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Florida HAZMatters
Volume 19 Number 5
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 quarterly meeting
April 19th, 2006 in Gulf Breeze, Florida . The Committee discussed its 2006 Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grant planning project, which will be three “How-to-Comply” workshops to instruct businesses on meeting the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act requirements. The workshops will be strategically located throughout the District. Flyers will be distributed to facilities recorded in the Hazardous Materials Information System and by reaching out to local industry groups. In preparing for the upcoming HMEP workshops, staff conducted an overview of the “How-to-Comply Handbook” and Tier II form completion with members during the LEPC meeting in order to familiarize them with the process.
Staff assisted the Northeast Florida Regional Council with the exercise design and evaluation of the 2006 Regional Domestic Security Task Force's Terrorism Exercise held in Pensacola . Staff also assisted in the evaluation of Naval Hospital Pensacola's Full-Scale Mass Casualty Exercise.
The District's Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan is being updated, with members having approved the updates to be made at the April meeting. The Plan will be submitted to the Division of Emergency Management at the end of June 2006 for review.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled to take place at the Gulf Coast Community College in Bay County on July 19, 2006 at 10:00am. For more information, please contact Deborah Thayer at 850-595-8910 ext 217.
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 April 19, 2006 at the Franklin County Emergency Operations Center .
The LEPC sponsored an Awareness level class April 15, 2006 at the Carrabelle Volunteer Fire Department. The LEPC conducted an ICS-100 course and an Awareness level course May 2, 2006 at the Florida State Hospital . The LEPC also sponsored an Introduction to
Terrorism course and an Operations Refresher course on May 3, 2006 at the Florida State Hospital .
Finally, the LEPC sponsored a Tactical Entry and Explosive Course in the Immediate Danger to Life and Health Environment at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy May 10-12, 2006. A total of 151 participants attended the six courses.
LEPC staff assisted the Tallahassee Fire Department with a 40-hour Hazardous Materials Technician course and a 40-hour HazMedic course. The courses were funded by the Tallahassee
Fire Department and in return for LEPC staff assistance, extra course slots were made available to the LEPC.
In addition, staff is coordinating with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to schedule a 40-hour Law Enforcement Clandestine Lab course for July 10–14, 2006. All participants would be required to become a member of the regional team and participate in clandestine lab entries throughout the Region 2 Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF) jurisdiction.
Staff continues to work on corrections to the 2005-2006 hazards analyses for Calhoun, Franklin , Gadsden , Gulf, Jefferson, Liberty and Wakulla counties.
The LEPC selected “Facility Hazards Analysis Summary” as the HMEP grant-planning project for the 2005-2006 fiscal year. Staff is continuing to work towards completion of a summary that will consist of vital response information for all Section 302 facilities within the LEPC's nine-county district.
To meet the LEPC biennial exercise requirement, staff coordinated with Leon County Emergency Management to incorporate a hazardous materials component into their May 25, 2006 hurricane/terrorism tabletop exercise. The exercise included participation by approximately forty players, seven of which are LEPC members and staff is preparing the after action report.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for July 26, 2006 at 10:00 am EDT at the Tallahassee Fire Department's Training Division classroom.
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) met at the Alachua County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) May 19, 2006. A presentation was given to the LEPC on Africanized Honey Bees. Items discussed included Hazardous Materials Awareness Week, North Central Florida Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team (NCFRHMRT) activities and adoption of the biennial exercise after action report.
The LEPC adopted the after action report ( AAR ) for the Lake City Foot Powder Incident. The actual multi-county, multi-agency hazardous materials response was conducted in lieu of the biennial exercise requirement. The review of the incident is anticipated to improve communications flow through the county EOC during actual weapons of mass destruction events. The response also resulted in the NCFRHMRT adopting a finalized deployment plan that had been in the draft stage for two years.
This AAR was prepared using the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) format. This format presents a structured approach to organizing and analyzing an exercise.
An Improvement Plan (IP) is included that lists specific actions that will be taken to improve performance in mission critical areas. For example, the IP in the LEPC AAR included training classes funded through the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grant program and the completion of the NCFRHMRT deployment plan. Each action item assigns a lead agency that has responsibility for completing it by a given date.
Other items discussed at the LEPC meeting included responder orientation to the LEPC plan and NCFRHMRT seminars, facility outreach seminars, LEPC biennial nominations, the LEPC Emergency Response Plan update, the Tri-State Mutual Aid Agreement, publication of the Availability of Public Information Notices, the 2007 Hazardous Materials Awareness Week and orders for new LEPC shirts.
Staff activities included teaching responders the new version of ALOHA that now includes modeling for fires, flares, evaporating pools and BLEVEs. Staff attended a Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Security and Response class offered by the University of Florida TREEO Center. Staff also taught an HSEEP Class at the Governors Hurricane Conference (with District 7 LEPC staff) and helped evaluate the Statewide Terrorism/COOP/Hurricane Exercise held at Camp Blanding .
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. August 18, 2006, at the Regional Service Center in Alachua. The LEPC will alternate meetings in Alachua with visits to every county EOC in District 3.
DISTRICT 4
Northeast Florida Regional Council
Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau , Putnam and St. Johns counties
The District 4 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meeting was held May 16, 2006 at the offices of the Northeast Florida Regional Council.
The LEPC sent 6 firefighters from Clay and Duval counties to the 2006 International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Annual Hazardous Materials Conference June 1-4, 2006. The four-day conference hosted educational workshops and hazardous materials training sessions.
The LEPC also sent two firefighters from Duval County to Special Hazmat Leak, Spill, & Fire Control training in White Springs June 13-16, 2006. The classes included Department of Homeland Security exercise preparation, HAZWOPER, first responder, technician, specialist, command and refresher training.
The Fernandina Beach firefighters have requested a 160-hour Technician level training course. The LEPC anticipates the training to be held in Nassau County in July 2006.
The LEPC chose “Local Emergency Planning Committee Plan Exercise” as the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant planning project. A tabletop exercise is scheduled for June 28, 2006 and a functional exercise is planned for August 17, 2006.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for August 16, 2006 at the offices of the Northeast Florida Regional Council.
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 April 19, 2006, at the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council (WRPC).
The Training Subcommittee scheduled Clandestine Drug Lab Awareness Training for June 5-7, 2006 and a 40-hour HazMedic training course was also scheduled for July 24–28, 2006.
WRPC staff continued to work toward completion of the Levy County hazards analyses. On-site visits were conducted and consisted of interviewing the primary facility manager(s), visual inspection of extremely hazardous substance storage locations, and taking photographs. Additionally, information obtained during the site visits was either added to, or edited in the current Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO) database. CAMEO reports were subsequently generated for each facility and submitted to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM) for approval.
The LEPC met the biennial exercise requirement while also conducting a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant full-scale exercise March 11, 2006, in Belleview , Florida . The exercise was held at the Belleview High School in Marion County and consisted of an explosion at the Belleview High School football stadium. A chemical agent was intentionally released which created a mass casualty incident requiring emergency extraction, evacuation and decontamination of victims. Nineteen agencies participated in the exercise along with 207
volunteer victims. Victims were transported to six hospitals in the area. The after action report was completed and submitted to the DEM.
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 May 19, 2006 at the offices of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council.
An 8-hour Hazardous Materials Incidents Refresher class was held Tuesday, May 25, 2006 at the Seminole County Emergency Management Office. The LEPC is coordinating with providers to conduct a HazMedic class within the near future.
A full-scale terrorism response exercise to address a hazardous materials train derailment was conducted April 28, 2006 at two locations ( New Smyrna Beach and DeBary) in Volusia County .
The exercise brought together multiple first responders including federal, state and local law enforcement, fire agencies and emergency medical services. In addition, fire departments and hazardous materials teams from Brevard, Lake and Seminole counties responded. Container cars with simulated hazardous materials and a school bus were pre-staged and more than 100 volunteers acted as victims at four different exercise locations. Buses (simulating ambulances) transported the victims to six area hospitals and the Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford .
DISTRICT 7
Central Florida Regional Planning Council
DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands , Okeechobee and Polk counties
The District 7 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) met March 15, 2006 in Wauchula and May 18, 2006 at the Southwest Florida Water Management District facility in Bartow.
The March LEPC meeting focused on finalization of the LEPC biennial exercise plan. During the meeting the evaluation plan was approved and evaluators/controllers were identified.
Evaluator training was conducted and the exercise took place March 31, 2006. Observers from the state were present along with several media representatives and representatives from all five District counties participated. Mr. Dan Noah from the National Weather Service assisted with weather bulletins that were used to drive the scenario and a Groove account was established so all players would have an opportunity to work with this new system. The after action report is nearly completed and should be available for distribution by the end of June.
Mr. Carter assisted the West Florida Regional Planning Council with the Regional Domestic Security Task Force/Homeland Security Exercise.
Mr. Carter and representatives from Highlands and DeSoto counties attended the Small Quantity Generators of Hazardous Materials conference in Sarasota . This training will allow Highlands County to take over this program for themselves and DeSoto County to re-establish a program that has been dormant for several years.
Many of the District's LEPC members attended the Governor's Hurricane Conference and Mr. Carter along with Mr. Dwayne Mundy presented two days of instruction on the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP).
The primary focus of the LEPC meeting in May was a complete review of the membership. As a result, multiple changes were submitted to the Division of Emergency Management that will remove nine members who have chosen not to participate and to request approval of twelve new members.
Finally, Mr. Carter served as an evaluator for the Statewide Terrorism/COOP/Hurricane Exercise held at Camp Blanding May 22-25, 2006.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for July 12, 2006 in Wauchula.
DISTRICT 8
Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Pinellas counties
The District 8 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meeting was held May 31, 2006 and the annual revision of the LEPC Emergency Response Plan was completed and approved at the meeting.
Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grant training this quarter consisted of a 40-hour HAZWOPER course and a Hazardous Materials Technician course May 15-19, 2006. Eighteen firefighters, mostly from Manatee County , attended the course. The remainder of training for the year will consist of two Hospital Awareness/Operations courses and a series of three one-day courses on basic Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO) August 22, 23 & 24, 2006.
The HMEP planning projects continued with the Port of Tampa Siren Warning Briefings and planning efforts to upgrade the briefing and the Shelter-in-Place video into Spanish. The briefing in Spanish has been completed and was given to the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Red Cross on April 5, 2006.
Also under HMEP Planning, a LEPC “Facility Disaster Planning” subcommittee has been formed. The goal is to produce several templates for disaster emergency planning and then to conduct half-day workshops to assist facilities that have no emergency plan or to assist facilities in upgrading their present plans. A workshop was held April 20, 2006 and many excellent ideas were obtained from facilities that participated.
This year the LEPC partnered with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) on Thursday, May 18, 2006, to complete a mass-casualty exercise at the County Jail in order for the medical unit to receive its annual accreditation. The scenario involved the release of a persistent hazardous chemical, hydrochloric acid (HCl) resulting from a truck accident in close proximity (plume distance) of the exercise yard at the jail. The jail's Critical Incident Response Team was the first response unit on the scene, and after stabilizing the exercise yard by restraining prisoners, allowed the Pinellas Park and Largo Fire Departments to enter and perform gross decontamination of both prisoners and corrections deputies. Medical staff then exercised their emergency response plan to triage victims in the exercise yard. During decontamination, security issues warranted being able to identify the inmate population from the correctional deputies. The exercise went well and was indicative of the pre-planning and hard work of the PCSO.
LEPC Staff attended Tampa Bay Spill Committee meetings, the United States Coast Guard Area Committee meetings and participated in the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan review of Hillsborough County . Finally, staff participated in the Florida Pipeline Stakeholders meeting June 20, 2006.
The next meeting of the LEPC is scheduled for July 26, 2006.
DISTRICT 9
Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council
Charlotte , Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota counties
The District 9 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) met May 25, 2006, at the offices of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council.
The Committee recognized Assistant Chief Robert Eairheart of the Venice Fire Department with a plaque for his contributions to the LEPC. Chief Robert Eairheart will retire from the fire services. During his tenure, Chief Eairheart hosted several training events and participated in LEPC exercises. In a similar membership recognition matter, the body directed staff to provide recognition to Mr. John Campbell who recently retired from Lee County Emergency Management.
In other matters, the LEPC approved the 2006 update of the District 9 Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan. Also, the LEPC approved the biennial membership nominations.
A 48-hour Chemistry course is scheduled for July 17-22, 2006, at the Iona McGregor Fire Department in Fort Myers . Also, the results of the 2006 LEPC Hazardous Materials Training Needs Assessment were presented for review and discussion. The assessment was conducted to determine training needs through 2008. The survey revealed that Incident Safety Officer, Clandestine Laboratory Awareness and Hazardous Materials Air Monitoring are the top choices respectively.
In another matter, the Committee briefly addressed its Hazardous Materials Tuition Reimbursement Program but did not finalize the document which would support the Committee's training initiative. The purpose of the Tuition Reimbursement Program is to allot a percentage of annual LEPC training funds to compensate individuals for tuition costs associated with entering the hazardous materials emergency response field. Following approval of the program, an application will be posted on the LEPC's website for public use.
The next quarterly meeting of the LEPC is scheduled for August 24, 2006. Additional information regarding the programs and activities of the Committee can be obtained by viewing www.swfrpc.org.
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 May 18, 2006 at the Indian River Community College Chastain Campus in Stuart.
LEPC staff completed the 2005-2006 hazardous analyses for St. Lucie and Martin counties. Upon approval by the Division of Emergency Management, distribution of the analyses will take place.
The Training Sub-committee was dissolved by popular vote and instead the membership will be surveyed at the beginning of the new contract cycle to determine training needs in the district. The LEPC will continue to handle any requests as they come in for regional training. A Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEOfm) class was conducted June 21-23, 2006 and a Clandestine Laboratory class is scheduled for July 24-25, 2006.
The Planning Sub-committee met prior to the LEPC meeting to receive the current LEPC Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan for review and comment. Sub-committee members divided up sections of the plan and returned comments. Staff compiled comments, made corrections and will submit the updated plan to the Division of Emergency Management.
The Public Information and Marketing Sub-committee also met prior to the LEPC meeting to discuss the ongoing communications agenda for the region. The sub-committee is reaching out to homeowners associations and mobile home villages to foster hazardous materials educational opportunities. The sub-committee will develop a contact list of all safety and emergency preparedness personnel within each county and municipality to facilitate the ultimate goal of increasing communications and coordination among public and private agencies.
The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for August 3, 2006 at the Indian River Community College Chastain Campus in Stuart.
DISTRICT 11
South Florida Regional Planning Council
Broward, Dade and Monroe counties
The District 11 Local Emergency Planning Committee held its meeting April 26, 2006 at the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue & Emergency Management Operations Headquarters in Miami .
The Drill/Exercise Sub-committee had several planning meetings for the LEPC biennial exercise scheduled for 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., June 27, 2006. The original CSX/Tri-County commuter passenger rail line location was changed because CSX will not allow the exercise to be implemented on their property. The Subcommittee, thanks to the support of the City of Hallandale Beach Fire Rescue Department, has secured an alternate location a couple of miles east of the CSX rail line at the Gulfstream Park Racetrack. Given the location change, the chlorine railroad tanker will not be available at the site but the exercise scenario will remain the same. It will simulate a chlorine railroad tanker release near the Broward and Miami-Dade county borderline.
The exercise will test three functional areas including communication and interactions between regional hazardous materials (Hazmat) teams, communications and interaction with emergency medical services and implementation of site evacuation to local area hospitals. The LEPC set three initial goals for the exercise: 1) how communications between emergency responders has improved, 2) how much overall response has improved, and 3) how Hazmat teams operate in an environment where they talk to each other without going through the incident command structure.
The scenario also includes the activation of the Broward County and Miami-Dade County Emergency Operations Centers . Participants in the exercise include the Miami-Dade County, Broward County, cities of Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise and Hialeah regional Hazmat Teams, cities of Dania Beach, Hallandale Beach, Miramar, Pembroke Park and Islamorada Fire Rescue Departments, Memorial Hospital West, Broward County Medical & Trauma Agency, Broward County Sheriff's Office, Miami-Dade Police Department, cities of Hallandale Beach, Miramar, Hollywood and Aventura Police Departments, American Red Cross, Broward County and Miami-Dade County environmental agencies, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Due to the size and type of the event and the impact it would have on the community it is our assumption that the South East Regional Domestic Security Task Force (SERDSTF) would activate. The LEPC is also inviting the two Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) groups in Miami and Fort Lauderdale to participate in a limited extent based on the involvement of the SERDSTF.
The LEPC conducted a 40-hour Fire Chemistry class June 19-22, 2006 at the City of Miami Fire Training Academy. An 8-hour Hazmat Awareness class and an 8-hour HAWOPER Refresher course will be offered in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties during June and July, 2006. A bid solicitation for a 160-hour Technician level class has been issued.
The LEPC is working on the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant community outreach project for Section 302 facilities and local community groups. The project consists of two components a) a series of five workshops for section 302 facilities, two in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and one in Monroe County. The workshops will include facility managers/personnel; emergency response personnel and the general public that reside or work close to the facilities. The other aspect of this component includes a series of presentations on Sheltering-in-Place to district rotary clubs in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The LEPC prepared a Shelter-In-Place brochure and a Power Point Presentation that will be available on the LEPC web page.
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