeking federal emergency disaster relief funding for both storms, and said he is hopeful the state will have an answer before the legislative session concludes in mid-March.

State officials also disputed allegations that a lack of manpower or heavy equipment hampered road-clearing efforts in December and this month.

Unger questioned why the National Guard was not activated sooner before the arrival of the Feb. 5-6 storm, after being advised that it takes about 24 hours to get guardsmen to the scene, and another 24 to 48 hours for heavy equipment to arrive.

Tackett said that given the unpredictability of winter weather, the state can't call out the Guard every time bad weather is predicted. He cited the infamous "Rockefeller blizzard" of 1977, when Gov. Jay Rockefeller shut down the state in anticipation of a major snowstorm that never materialized.

"How many times have we had floods that were going to hit, or snowstorms that were going to hit, that never happened?" Tackett said.

Afterward, Unger said he wasn't satisfied with the answers Tuesday, but he said the Legislature also bears responsibility for inadequately funding the highway system.

"The state needs to step up and adequately fund our transportation system," he said. "We need to put an adequate number of people on the ground and equip them."

Reach Phil Kabler at 304-348-1220.