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Council OKs firefighter fee plan for natural gas line leaks

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June 5th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The City Council has approved the Sioux City fire department plan to charge companies for firefighters’ responses to ruptures of natural gas lines. The Sioux City Journal reports that the council voted for the plan Monday. The city will bill the company that causes a break $2,000 for the first hour of response and $250 for each additional 15 minutes. There will be more charges for additional personnel, vehicles, ambulance service or supplies.

The fees won’t apply to small leaks that do not require a full response, incidents lasting under 30 minutes or leaks occurring to above-ground piping inside buildings. Sioux City Fire Rescue estimates it would have received more than $640,000 for its responses to gas line breaks since 2001 if the fee structure were in place.