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Home My WebLink AboutLEPC Minutes 03.13.2024/ Minutes – March 13, 2024 New Hanover County EOC Attendees Name Business Name Business Marc Baiger Fayetteville VA Coastal Health Care System Bill McKay NHC Emergency Management Renee Culler ERM Frank Meyer NHC Fire and Rescue Andrew Dwyer American Red Cross Debra Nagle NHC Emergency Management Peter Coffey Fayetteville VA Coastal Health Care System Rhonda Olson UNC Wilmington; LEPC Secretary Melanie Collier US Coast Guard Jennifer Radley UNC Wilmington Dustin Fenske NHC Health Department Josh Schieffer Duke Energy Allen Hancock NCDOT John Stephenson City of Wilmington Fire Department Craig Harris City of Wilmington David Stone NHC Fire Stan Harts Alcami Corporation: LEPC Chair Michael Thompson American Red Cross Bryan Klostermeyer US Coast Guard Linda Willis NCDEQ Div of Air Quality Tina Kuhr GE Hitachi Carol Yates Corning Welcome and Introductions The meeting was called to order by Stan Harts, LEPC Chair, at 11:04 AM. LEPC Members present introduced themselves. Review and Approval of January 10, 2024, LEPC Meeting Minutes The minutes of the January 10, 2024 meeting were passed out. Josh Schieffer noted one correction – on page 2, “…the county commission has not given…” should be changed to “…the regulatory commission has not given…” John Stevenson moved the minutes be approved as amended; Allen Hancock seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by unanimous consent. Discussion Topics Report on 2024 LEPC Conference – The total conference attendees were just over 80. Conference feedback provided insight to the multiple needs of conference attendees. Feedback noted catering done in meeting room was disruptive. Speakers provided good information regarding Tier II requirements. The budget was $24,000, of which $14,009 was spent. Grant Award for 2024 – The transportation grant awarded this year is $10,000 to be used by October 31st. Future transportation grant will be $30,000 and conference grant will be $10,000. The Executive Committee considered an practical/full scale exercise for this year’s transportation grant following previous table top exercises. The LEPC will be looking for potential vendors to set up an exercise preferably before peak hurricane season. Full scale exercise may be 6 – 8 months in planning. Due to timing, a table top may considered. Exercise options suggested by LEPC members include: (secondary option) CSX or Norfolk Southern for railcar experience, (primary option) emerging threat is lithium ion batteries – Teslas/scooters/etc. This topic has practical application for current issues with flooded vehicles, removal from scenes, and disposal options. Anticipated exercise date is in July. Tier II Submittals – Statistics for 2023: 186 locations have input tier II information, 4 locations are in Pender County (will be advised to refile in the correct county), 100 locations listed the incorrect Fire Department (will be advised and requested to make a correction), 13,864,425,109 lbs of chemicals have been reported as max limits for the year. In the Tier II submittal portal, it defaults to the Carolina Beach FD, which may have led to the number of incorrect fire department locations. Question – how do you know where to send the Tier II reporting to? It is prepopulated and has a default setting, potentially to the email where reports were previously submitted. The process was significantly different this year than last and may have led to some of the confusion. An ongoing issue with inconsistent reporting year to year causes over-writing of the previous year’s records. The proposed actions to resolve the issues are to send letters including instructions to reporters for next year, request a representative for ePlan to come speak at the September LEPC meeting, and request pre-population for an office email instead of a person. “WHY ME” LEPC Spotlight – This concept will promote introduction of LEPC members and their companies in greater depth to improve overall committee connections. There was a suggestion to consider including pictures of your facility or people in charge to help know who would be in charge during an emergency at each location. This will start at the May meeting. Online LEPC Delegate Form – Discussion – could the delegate form be filled out electronically rather than as a hard-copy form to improve the process? It was suggested the reaffirmation could be sent as an annual survey directly to delegates to reaffirm information is still valid. Question – for those delegates with supervisory level approval needed, will annual supervisory approval be necessary? It may be possible to consider higher level approval at an other-than-annual interval. The LEPC members present were generally in favor of an electronic option. The by-laws and regulations will need to be reviewed to verify if they allow for electronic reaffirmation. Language in the by-laws may require an amendment to clarify time intervals and submission methods. Subcommittee Reports – Goal to have subcommittees meet in the non LEPC meeting months. Meetings can be virtual or in person. Executive Committee (Stan Harts) – The committee met prior to the LEPC at large meeting to set an agenda, and review topics. Emergency Planning/Response (Rhonda Olson) – John Stevenson, Mike Thompson, and Carol Yates volunteered for this committee. Due to the quick deadline for the grant, this committee will likely need to start planning with a first meeting later in March. Community Education/Public Awareness (Phil Misklow) – Drew Dwyer, Linda Willis volunteered for this committee. The brochures and letters are in the process of being revised. Brochures and letters are outreach for Tier II filers and will hopefully be ready as enclosures with Tier II invoices when they are sent out. Resource Sharing Inventory – This goal item will attempt to assemble a list of entities with unique capabilities to aid in response to a variety of incidents. The concept is a simple spreadsheet with capabilities (i.e., liquid scintillation counters, -80o freezers, large quantities of sand, etc.) and contact information. Will consider liability/reimbursement consideration if necessary. Planning on the front end and identifying historical knowledge. Member Announcements Veterans Association – There are a couple of different centers around the area (Wilmington near the airport, Brunswick, Fayetteville). VA is planning to teach ICS 300 to staff starting on the first Sunday in April 0900 to 1300 at the location next to the Wilmington airport. American Red Cross – Planning to perform a review of multiple resources and sending thank you for letters of intent spelling out capabilities. Thank you to agencies responding to fire at Village Green Apartments. There was no loss of life, and only minor injuries. 16 units involved, 32 residents including 3 UNCW students, sheltered at Northside Church overnight. The shelter closed this morning. NHC EM – Echoed thanks regarding how fire was handled and comment on effectiveness of pushed messaging. Audrey Hart will be moving on and the department will have some reshuffling. NHC EM will present “WHY ME” next month. ICS 400 will be offered next week. GE Hitachi – Fence posts are going up for separation activities. All separation activities to be completed April 2nd. It will be full separation of facilities up to utilities, fire suppression, etc. Emergency response after April 2nd will be separated as well. UNCW – Thank you to all supporting organizations from the apartment fire yesterday. Coast Guard – Upcoming meeting in DC. Bald Island ferry Active shooter FXC March 27th Fire Marshal – Beginning to ramp up for hurricane season through high water vehicle training. Corning – Tabletop exercise planning is currently happening for first quarter of next year. Wilmington Fire Dept – The RRT was quietly stood up for the primary election. Will be considering standing up RRT during upcoming elections to be ready to respond. NC DOT – The bridge is still on schedule to be open for the Azalea Fest Week. Traffic overall has been better than expected. Crossover April 8th, first few days will be a learning exercise with adjustments planned as needed. Next Meeting The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for 11:00 AM on May 8, 2024, at the New Hanover County Room 222. Forward suggestions for topics or meal sponsorship to the Executive Committee. Adjournment Stan Harts made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Tina Kuhr. The meeting adjourned at 12:17 PM.