Iowa Emergency Response Commission and
Local Emergency Planning Committees

 

There are currently 46 county-based Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) in Iowa and seven regional LEPCs that cover the remaining 53 counties.

 

Funding for the activities of the commission come from the Iowa General Assembly, and grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Transportation and FEMA.

• LEPC Regions Map
• LEPC Points of Contact
• Iowa DNR EPCRA web page
• Iowa Emergency Response Commission Recordkeeping Requirements
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) website
• Report a hazardous spill - link to Iowa DNR website

 

 

• EPCRA Reporting
• EPA LEPC Plan Development
• Local Government Reimbursement Site
• EPA Emergency Management Site
• Tribal Emergency Response Commission Fact Sheet
• Nomination/Resignation Form - LEPC Membership

Funding for hazmat commodity flow studies is available from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Grant program. A guidebook for conducting hazardous materials commodity flow studies can be downloaded free of charge from the Transportation Research Board (TRB) here. This guidebook was developed using input of over 550 LEPCs from across the country.

 

FORMATION

If no LEPC is active or exists, the county Board of Supervisors is responsible for submitting nominations to the IERC for appointment to the Local Emergency Planning Committee.

 

MEMBERSHIP

Representatives of the following groups or organizations (a person may represent one or more groups provided they are duly appointed by each group or organization they represent):

1. Elected State and local officials
2. Law enforcement personnel
3. Civil defense personnel
4. Fire fighting personnel
5. First aid personnel
6. Health personnel
7. Local environmental personnel
8. Hospital personnel
9. Transportation personnel
10. Broadcast and print media
11. Community groups
12. Owners and operators of facilities subject to the requirements of this subtitle.

INITIAL STEPS

Establish procedures for functioning of committee to include:

• Selection of chair/vice-chair and secretary;
• Determine length of term for LEPC members;
• Designate a 24-hour emergency contact point for emergency release notifications (may use 911 if procedures are in place);
• Designation of local government office for receiving non-emergency notifications from facilities subject to the law;
• Designation of an official (information coordinator) to respond to requests for information from public (e.g. MSDS, chemical inventory forms, minutes of LEPC meetings, and emergency response plans)

ESTABLISHMENT PROCEDURES

• Public notification of committee activities;
• Receiving and responding to public comments;
• Distribution of emergency plans;
• Receiving and processing requests from public for information under EPCRA Section 324, including Tier II information under Section 312;
• Public access for review of material including
• emergency response plan
• MSDS
• inventory forms;


• Publish annual notice of information available;
• Make available minutes of all LEPC meetings to public;

WHAT IERC NEEDS FROM LEPCs

• Name of chair and vice chair;
• Emergency 24 hour number for emergency release notification (section 304);
• Name of an information coordinator to respond to request for information to public (sections 311(c)(2) and 324;
• Name and address of local government office for receiving non-emergency notifications (sections 311 & 312);
• Minutes of LEPC meetings;
• Current list of emergency facility coordinators designated by each facility;
• Public notification of committee activity;
• Procedures for receiving and responding to public comments and requests.

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IERC MEMBER DIRECTORY
Member	IERC Membership
Terry Butler*	Vermeer Corporation (PRIVATE INDUSTRY)
James Clark, Jr.	Sioux City Fire Department (HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TASK FORCE)
Christopher Enyeart	Lyndell Basell Industries (PRIVATE INDUSTRY)
Janet Gastineau*	Iowa Department of Natural Resources (NATURAL RESOURCES)
Meghan Gavin	Iowa Department of Justice (JUSTICE)
Susan Green*	Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Mgmt. (PUBLIC DEFENSE)
Staci Griffin*	Louisa County Emergency Management (LEPC REPRESENTATIVE)
Capt. Dean House*	Iowa Department of Transportation (TRANSPORTATION)
Anne Jackson* (CHAIR)	Iowa Workforce Development (IOWA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT)
Terry Jackson	City of Marion Fire Department (FIRE SERVICE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE COUNCIL)
Robin Pruisner	Iowa Dept. of Agriculture & Land Stewardship (AGRICULTURE)
Melanie Rasmusson	Iowa Department of Public Health (PUBLIC HEALTH)
Ray Reynolds* (VICE CHAIR)	Iowa Department of Public Safety (PUBLIC SAFETY)
Ted Stopulos	Office of Governor Terry E. Branstad (GOVERNOR'S OFFICE)
Julie Waltz	Regulatory Consultants, Inc. (PRIVATE INDUSTRY)
PDF of Member Directory
*Indicates voting member

 

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IERC STAFF DIRECTORY
Staff	IERC Staff Position
Paul Sadler	EPCRA Planner and Board Administrator Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Mgmt.
Lisa Sexton	HMEP Program Coordinator Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Mgmt.
Elonda Bacon	EPCRA Coordinator Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Rodney Tucker	Environmental Specialist Senior Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Adam Broughton	Environmental Specialist Senior Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Patricia Reitz	Environmental Protection Specialist Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII
Don Lininger	On-Scene Coordinator Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII
PDF of Staff Directory

 

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Upcoming IERC Meetings 2013

Thu., 10/24

10 a.m.

Iowa Emergency Response Commission Polk County EMA Conference Rooms C12-13 1907 Carpenter Ave., Des Moines

 

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2013	March 7, 2013
2012	March 15, 2012 May 24, 2012 Oct. 25, 2012	2011	March 17, 2011 May 26, 2011 Oct. 27, 2011
2010	March 18, 2010 Oct. 14, 2010 Oct. 29, 2010	2009	March 5, 2009 Sept. 24, 2009
2008	March 6, 2008 Sept. 25, 2008	2007	March 8, 2007 Oct. 9, 2007 Nov. 9, 2007
2006	March 2, 2006 Sept. 28, 2006	2005	March 3, 2005 Sept. 29, 2005
2004	Jan. 8, 2004 March 4, 2004 Oct. 8, 2004	2003	Jan. 2, 2003 March 6, 2003 July 2, 2003 Sept. 4, 2003 Nov. 6, 2003
2002	Jan. 3, 2002 March 7, 2002 May 2, 2002 July 11, 2002 Nov. 7, 2002	2001	July 6, 2001

 

 

 

 

Independent hazardous materials teams in Iowa have developed where the need for response capability to an accidental chemical release has been recognized by larger communities and have contracted their services to other counties surrounding them. In most cases, hazmat teams will not automatically respond outside of their contracted area. Hazmat teams cover 99.5 percent of the state's population and 93 Iowa counties.

 

The cost of maintaining an independent hazmat team is substantial and the expense is shared by the member counties by a per capita contribution.

 

Many local responders are trained to the operations level, meaning they can contain and secure the incident but may lack adequate training or equipment to fully respond to the incident. It is not always feasible for volunteers to maintain the level of training or the specialized equipment necessary when responding to hazardous materials accident. A professional hazmat team that is ready to respond fulfills a much needed service in the interest of the public. Often the hazmat team also provides planning and training assistance to first responders in the member counties.

 

These independent hazmat teams are different than the state WMD HazMat Team (although members of some of these teams are part of the state team). Click here to read more about the state team.

Click here to view a PDF of this map.

Team #	Team Name
1	Sioux City Fire Department (Serving Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Ida, Lyon, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury counties)
2	Region V HazMat Team (Serving Calhoun, Carroll, Greene, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster and Wright counties)
3	Mason City Fire Department (Serving Cerro Gordo, Emmet, Floyd, Franklin, Hancock, Kossuth, Mitchell, Palo Alto, Winnebago and Worth counties)
4	Northeast Iowa Response Group (Serving Allamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Chickasaw, Grundy, Hardin, Howard, Poweshiek, Tama and Winneshiek counties)
5	Des Moines Fire Department (Serving Boone, Dallas, Madison, Marshall, Polk, Story and Warren counties)
6	Southeast Iowa Response Group (Serving Clarke, Davis, Decatur, Jefferson, Mahaska, Monroe, Ringgold, Van Buren, Wapello, and Wayne counties)
7	Linn County HazMat Team (Serving Benton, Buchanan, northern Cedar, Clayton, Delaware, Fayette, Jones and Linn counties)
8	Cedar Rapids HazMat Team (serving City of Cedar Rapids)
9	Johnson County HazMat Team (Serving Johnson County and southern Cedar County)
10	Dubuque Fire Department (Serving Dubuque County)
11	Davenport Fire Department (Serving Clinton and Jackson counties and the west half of Scott County)
12	Bettendorf Fire and Rescue (Serving the east half of Scott County)
13	Council Bluffs Fire Department (Serving Adair, Cass, Fremont, Guthrie, Mills, Page and Pottawattamie counties)
14	Burlington Fire Department (Serving Des Moines County)
15	Ames HazMat Team (Serving the City of Ames and Boone, Dallas, Madison, Marshall, Polk, Story and Warren counties)
16	Muscatine HazMat Team (Serving Henry, Keokuk, Louisa, Muscatine and Washington counties)
17	Newton Fire Department (Serving Jasper and Marion counties)
18	Hydro-Klean (Serving Appanoose and Lucas counties)
19	Tri-County Special Operations (Serving Crawford, Harrison and Shelby counties)
20	Lee County HazMat (Serving Lee County)

 

 

 

2013

June 6	LEPC Workshop North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) Mason City
	Workshop Flier Campus Map Directions to NIACC
This workshop has been designed to provide information that is important to help LEPC members understand and enhance their work with the LEPC. Similar workshops have been conducted around the state. Register now-space is limited!
July 25-27	2013 Region VII Conference Overland Park Marriott 10800 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, Kansas
	2013 Awards Nomination Form Conference Postcard Invitation Financial Assistance Guidelines 2013
The Iowa Emergency Response Commission sets aside $10,000 to help send LEPC members to this conference. This financial assistance is available on a first come/first serve basis. As in the past, LEPC/REPC members who want to take advantage of this financial assistance will need to send a request by email to Paul Sadler by close of business on July 1, 2013. A list of requests will be maintained and you will receive a reply with a sample invoice to be used by your LEPC to assist in submitting your expenses.   Anyone requesting the financial assistance must be from an active LEPC/REPC and listed in our database as a member. An active LEPC/REPC is one that has submitted at least two sets of minutes in the past year, and has provided membership and officer updates.
	For information, visit the conference website.

 

 

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