Could more people in Beaufort County soon be eligible for post-evacuation re-entry passes?

Before the end of hurricane season in November, the Beaufort County’s Sheriff Office plans to have a new set of procedures for re-entry following a natural disaster evacuation.

Sheriff P.J. Tanner announced Thursday afternoon that the Beaufort County Emergency Management Division intends to revise the process for issuing early re-entry passes.

“This a process that needs to be dealt with in a very timely fashion —not next (year when the 2018) hurricane season rolls around,” he said.

Law enforcement and emergency management leaders met earlier in the day with local elected officials to workshop potential changes to the system, which was implemented in 2007.

The current three-tiered pass system — aimed at allowing groups including first responders, medical service providers, and neighborhood security personnel to re-enter the county in phases prior to the general public — came under criticism after Hurricane Matthew by business and municipal leaders who found re-entry plans confusing.

S.C. Rep. Jeff Bradley, whose district includes Hilton Head Island, said Thursday, “We know that (evacuation and re-entry) is not something that is easy for (emergency management personnel) or our citizens — hopefully (revisions to the pass system) will help improve that.”

Tanner acknowledge that “the learning curve between (Hurricane) Matthew and (Tropical Storm) Irma was huge.”

While he was relatively tight-tipped when asked about specific proposed revisions to the re-entry pass program, Tanner said BCEMD officials are considering broadening criteria for who might be eligible for a pass to include groups such as military personnel and food service workers.

Currently, the roughly 5,600 BCEMD-issued passes are only valid for the pass holder and do not cover other passengers in a re-entering vehicle. Tanner said that portion of the policy is also being reconsidered.

Another aspect of the revised policy is expected to involve “giving cities and towns more local control” and “engaging the private sector” in decisions about how passes are issued, he said.

“When it comes down to making the decisions that need to be made (in preparation for a natural disaster evacuation), we have to lean heavily own our mayors,” Tanner said.

The county’s municipal officials “have a vested interest in whatever decisions are made whatever decisions are made that are going to impact” local residents, he said.

Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka agreed, saying, “We are all the same page and we want to work together.”

Tanner said he expects revisions to the pass program to be finalized within the next month.

At that time, it is critical that the public has “a clear, clear understanding” of the county’s overall re-entry process, as well as “who gets the (early re-entry pass) and why those particular people to (re-enter) first,” Tanner said.

Sheriff’s Office Lt. Col. Neil Baxley said Thursday that BCEMD plans to add a communications and social media specialist to help disseminate evacuation and re-entry information to the public.

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Could more people in Beaufort County soon be eligible for post-evacuation re-entry passes?."