Blair County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee on Thursday formally agreed to cover the annual operating costs of a proposed county drone program, clearing the way for the county commissioners to allow the Department of Emergency Services to pursue grants to buy a pair of drones, according to department Director Mark Taylor, an LEPC member.

The annual operating costs will be about $16,000, mainly for software upgrades, batteries and blades, Taylor told the committee.

The cost of buying two startup drones will be about $50,000, Taylor said.

Emergency services officials have been learning what it takes to run a drone program and what benefits it can bring from Cambria County, which has the most advanced such program nearby, according to Taylor.

“We’re at the infant stages,” Taylor said. “(But) we want to keep moving.”

Drones can be used to benefit police departments, the fire service, ambulance organizations and hazmat operations, Taylor said.

“I think it’s a great idea to put those things in the air,” said LEPC Chairwoman Becky Long, safety director for the Van Zandt VA Medical Center. “(You) get a good eye on what is going on.”

Drones can be equipped with video, a heat sensor, lights and a loudspeaker and can be used to examine hard-to-access places and detect hard-to-see targets, including people who are missing or hiding, officials have said.

The software upgrades that would comprise part of the operating costs are “vital,” Long said.

There is a trained and certified pilot who is part of the county workforce, Taylor said.

The money that the LEPC would provide comes from assessments charged to member organizations that make, use or store hazardous materials.

LEPCs are legislatively authorized to track the handling of hazardous materials by those organizations.

Taylor hopes the drone program could become operational sometime next year.