LEPC 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.