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Home My WebLink AboutLEPC Minutes 03-13-2023/ March 13, 2023, at 11:00 AM, New Hanover County Government Center, Finance Conference Room 500 Attendance Name Business Name Business Stephen Alexander SR&R Environmental, Inc. Sarah Robison NC Emergency Management Nick Bailey HEPACO Lt. Chris L. Smith New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Jonathan Barfield NHC Commissioner John B. Smith American Red Cross John Booth Kinder Morgan Teresa Smith NHC Emergency Management; LEPC Chair E. Stefan Coutoulakis NC Emergency Management Ron Stancil Sturdy Corporation John Dittmar NC State Ports Authority John Stephenson City of Wilmington Fire Department Jennifer Ferrell GE Aerospace Steve Sill NHC Emergency Management Dustin Fenske New Hanover County Environmental Health Michael Thompson American Red Cross Audrey Hart NHC Emergency Management Brenda Upchurch Sturdy Corporation Billy Howard NHRMC Emergency Medical Services; LEPC Vice-Chair Mark Venters GE Hitachi/Global Nuclear Fuels Tina Kuhr GE Hitachi; LEPC Secretary Ross Wilcox Piedmont Natural Gas Bill MacKay NHC Emergency Management Linda Willis NC Dept of Natural Resources Frank Meyer NHC Fire & Rescue Carol Yates Corning Rhonda Olson UNC Wilmington Welcome and Introductions - The meeting was called to order by Teresa Smith, LEPC Chair, at 11:03 AM. Teresa welcomed those in attendance and thanked the group for their support. Review and Approval of Minutes – Frank Meyers moved that the minutes of the January 11, 2023, meeting be accepted as corrected; Brenda Upchurch seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. Membership Announcements: There were several new members attending today. The LEPC members present introduced themselves. Sara Robinson (NC EM) Sara mentioned that North Carolina Emergency Management Academy is being held in Greenville, NC, the week of May 15. Registration is available in TERMS. There also is training associated with the spring NC EMA conference being held March 27-29 in Cherokee, NC. Please reach out to her if you are interested in training. She is reviewing applications for HMEP funding. NC EM is partnering with DEQ/Air Quality on the inspection requirement for annual coordination with local responders. The North Carolina Emergency Management Website explains the documentation needed for satisfying the coordination requirement. Stefan Coutoulakis (NC EM) Stefan took Joshua Langdon’s place at NCEM. He discussed Tier 2 reporting. He is helping to clean up data in E-Plan. He wants to offer training on the CAMEO Chemicals suite for planning and response and using the information in E-Plan. WISER has been retired. CAMEO is being enhanced to help planners and first responders. John Stephenson (WFD) Wilmington Fire Department Marine Division expects the repair of Fire Boat 1 to be complete before the Azalea Festival. The upgrades include new dive equipment and communications equipment. They are also purchasing a new Marine Boat 2 and a High Water Rescue Vehicle with funds from the New Hanover County Endowment Fund. RRT2 is doing a presentation to the Pender County LEPC. They are meeting with the State Ports and working on developing a Tech Rescue Team. Mark Venters (GE Hitachi/Global Nuclear Fuels) GE will be hosting our biennial exercise in the first half of October and will be seeking offsite agency support. GE is having a tabletop drill this afternoon. Steve Sill (NHC EM) Losing Teresa Smith will be a big loss for both NHC EM and the LEPC. EM is moving soon into their new offices and EOC. Lessons learned from Hurricane Florence and other events went into the design. They have acquired a mobile command vehicle, which can be used as a regional asset. There is a new facility for the county warehouse. It will be in the Wilmington Trade Center on Highway 421. Michael Thompson (Red Cross) The Red Cross participated in the NCEM/Columbus County active shooter drill. Family reunification was identified as an area for improvement in that drill. Red Cross representatives from North Carolina have been supporting the response to the floods and winter storms in California. Teresa Smith (NHC EM) 177 Tier 2 reports were submitted for New Hanover County. Committee Updates Executive Committee – Billy Howard will be taking over as Chair of the LEPC following Teresa’s departure. Bill McKay will be the new NHC EM representative on the LEPC. Emergency Planning/Response – The committee decided to postpone the 2023 Cape Fear Emergency Planning Conference scheduled to be held in May. The grant funding for the conference has been redirected to financing a 2023 exercise. A new grant of $24,000 has been obtained for the conference but must be used by the end of 2023. The exercise will be a Tabletop exercise combined with a structure collapse/urban search and rescue, based on the Brunswick County Tornadoes where the RRT and USAR responded. Crisis Tech is assisting with scenario development. The tabletop is scheduled for April 28 at 9 AM, either in the new NHC EOC or CFCC. The committee was seeking a facility to volunteer to be the affected facility. Community Education/Public Awareness – Teresa owes the committee information for recruitment (i.e., those companies submitting Tier 2 reports that are not active on the LEPC) and the LEPC brochure. The committee members were developing a cover letter to go with the brochure. Open Forum Commissioner Barfield thanked the LEPC for preparing for events such as train derailments, hazardous materials events, and severe weather. Next LEPC Meeting The next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 10, at 11:00 AM. The location is still to be determined. The other LEPC meetings in 2023 are scheduled for July 12, September 13, and November 8. Adjournment – Frank Meyers made the motion to adjourn; Michael Thompson seconded. The business meeting was adjourned at ~11:46.