New Hanover County LEPC Minutes 5.14.2014New Hanover County LEPC
Meeting Minutes
May 14th, 2014 @ NH Co EOC
The following persons were in attendance:
NAME BUSINESS NAME BUSINESS
Dianne Harvell NH Co Health Matt Pollman Red Cross
Kevin Cowan NC State Ports Thomas Johnson USCG
Darnell Boyd NH Co Health Elizabeth Meyer Invista
Teresa Smith NH Co EM Mark Venters GEH
Heidi Cox NCDENR Allan Turner Corning
Jeffrey Klein Piedmont Natural Gas Patrick Lake NCEM
Ryan Gay NCDOT Eric Hatcher CFPUA
Nancy McMillan NCDOT Steven Still NH Co EM
Steve Mason WFD Charles Smith NH Co PIO
Brad Newland NCDENR Tom Sosebge NH Co Fire
Frank Meyer NH Co Fire Linda Willis NCDENR
Warren Lee NH Co EM
Welcome and Introductions:
The May meeting, held at the NH Co EOC, followed the LEPC Executive Meeting, and was called to order at
approximately 1200 hours starting with introductions and followed by a stop for lunch. After lunch and membership
announcements, the October 13th, 2013 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved before nominating officers for
election/re-election prior to initiating an open forum.
Membership Announcements:
NC DOT
Ryan Gay mentioned upcoming professional golf tournament to be hosted in Porter’s Neck area
NH Co EM
Annual Hurricane exercise at EOC is set for 6/3/14 with all ESFs expected to participate
Community Safety Expo is planned for 6/20/14, which is a collaboration between city & county resources
INVISTA
Mike Bruton is new site safety leader
USCG
About 6 new personnel will be involved in upcoming LEPC meetings. Announcements to come later
Nomination of Executive Committee Officers for Election/Re-Election
Kevin Cowan, NC State Ports, was re-elected as LEPC Chair
Ryan Gay, NC DOT, was nominated and elected as LEPC Vice-Chair. Elizabeth Meyer, Invista, & Mark Venters,
GEH, declined nominations for this position due to work loads
Mark Venters, GEH, was re-elected as LEPC Secretary
Open Forum
NH Co EM
HME Grant from State of NC allows early application this year. Application requires pre-approval from NH Co
commissioners. Funding amounts won’t be known until the fall of 2014.
LEPC
Due to complexities associated with arranging LEPC meeting locations, it was decided by the Executive
Committee to host all LEPC meetings in the NH Co EOC moving forward. Requests will still be made for
organizations to sponsor lunch.
Vopak volunteered to sponsor an upcoming meeting lunch
New Business
LEPC
Because the state of NC is now the 3rd largest producer of chemicals behind TX & LA, a Hazard Risk Assessment
is to be performed for NH Co sponsored by the State of NC. A pilot assessment was completed for Wake
County and the NH Co assessment is to include RMP and high quantity generator facilities. A letter from NH Co
EM and LEPC will go out to applicable stakeholders explaining assessment scope and provide an invite to
facility technical experts for participation on 7/16/14. Zoning personnel will also be invited so as to educate
and protect industry currently in place. The high level goal is for better emergency response and planning.
Funding for E-Plan at federal EPA level no longer exists and a bill is to be presented to the NC legislature for
state to stay with E-Plan. State of NC funded $100K w/U of TX for E-Plan thru fiscal year ending 10/1/14.
NOAA-NWS
Steve Pfaff introduced the Weather Ready Now Ambassador Program and informed any interested parties to
contact him directly concerning participation,
This year is the 60th anniversary of Hurricane Hazel with a presentation at the museum June 21st.
Presentation of hurricane predictions for this year was provided. Even though the official NOAA hurricane
prediction is expected later, it is currently estimated to be 13 named storms with only 2 hurricanes. The
reminder was that even though this appears to be a year of less frequency, it only takes one to produce
damage, so preparedness is still a very important element.
Lessons Learned
No lessons discussed; meeting was adjourned
Next LEPC Meeting:
The next committee meeting will be held August 13, 2014, at 12:00 noon at the NH Co EOC. The proposed
agenda for this meeting includes the following:
1) Subcommittee of E-Plan & Response to report on ESF-10 review
2) Update on NH Co Hazard Risk Assessment
3) Determination of meeting lunch sponsors for the upcoming LEPC meetings:
a. November 12, 2014
LEPC COMMITTEES
Executive Committee
Chairman – Kevin Cowan
Vice-Chairman – Ryan Gay
Secretary – Mark Venters
Emergency Planning & Response Sub-committee
Chairman – Elizabeth Meyer
Members - Eric Hatcher, Mike Alexander, Allen Turner, Mike Thompson, Jim Weaver, Frank Meyer
Community Education & Public Response sub-committee
Chairman – Diane Harvell
Members - Charles Smith, Justin West, Eric Griffin, Teresa Smith, Eric Hatcher