Florida HAZMatters
DISTRICT 1
West Florida Regional Planning Council
Bay, Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington Counties
The District 1 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) held its meeting January 18, 2006 in DeFuniak Springs. The Committee discussed its 2006 Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) planning project which will be three “How-to-Comply” workshops to instruct businesses in meeting the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act reporting requirements. The LEPC also raised concerns about whether training was being given to local response agencies for the proper use of personal protective equipment.
The LEPC participated in taping two episodes of “It's Not Easy Being Green” at WSRE-TV to educate the public on the LEPC, Hazardous Materials and one of the broadcasts aired a video on shelter-in-place procedures.
During the quarter, West Florida Regional Planning Council (WFRPC) staff completed 65 Small Quantity Generators (SQG) inspections of hazardous waste generators. Staff conducted on-site visits at fifty-eight Section 302 facilities in Washington, Santa Rosa, and Bay counties that resulted in the completion of the 2005–2006 hazards analyses.
Under contract with the Northeast Florida Regional Council, WFRPC staff participated in the facilitation and recording of several breakout sessions at the 2006 Domestic Security Planning Session held in Orlando January 30-February 2, 2006. This effort facilitated a gap analysis of the Statewide Domestic Security Program and helped to identify strengths and weaknesses to be addressed with future domestic security funding.
LEPC staff also met with industrial toxicologist, Dr. Hildegarde Staninger, to hear a presentation regarding far-infrared technology as a potential detoxification treatment for emergency responders.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled to take place at the Midway Fire Department in Santa Rosa County on April 18, 2006 at 10:00am.
DISTRICT 2
Apalachee Regional Planning Council
Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla Counties
The District 2 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) held its quarterly meeting January 18, 2006.
LEPC staff has continued to work on scheduling several hazardous materials training courses that include an 8-hour Operations Refresher, a 4-hour Incident Command System (ICS) course and an 8-hour Introduction to Terrorism Course for the Florida State Hospital Fire Department. The St. Marks Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) has requested a 4-hour Awareness Refresher and an 8-hour Operations Refresher course. Staff has had preliminary discussions with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the Lanark VFD about conducting courses in ICS, Awareness Refresher and Operations Refresher.
Staff has been coordinating with Chief Jerry Metz of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to schedule a 40-hour Law Enforcement Clandestine Lab course in Tallahassee. Staff has also had preliminary discussion with the Leon County Sheriff's Office to assist in coordinating a 40-hour Technician course, a 40-hour HazMedic course and a 40-hour Tactical Explosive/Hazardous Materials Entry course. All training courses are posted on the Apalachee Regional Planning Council's website: www.thearpc.com .
Staff facilitated and attended a “Crossing the Imaginary Line” workshop in Thomasville, Georgia. The workshop included participants representing law enforcement, emergency management, fire and volunteer organizations from the North Florida and Southern Georgia regions. The purpose of the meeting was to foster working relationships and improve training, communications and response capabilities.
Staff submitted the hazards analyses for Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson and Liberty counties to the Division of Emergency Management. Staff will continue to work on completing the hazard analyses upon receiving the recommended revisions from DEM staff.
The next meeting of the LEPC will be held at 10:30 am ET, April 19, 2006, at the Franklin County Emergency Operations Center.
DISTRICT 3
North Central Florida Regional Planning Council
Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Union Counties
The District 3 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) last met February 17, 2006 at PCS Phosphate in White Springs. A presentation was given to the LEPC on the Regional Geographic Information System application. Items discussed included Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Awareness Week, a North Central Florida Regional Hazmat Response Team (NCFRHMRT) Emergency Management Preparedness Assistance (EMPA) grant application and deciding to request approval to substitute an actual Hazmat incident response that occurred in Columbia County to meet the LEPC biennial exercise requirement.
A press conference was held at the start of Florida Hazmat Awareness Week. Gainesville Fire Rescue and Alachua County Fire Rescue brought their Hazmat response teams to the Hazmat Boot Camp. A local television station covered a presentation on using Level A and Level B chemical protective suits.
The NCFRHMRT reported that it has applied for an EMPA Competitive Grant to increase preparedness for making public protection decisions for hazardous materials releases. One item proposed as part of this grant application is the development of a decision tree to support shelter-in-place and evacuation decisions made by emergency management and incident commanders. The decision tree would incorporate the current technology being used for Hazmat release modeling and for air monitoring. Other items in the grant would include enhancements at the boot camp and a limited amount of additional equipment available to the team members.
The LEPC selected “Community Workshops and Section 302 Facility Outreach” as its Hazmat Emergency Preparedness Grant planning project for the year. The following seminar topics were selected: Facility Outreach and Responder Orientation to the LEPC Plan and Regional Hazmat Team.
Staff activities included scheduling a variety of hazmat training classes for responders such as the new ALOHA plume modeling that now includes fires, flares, evaporating pools, etc. Staff attended the annual Florida Emergency Preparedness Association Conference held in
St. Petersburg and hazards analysis updates were prepared for four counties
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., May 19, 2006, at the Alachua County Emergency Operations Center. This meeting will kick off a multi-year campaign to visit every county Emergency Operations Center in the LEPC district.
DISTRICT 4
Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council
Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns Counties
The District 4 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) met February 15, 2006 at the offices of the Northeast Florida Regional Council, Jacksonville, Florida.
The United States Coast Guard has invited the LEPC to participate in the Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) Marine Oil Spill Exercise, which will take place in September 2006. This is a multi-agency program that is provided every three years to exercise and evaluate government contingency plans and industry spill response plans. The LEPC has been invited to participate in the planning portion of the exercise.
Mr. Morrison Braren, Senior Planner for the Duval County Emergency Operations Center, was given the 2005 Thomas Yatabe Award for outstanding performance and participation in Florida's hazardous materials program. Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to Ms. Vikki Currie, Staff Scientist III for Emergency Management Resources and Lieutenant Todd Smith, Duval County Fire Rescue.
Staff has completed the 2005/2006 hazardous analysis updates for Baker, Clay, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns counties.
Fernandina Beach and Flagler County firefighters have requested Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant funds be used to conduct a 160-hour Hazardous Materials Technician level training course in Nassau County, Florida.
The LEPC chose “Local Emergency Planning Committee Plan Exercise” as its Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant planning project.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled to take place May 17, 2006 at the offices of the Northeast Florida Regional Council in Jacksonville, Florida.
DISTRICT 5
Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council
Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion and Sumter Counties
The District 5 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) held its quarterly meeting January 18, 2006, at the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council (WRPC) in Ocala, Florida.
The Training Subcommittee finalized a preliminary training schedule and presented it to the LEPC on January 18, 2006. The schedule was then submitted to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM).
WRPC staff continued to work toward completion of the Levy County hazards analysis updates. Among activities conducted were on-site visits of pre-selected Section 302 Extremely Hazardous Substance (EHS) facilities. Aspects of these site visits included interviewing the primary facility manager(s), visual inspection of EHS storage locations, and taking photographs. Additionally, the Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO) database was also updated as part of the Section 302 reporting process. Information obtained during the site visit was either entered into or edited in the current database. CAMEO reports were subsequently generated for each Section 302 facility reviewed in Levy County and were submitted to the State of Florida for approval.
The planning process continued for the LEPC biennial/Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant full-scale exercise scheduled for March 11, 2006. The Exercise Committee held its final four meetings and during this time the site of the exercise was moved from Dunnellon to Belleview. The exercise will be held at the Belleview High School and Middle School in Marion County.
DISTRICT 6
East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties
The District 6 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) held its quarterly meeting February 17, 2006 at the Osceola County Emergency Operations Center.
The LEPC has identified two sites for the full-scale Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant exercise. The eastside site will be the rail yard in New Smyrna Beach and the railroad crossing at Ronic and US-1 approximately 1.5 miles north of the rail yard. These sites provide the best opportunity to involve schools, a rail component, hazardous materials, business and evacuation of select areas of the county. The west site will be in the area of the Florida Power & Light Plant north to around Benson Junction Road. Potential staging sites in the area of Gemini Springs Park were discussed.
The exercise will involve several aspects of training, a tabletop exercise, presentations and a full-scale exercise. Training courses will consist of Logistics Section Chief and the Incident Commander courses which have been scheduled for February 27-March 1, 2006. Incident and Event Planning Incident Commander courses have been scheduled for April 3-5, 2006. The LEPC will begin requesting agencies to participate. The Section 302 chemical will be decided upon and should be available shortly. The tabletop exercise is scheduled for March 28, 2006 and the full-scale exercise is scheduled for April 28, 2006.
DISTRICT 7
Central Florida Regional Planning Council
DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee and Polk Counties
The District 7 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) met January 11, 2006. The meeting was dominated by discussions concerning the LEPC biennial/Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant exercise to be held March 31, 2006. Additionally, Mr. Richard Dunaway, Apiary Inspection Supervisor for the Florida Department of Agriculture, made a presentation on the Africanized Honey Bee and the impact these insects can have on the population.
A coordination meeting was held December 1, 2005 to begin scenario development for the LEPC exercise. The scenario will be based on a severe weather event that consists of a large super cell developing off the coast of southwest Florida and moving inland. As it passes through the region from the southwest to northeast it spawns a series of tornados, localized heavy rain and lightning. The tornados cause damage to several facilities and lightning will strike a railroad car carrying anhydrous ammonia creating a leak. Additional circumstances include damage to one hospital emergency room, major structural fires, and several search and rescue situations due to damage to mobile home parks.
All five counties in the district will participate in the exercise and events will require action from, at a minimum, Emergency Management, Fire/Rescue, Emergency Medical Services, Law Enforcement, and County Health Departments. The National Weather Service will assist in the development of the timelines and a realistic presentation of weather models will include “official weather alerts” to drive portions of the exercise. The exercise scenario and execution matrix was developed in February 2006 and approved by each county emergency manager to ensure that it meets each county's requirements.
CFRPC staff attended State Homeland Security planning/review meetings and participated in a DeSoto County Local Mitigation Strategy meeting.
Initial meetings for the Region 6 Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF) exercises were conducted. April 20, 2006 and April 27, 2006 are target dates for the tabletop exercise and the functional exercise, respectively. Both will be held in Ft. Myers. Three of the LEPC's five counties are located within the RDSTF.
LEPC meetings are currently scheduled for March 15, 2006 and May 10, 2006. The May meeting will most likely be rescheduled due to potential conflicts with the Governor's Hurricane Conference.
DISTRICT 8
Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Pinellas Counties
The District 8 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meeting was held February 1, 2006 and a LEPC meeting is scheduled for March 29, 2006. Staff attended the annual Florida Emergency Preparedness Association Conference in St. Pete Beach January 25-27, 2006.
Hospital Awareness/Operations level training for emergency room workers, security and safety personnel continues to be in demand. The Bay Pines Hazardous Materials Team conducted an Awareness/Operations level course at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa on February 7-8, 2006. A Hazardous Waste Workshop, co-sponsored by METRA-West, was held January 18, 2006 at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.
The Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Grant planning project continued with efforts to upgrade the Port of Tampa Siren Warning Briefings and the Shelter-in-Place (SIP) DVD into Spanish. With the assistance of Hillsborough County public access television, the upgrade of the briefings into Spanish has been completed and the completion date for the SIP DVD is September 30, 2006. Another HMEP planning project includes 17 How-to-Comply Workshops scheduled throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Finally, under HMEP planning, a LEPC Facility Disaster Planning subcommittee has been formed to produce several templates for disaster emergency planning. After the templates have been completed, half-day workshops will be conducted to assist facilities develop or upgrade hazardous materials spill/release plans. The LEPC anticipates this planning project will continue on an annual basis.
The LEPC is preparing for its biennial exercise by partnering with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office medical unit to conduct a multi-jurisdictional, multi-functional mass-casualty exercise. The exercise scenario will involve a truck crash and release of hydrochloric acid adjacent to the Pinellas County Boot Camp with fumes overpowering both boot camp participants and corrections deputies. Using hydrochloric acid, a persistent chemical, will result in exercising of shelter-in-place, triage and decontamination plans. The exercise is scheduled for May 18, 2006.
Staff represented the LEPC at the Tampa Bay Spill Committee meeting, the US Coast Guard Area Committee meeting, the Pinellas Police Standards Council meetings and staff participated in Risk Management Planning audits of City of Tampa Water and Tampa Bay Fisheries.
DISTRICT 9
Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council
Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota Counties
The District 9 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) met February 23, 2006, at the offices of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council. Captain Doug Wolfe was presented a State Emergency Response Commission Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of his contributions to the LEPC. Mr. Ken Howard recently retired from the position of Emergency Management Director in Glades County. Mr. Howard served on the LEPC from 1996-2006 and his contributions to the LEPC were also recognized at the meeting.
The LEPC proposed conducting community workshops at four area Wal-Mart Super Store locations. Workshop dates have been scheduled for March 14, March 16 and March 30, 2006 while the fourth workshop date has yet to be scheduled. The focus of the workshops will be hazardous materials and chemical safety.
A public availability notice of hazardous materials information was published during Hazardous Materials Awareness Week and resolutions recognizing Hazardous Materials Awareness Week were received from local governments in the district.
LEPC member Rick Zyvoloski provided an update on the upcoming LEPC exercise. He noted the exercise will be multi-jurisdictional and incorporate a plane crash, extremely hazardous chemicals and pandemic components. As many as 300 residents are hospitalized with laboratory confirmed avian flu and 21,000 are in outpatient status isolated in their homes. A patient impacted during a hazardous materials incident contaminates patients at a hospital in Collier County which has been activated for the pandemic.
Training initiatives endorsed by the LEPC are refresher training for the hazardous materials technicians and a 48-hour chemistry course. In another training matter, the Committee discussed its Hazardous Materials Tuition Reimbursement Program. The purpose of the Tuition Reimbursement Program is to allot a percentage of LEPC training funds to compensate individuals for tuition costs. Following approval of the program, an application will be posted on the LEPC's website.
The next meeting of the LEPC is scheduled for May 25, 2006.
DISTRICT 10
Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council
Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Counties
The District 10 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meeting was held February 2, 2006 at the Indian River Community College Chastain Campus in Stuart, Florida.
LEPC staff submitted the 2005/2006 hazardous analysis updates for St. Lucie and Martin counties to the Division of Emergency Management.
The Training Sub-committee met prior to the regular LEPC meeting to discuss hazardous materials training in the district. A Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations filemaker class is being scheduled for Martin and St. Lucie counties. Forty participants attended two Hazardous Materials Field Chemical Analysis Procedures classes in Jupiter and another class will be held in St. Lucie County in May. A Clandestine Drug Lab class will be conducted at a yet to be determined time and place.
Staff has begun work on the “Facility Hazards Analysis Summary” planning project this quarter.
The Planning Sub-committee met prior to the February 2, 2006 LEPC meeting and distributed the LEPC Hazardous Materials Emergency Plan to members for review and comment prior to the 2005/2006 update. Five members divided up sections of the plan and will return comments at a scheduled Planning Sub-committee meeting in April.
The Public Information and Marketing Sub-committee also met to discuss the communications agenda for the district. The sub-committee's outreach activities are targeting homeowners associations and mobile home villages by providing briefings and by distributing hazardous materials brochures. The ultimate goal is to develop a contact list of all safety and emergency preparedness personnel within each county and municipality to increase communications and coordination among public and private agencies.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled to take place May 4, 2006 at the Indian River Community College Chastain Campus in Stuart, Florida.
DISTRICT 11
South Florida Regional Planning Council
Broward, Dade and Monroe Counties
The District 11 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) last met February 22, 2006 at the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue & Emergency Management Operations Headquarters in Miami.
The Drill/Exercise Subcommittee has held two planning meetings in preparation for the LEPC biennial exercise scheduled for June 27, 2006. The subcommittee is developing an exercise scenario that will consist of an accidental chlorine release from a railroad tanker on the CSX/Tri-County commuter passenger rail line near the cities of Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and Pembroke Park. The exercise will be in the evening from 9:00-11:00pm and include the activation of the Broward and Miami-Dade Counties' Emergency Operations Centers. The exercise will test the hazardous materials response teams inter-communications, communications with Emergency Medical Services personnel, mass evacuation and it will involve hospitals within the area. The Miami and Fort Lauderdale Urban Area Security Initiative groups including the South Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force have been invited to participate as observers of the exercise.
The LEPC Training Subcommittee identified training courses to be offered this year that includes a 160-hour Technician level class geared to state certification, a 40-hour Chemistry course, an Awareness level class, a 40-hour Hazardous Waste Operations class and an 8-hour Hazardous Waste Operations Refresher course. LEPC staff is in the process of identifying contractors to provide the training.
The LEPC Planning Subcommittee is working on the “Community Workshops and Section 302 Facility Outreach” planning project. The project consists of two components 1) a series of five workshops for Section 302 facilities in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties and 2) a series of presentations on Sheltering-In-Place to district rotary clubs in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for April 27, 2006.