What Is The Erie County LEPC?
The Erie County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) was
established in accordance with the provisions of the federal Title
III, Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 SARA Title
III), commonly known as the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). The Committee was established to
implement the provisions of this law within Erie County, and
subsequently, to carry out the duties specified for Pennsylvania
LEPC's in Section 203 of the Pennsylvania Hazardous Material
Emergency Planning and Response Act, Act 165 of 1990.
The Erie County LEPC is comprised of individuals representing a cross
section of the County's emergency and health services community,
large and small industry, elected officials and the public as well
as County Council, the County Emergency Management Coordinator and
the Erie County Hazardous Materials Response Team. The LEPC meets
monthly.
What Does The Erie County LEPC do?
The primary duties of the Erie County LEPC are:
Prepare and coordinate a chemical emergency response plan for all
facilities in the County where extremely hazardous substances are
present in quantities above a threshold level, as required by SARA
Title III, Section 303.
Collect and maintain SARA Section 312 hazardous chemical inventory
reports (Tier II reports) for facilities required to submit such
reports.
Receive
information about reportable accidental chemical releases and ensure
that emergency response plans are followed by the responsible
facility when responding to such releases.
Assist the County in the preparation of a Hazardous Material Emergency
Response Preparedness Assessment.
Ensure the review, implementation and updating of the Erie County
Emergency Response Plan and the component plans for each reporting
facility.
Collect and deposit into the County Hazardous Material Emergency
Response Account all fees and funds received in accordance with the
provisions of Erie County Ordinance Number 10, 1991 and ensure the
timely submission of required fees by reporting facilities.
Maintain a database of all planning and reporting facilities and the
hazardous chemicals reported by these facilities.
Provide outreach and education to municipalities and the community
concerning hazardous materials within the community.
Erie County LEPC Membership
The minimum composition of all LEPC's in Pennsylvania is prescribed in
Section 203 of the Pennsylvania Hazardous Material Emergency
Planning and Response Act, Act 165 of 1990. The By-laws of the Erie
County LEPC provide for this minimum representation plus additional
representatives to provide an adequate cross-section of the involved
community. Candidates for membership on the Committee are
recommended to the County Executive for submission to the
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council, which appoints the
members.
Public Access to Information
Section 324 of SARA Title III provides that the Emergency Response
Plan, material safety data sheets (MSDS), chemical lists (Tier I
list), inventory forms (Tier II form), toxic chemical release forms
and follow-up emergency notices shall be made available to the
general public, consistent with the provisions of Section 322 of
SARA Title III (relating to trade secrets).
This information for Erie County is kept at the following location:
Erie County Emergency Management Agency
2880 Flower Rd.
Erie, PA 16509
Telephone: (814) 451-7940
Office hours: 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday
The following procedure has been established by the Erie County LEPC
for requesting information from the Erie County Emergency Management
Agency:
| a) |
All requests for information shall be in writing to the
Emergency Management Agency office.
|
| b) |
Files may be reviewed
in the EMA office but no copies will be made.
|
| c) |
All requests received
by the EMA office will be sent to the company in question so that
they may supply the requested information.
|
| d) |
Companies should send
requested information to the County EMA for distribution to
requesting party.
|
| e) |
County EMA will
supply the information provided to the requesting party with a copy
of correspondence to the company in question.
|
| |
|
A fee schedule has been established by the Committee to help defray
the cost of reproduction, file maintenance, and postage, as follows:
| $1.00 for the first page of information copied.
|
| $0.25 for each additional page copied.
|
|
