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The Role of the Local Emergency Planning Committee
(LEPC)
David PowellEPCRA Program Manager
N.C. Division of Emergency Management
(919) [email protected]
North Carolina Emergency Management
Why do we need LEPCs?
North Carolina Emergency Management
December 3, 1984
Union Carbide
pesticide plant in Bhopal India
15,000-20,000 dead
Bhopal, India
North Carolina Emergency Management
North Carolina Emergency Management
Bhopal, IndiaRelease of 40 tons of methyl isocynate
•30 mins: health effects notices •2.5 hrs: sirens utilized•6 hrs: release controlled•3,800 people immediately killed
West Virginia release caused 135 residents to seek treatment in 1985 Sources: AlJazeera America, the
National Institutes of Health, and the New York Times
Credit: Raj Patidar/Reuters Raj Patidar/REUTERS
The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act
• Passed by congress in response to the Bhopal and West Virginia incidents
• Signed by Ronald Regan
• Also known as title three of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
North Carolina Emergency Management
SERC & LEPCs
State Emergency Response Commission• Coordinates state hazmat preparedness• Establishes LEPCs• Encompasses “all-hazards” rather than just hazmat
Local Emergency Planning Committee• Coordinates local hazmat preparedness • Create and maintain hazardous materials emergency
response plan
North Carolina Emergency Management
What is Required of my LEPC?
North Carolina Emergency Management
LEPC General Checklist
1. Membership must include essential stakeholders2. Annual submission of membership to SERC 3. Chair must be appointed4. Establish rules/bylaws5. Create procedure for handling requests for information6. Appoint a Public Information Coordinator7. Meet annually to review emergency plan
North Carolina Emergency Management
9 of 12 must be completed for SERC approval
LEPC General Checklist
8. Create an emergency response plan containing nine elements 9. Designate an authorizing authority in E-Plan10. Create a process to develop, implement, and exercise the
emergency plan11. Submit the emergency plan annually for review to SERC12. Annually publish in local newspapers where the response
plan, Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDS), and inventory forms are available to the public
9 of 12 must be completed for SERC approval
North Carolina Emergency Management
Membership ResponsibilityThe membership of your LEPC should include:
• Elected State or Local officials• Emergency Services• Public Health Services• Community Groups• Owner/Operators of Extremely Hazardous Substance (EHS)
facilities• Local Media
A membership list should be annually submitted to the SERC
North Carolina Emergency Management
2014 Charleston, W.V. Water Contamination
• Contaminated the Elk River, Charleston’s water supply
• Impacted 300,000
• Lasted over a weekSource: CNN
North Carolina Emergency Management
Organizational Rules
LEPCs must establish bylaws that cover:
• Appointment of a chairperson • Public notification process • Public meetings to discuss the emergency plan • Process for public comments • Distribution of the emergency plan
North Carolina Emergency Management
Public Information ResponsibilitiesEPCRA requires LEPCs to:
•Appoint a Public Information Coordinator
•Establish procedures to handle public information requests
•Publish annual notices in local newspapers advertising where emergency response plans, MSDSs, and inventory forms can be publicly viewed.
North Carolina Emergency Management
How to handle requests:•Any Risk Management Plan (RMP) offsite consequence analysis data cannot be shared•Do not honor blanket requests for information•Do not honor requests that unduly comprise the security of a facility or the public•Reports that could be sensitive in nature (most Tier II reports) should not be mailed or distrusted electronically
Public Information Responsibilities
North Carolina Emergency Management
Approve the FOIA Request?
Case 1
A member of the public emails a request to view the chemicals contained at a facility one mile away from her son’s school. The Tier II report shows the facility has 10,000 lbs. of
anhydrous ammonia in their refrigerant system.
North Carolina Emergency Management
Approve the FOIA Request?
Case 2
You receive a call from a man who states he is a citizen within your jurisdiction. He asks to have the chemical report for a nearby concrete plant
faxed to him.
North Carolina Emergency Management
Approve the FOIA Request?
Case 3
You receive a written letter from a local media outlet requesting a list of all facilities in your jurisdiction that have reported EPCRA 304
notifications for chemical spills into a local river.
North Carolina Emergency Management
Approve the FOIA Request?
Case 4
A citizen sends you a letter requesting a list of all the facilities in your jurisdiction that have
EHS substances on site.
North Carolina Emergency Management
Approve the FOIA Request?
Case 5
A citizen sends you a letter requesting the storage location and container type of the chlorine stored at your local waste water
treatment plant.
North Carolina Emergency Management
Approve the FOIA Request?
Case 6
A citizen writes you a letter requesting to come to your office to view the RMP offsite
consequence analysis date for a facility that physically borders his backyard.
North Carolina Emergency Management
Planning Responsibility LEPCs are required to create an annually reviewed emergency response plan
Section 11003 of EPCRA requires:1. Identification of hazmat facilities and transportation routes 2. Hazmat response procedures for facilities and emergency personnel3. Designation of a community emergency coordinator and facility emergency
coordinators4. Procedures for providing reliable, effective, and timely notification by the
facility emergency coordinators and the community emergency coordinator to persons designated in the emergency plan, and to the public
North Carolina Emergency Management
5. Methods for determining the occurrence of a release and the area or population likely to be affected
6. A description of emergency equipment and facilities in the community and an identification of the persons responsible for such equipment and facilities
7. Evacuation plans, including provisions for a precautionary evacuation and alternative traffic routes
8. Training programs, including schedules for training of local emergency response and medical personnel
9. Methods and schedules for exercising the emergency plan
LEPC should establish steps to test and implement the plan.
Planning Responsibility
North Carolina Emergency Management
2005 Graniteville, South Carolina Chorine Release
• Occurred after an operator neglected to change a track
• The release occurred at 2:39 AM and emitted 60 tons of chlorine
• Nine were killed, 5,400 evacuated, and 554 were treated at hospitals
Credit: EPA Region 4
Credit: Associated Press
North Carolina Emergency Management
Source: Transportation Effects and Lessons in Small-Town Capacity for No-Notice Evacuation
2005 Graniteville, South Carolina Chorine Release
- Transportation Effects and Lessons in Small-Town Capacity for No-Notice Evacuation by A.E. Dunning
and Jennifer Oswalt
• 1 min: 911 notified
• 2 mins: the local fire department was en route
• 6 mins: fire chief on scene
• 13 mins: evacuations were in progress and Reverse 911 activated
“Within 13 min, the chief recognized the need for a mass evacuation and relocated upwind. Emergency responders marshaled personnel and equipment, established incident command, requested mutual aid, activated Reverse 911 with instructions to shelter in place, and initiated a major evacuation… However, these actions did not take place with immediacy and efficiency.”
North Carolina Emergency Management
LEPCs in Practice
North Carolina Emergency Management
North Carolina Data
2010 2011 2012 Total
Toxic substance releases 347 251 256 854
Releases resulting inone or more injuries
54 (16%) 34 (14%) 20 (8%) 108 (13%)
Releases that led to anofficial evacuation
42 (12%) 39 (16%) 28 (11%) 109 (13%)
North Carolina Facility & transportation NTSIP-eligible toxic substance releases 2010 2011 2012 Total
Fixed-facility releases 185 143 131 459
Transportation releases 162 108 125 395
North Carolina NTSIP-eligible toxic substance releases
North Carolina Emergency Management
North Carolina Data
Severity of injury 2010 2011 2012 TotalDeath on scene or on arrival at hospital
4 5 5 14
Treated at hospital (admitted) 6 10 15 31
Treated at hospital (not admitted)
16 12 30 58
Treated on scene 26 28 3 57Observed at hospital (not treated)
2 0 7 9
Unknown 11 1 2 14Total injured persons 65 56 62 183
Severity of injuries that resulted from NTSIP-eligible toxic substance releases
North Carolina Emergency Management
Rural LEPCsChallenges for jurisdictions with few hazardous material facilities:
•What are your hazmat transportation routes? (47% of toxic releases in North Carolina occur in transportation)
•How close is the nearest capable hazmat team?
•Are local hospitals appropriately equipped?
Credit: Main.gov
North Carolina Emergency Management
2013 Lac-Megantic, Canada Railcar Explosion
North Carolina Emergency Management
Town of approximately 6,000 people, 47 were killed
Credit: The Canadian Press/ Paul Chiasson
Credit: The Canadian Press/ Ryan Remiorz
• Caused by human error and mechanical failure• An unattended train moved downhill towards Lac-
Megantic• The train derailed in a track that travels through the
center of Lac-Megantic • Over 1.5 million gallons of oil was released, and
multiple explosions ensued
2013 Lac-Megantic, Canada Railcar Explosion
Source: Transportation Safety Board of Canada
North Carolina Emergency Management
• Chemical hazards• Natural hazards• Hostile actions• Cyber threats• Public health
emergencies• Routine response
All Hazard LEPCs
North Carolina Emergency Management
Credit: Jill Helmuth/AP
Credit: City of Columbus
LEPC Resources
North Carolina Emergency Management
E-Plan
• North Carolina’s tool for collecting and distributing Tier II information (erplan.net).
• Every county should have an authorizing authority in E-Plan.
• Authorizing authorities give access to first responders.
North Carolina Emergency Management
E-Plan
North Carolina Emergency Management
E-Plan
North Carolina Emergency Management
2013 West, Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion
• Explosion of ammonium nitrate
• Death toll of 17, including 10 first responders
• Responders were largely unaware of the ammonium nitrate quantity on site
Credit: Reuters/Adrees Latif
North Carolina Emergency Management
2013 West, Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion
North Carolina Emergency Management
- Neal Langerman, chemical and health safety officer at the American Chemical Society
"The West, Texas, first responders were doing the best they could under the circumstances…The failure was in the community, county, and state leadership to provide emergency planning and implementation guidance… I don't think it's appropriate to beat up on what the first responders did at the time of detonation, but everything that led up to it - preparedness and preparation - was lacking,"
• A fire was reported at 7:19 PM on April 17,2013.
• Explosion reported 20 mins. after first responders arrived
• February 2012 Tier II filing did not list ammonium nitrate
• Apartments and nursing homes within a few hundred yards of the plant
Source: Reuters
Transportation Risk Assessments
North Carolina Emergency Management
• Trucking routes for key chemicals• Pipelines for Highly Volatile Liquids• Hazmat rail lines• Hazmat shipping lines
Access granted upon request
HMEP Grant• The state annually awards subgrants to LEPCs to
conduct training and re-write plans.
• $10,000 awarded per county• $25,000 awarded for regional exercises/plans
• Applications are accepted every fall.
North Carolina Emergency Management
Contact InformationDavid Powell, EPCRA Program Manager
4236 Mail Service CenterRaleigh, NC 27699-4236
[email protected](919) 825-2277
Matt Kemnitz, Technological Hazards Lead4236 Mail Service CenterRaleigh, NC 27699-4236
[email protected](919) 825-2287
North Carolina Emergency Management