New Hanover County LEPC Minutes 3.10.20211
New Hanover and Pender Counties
Meeting Minutes for March 10, 2021
1:00 PM Virtual on TEAMS
List of Attendees
Name Business Name Business
Billy Howard NHRMC EMS Jonathan Barfield NHC Commissioner
Brandon Sproles Acme Smoked Fish Josh Langdon NCEM
Daniel Adams Pender County Kent Tyndall Duke Energy
David Hancock NC DOT Mike Thompson American Red Cross
Eric Hatcher CFPUA Mike Welsh Corning
Elizabeth Meyer Stepan Company Natosha Tew Wilmington Fire Department
Ed Parvin Town of Carolina Beach Paul Verzaal Wilmington Fire Department
Frank Meyer NHC Fire & Rescue Ron Stancil Sturdy Corporation
Heidi Cox NC DENR TJ Dinkins Corning
Jeannine Patané Teresa Smith NHC EM
Jeff Suggs NHC Environmental Health Tina Kuhr GE Hitachi
John Stephenson Wilmington Fire Department
Welcome and Introductions
Teresa welcomed everyone and took attendance.
Review and Approval of Minutes
Teresa distributed the minutes from the January 13, 2021, LEPC meeting yesterday. No changes were
recommended. Elizabeth Meyer moved that the minutes be accepted; Natosha Tew seconded. The
minutes were accepted as written.
Announcements
Teresa Smith sent out an update on NC DOT projects.
On April 17, there will be a marathon in downtown Wilmington. The plan has been modified due to
COVID. The route will be a double loop around Greenfield Lake. There will be both half and full
marathon races. The planners are expecting about 700 participants.
The Invista site on Hwy 421 North was sold to Stepan Company. New emails are
Firstname.lastname@stepan.com.
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Presentation, Josh Langdon, NCEM, Hazardous Materials Coordinator
LEPC/EPCRA Tier 2
2020 was a record year. LEPCs had 100% participation across the entire state. There are 90 LEPCs in NC.
The State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) is very thankful to the LEPCs. LEPCs have had
difficulty spending their grant money. Some have been spending on videoconferencing technology,
webcams, and weather stations. LEPCs are asking if they can continue meeting remotely after COVID.
EPCRA does not forbid it. Some have actually noticed an increase in attendance with virtual meetings.
Josh will be sending out a newsletter to the LEPCs next week. RMPs (Risk Management Programs) will be
required to have exercises; there are more details in the newsletter. DEQ will be writing up something
for us. Tom Stillman has retired; DEQ is filling in until that position is staffed.
There was a record amount of EPCRA filings and collection of fees, which fund LEPCs and Regional
Hazmat Response. There are 9593 EPCRA sites in NC. New Hanover County had 302 Tier 2 facilities.
Pender County has 24. Each county had one more in 2020 than in 2019. The new EPA administration
may expand the list of substances to track. EPA’s “Lists of Lists” will be revised this year, around July.
Any Tier 2 facility located upstream of a water intake is required to notify the water plant if there is a
leak upstream. Josh does pre- and post-event notifications to Tier 2 facilities for hurricanes, tornadoes,
etc., prioritized by the nature of facility.
Spills
People want Josh to give them a master checklist of whom to call in the event of a spill. He recommends
having a plan reviewed and approved before a spill happens! The National Response Center (NRC) is run
by the Coast Guard. When in doubt, call them and ask whether something needs to be reported. It is
better to over report than under report. Also, the NRC can help you work out what to report if you do
have a spill. The NRC will forward the report to the NC Hazmat representative and DEQ representative,
who will send it on to appropriate state personnel.
EPCRA Section 304 has two notification requirements for accidental chemical releases. The
Initial/immediate requirement is based on a release that exceeds the Reportable Quantity. Calling the
NRC fulfils your immediate (~15 minutes) reporting requirement under Section 304. Written follow-up
reporting (15-day reporting) can be done on E-Plan (for notifying SERC) or in a letter. The State’s main
interest from this reporting is whether you need assistance.
NHC is working on updating their County Hazmat Annex and Hazmat EOP and letting facilities know who
they should be contacting. In NHC, when 911 is notified, they will notify EM and the LEPC.
Commodity Flow Study Update
The Commodity Flow Study is in progress. IEM began requesting information before Teresa was able to
let us know to expect it. If you have questions about the information they are requesting, reach out to
Teresa.
It is up to the companies to decide if we wish to share propriety information with an outside consulting
company. We are only required to provide public information.
Committee Updates
Teresa will be scheduling meetings with the Executive Committee and Community Education/Public
Awareness Committee in April to discuss planning for the rest of the year. On March 25, the Emergency
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Planning/Response Committee will be meeting to start planning a Hazmat tabletop to be held by the
end of September 2021.
The LEPC is looking for additional volunteers for these Emergency Planning/Response and Community
Education/Public Awareness. Current committee membership is:
1. Executive Committee -Teresa Smith, Frank Meyer, Tina Kuhr
2. Emergency Planning/Response - John Stephenson, Tommy Batson,
3. Community Education/Public Awareness - Linda Willis, Tina Kuhr
Open Forum
Commission Barfield stated that once the new EPA administrator, Michael Reagan, is confirmed, this
region will have an advocate.
Elizabeth Meyer asked if the LEPC will provide training to its members, such as Incident Command
Training or NIMS training. Teresa said we can put that on the agenda for later this year.
Teresa will send a link to TERMS, the State Emergency Management training management system. It
lists courses available throughout the state. Classes are free. Emergency Management Institute
(EMI) and National Fire Academy (Emmitsburg, MD) are doing a lot of virtual training now. These are
also free, even if in person, but there is a process for applying. Teresa will send out a list of training
resources.
Let Teresa know if there are topics you want to see in LEPC presentations later in the year.
John Stephenson has new contact information. WFD Special Operations responded to the Brunswick
County tornado. Their task force and the Regional Response Tam worked well together. He will be
reaching out to other agencies regarding marine assets and possible coordination.
Next LEPC meeting will be May 12th @ 11:00am on TEAMS