SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) — The state rejected Somerset County’s requests for reimbursements relating to the cleanup of Flight 93, which crashed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said it doesn’t have a defined funding source for the request, county Commissioner Brad Cober said.
The cash-strapped county has been seeking repayment of $64,000 in crash-related costs including costs related to heavy machinery and phone service.
The county made the request while former Gov. Mark Schweiker was in office. It could renew its request with Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration and with Tom Ridge, the state’s governor at the time of the crash who is now the nation’s homeland security chief, Cober said.
Somerset’s commissioners said they paid the expenses without hesitation as the country mourned the attack victims, including the 40 passengers and crew who died aboard Flight 93. It is believed that some of the passengers and crew fought back against the terrorists who were trying to attack a target in Washington, D.C.
The county also is seeking money from bankrupt United Airlines.
