New Hanover County LEPC Minutes 5.8.2013New Hanover County LEPC
Meeting Minutes
May 8, 2013 @ New Hanover County EOC
The following persons were in attendance:
NAME BUSINESS NAME BUSINESS
Dianne Harvell NH Co Health Steven Still NH Co EM
Kevin Cowan NC State Ports James Weaver USCG
Warren Lee NH Co EM Elizabeth Meyer Invista
Teresa Smith NH Co EM Mark Venters GEH
Heidi Cox NCDENR Charles Smith NHC PIO
Tommy Grady NH Co Sheriff Matt Davis NH Co Fire
James DeGolyer GEH Jennifer Smith NH Co Fire
Steve Pfaff NWS
Welcome and Introductions:
The May meeting, held at the New Hanover County (NH Co) Emergency Operations Center (EOC), was called to order
at approximately 1205 hours. After lunch, introductions initiated the formal meeting, then the February 13th, 2013
meeting minutes were reviewed and approved.
Membership Announcements:
NEW HANOVER COUNTY
• A thank-you was provided to all volunteers involved in the Hazardous Waste Day event scheduled at NH Co Airport on 3/30.
• On July 14th from 10AM to 2 PM, NH Co plans to partner with the City of Wilmington at Empie Park
for a Safety Fair, which includes a Community Safety Expo with a kids element and a media push
from the city/county PIOs. The public is welcome to attend.
COAST GUARD
• A thank-you was provided to NH Co Emergency Management (EM) for the Coast Guard’s
upcoming use of the EOC for the coordinated table-top drill around end of June on cyber security.
Great opportunity for counties & businesses to identify and mitigate issues.
NWS
• 2012 Hurricane Sandy and 2013 NOAA TPC Hurricane Forecast webinars are scheduled for May 23rd and May 30th. Invitations already sent out for those interested in attending.
• Storm Fest will occur on June 1st at the Cape Fear Museum. Jerry Jackson and other media
persons will be there, and there will be green screens for the public to try their hand at forecasting.
The US Corps of Engineers will display their storm surge model. Storm Fest is free to the public.
New Business
E-PLAN
• As of August 31st, E-Plan will not be available for Tier II reporting in the future due to loss of
funding. A NCEM letter indicated DHS pulled funding so the state is currently looking at options. This will question the process regarding whether facilities will need to provide paper copies.
• The county plans to download E-Plan files for E-responders, etc., where available.
• E-Plan is probably good thru the end of the year, but replacement of this system is a high priority.
LEPC ACTIVITY
• Strategic National Stockpile ESF-8 committee meeting update from March 8th involved going over
committee charter, obtaining input from NHRMC, updating charter being submitted for approval. A
strategic national stockpile review will involve proving NH Co EM with an update.
NH Co NAVIGABLE WATER RESCUE PLANNING
• Law enforcement agencies are still working collaboratively for combined navigable water
response with a plan to kick-off before Memorial Day.
• Pick-up points have been identified at various locations on inland side of waterway. The inland
side was considered the best location to make efficient water to land transfer and subsequent land transport more effective.
• NHRMC looking for grants for signage at docks. CAMA permits not yet pulled. Public outreach yet to be completed. Project in final stages of development.
• Next planning meeting at town of Wrightsville Beach. Contact is Steven Stills, NH Co EM.
NH Co HURRICANE EMERGENCY PLANNING
• County EOC currently undergoing a $200K audio/video upgrade. Compensatory measures still
being addressed during renovation. Trying to complete by June 1st, and will continue to operate
under ESF using WebEOC.
• On May 29th, NH Co EM is hosting a public officials conference to showcase new county faces for hurricane preparedness. Invitees include Mike Sprayberry and Paula Brown from NCEM, Mike
Bulch from FEMA, and Norma Houston, a UNC-CH public law & liability professor regarding
evacuations, fires and changes of power during emergency events.
• On June 4th, the county will perform its annual hurricane exercise
• Working on a formalized recovery plan for county. Plan being modeled after Brunswick County
plan, who previously received FEMA grant. Plan will include 19 of FEMA recovery functions being
incorporated into SOPs.
• Budget approvals did include a permanent generator for Codington School shelter, and Trask
School is the back-up for Noble School for pet sheltering while Noble is undergoing renovations.
Lessons Learned
NWS HURRICANE SANDY
• Steve Pfaff provided a detailed overview presentation of lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy.
Sandy challenged current model regarding Saffir-Simpson scale for storm surge and damage. Sandy was Category 1 storm, but was 950 miles wide covering 1.8 million square miles. Storm
caused 159 fatalities, most coming from storm surge.
• A policy change for NWS reporting occurred as a result of Sandy. Now NWS can maintain advisories on post tropical storm characteristics, especially if the storm still has potential impact to
life and property.
• Hurricane projections for 2013 appear to include a more active season with El Nino being in a
neutral phase this year and Atlantic Oceans temperatures being higher than previous years in the
early spring period.
Open Forum
• None discussed; meeting was adjourned
Next LEPC Meeting:
The next committee meeting will be held on August 14th at 12:00 noon at the NH Co Emergency
Operations Center (EOC). Vopak will supply lunch.
Late notice, the next committee meeting has moved from NH Co EOC to NC State Ports at 2202 Burnett
Blvd due to a late scheduling conflict.