Sangamon Sun

Sangamon County Local Emergency Planning Committee met Jan. 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

Call to Order - The Chair, David Butt, called the meeting to order at 8:30 am, at the State Fire Marshal’s Office Auditorium, 1035 Aldai Stevenson Drive, Springfield IL 62703.

There was a quorum with 18 members present: Thomas Abbott, Illinois National Guard; Katie Bates, Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Health Center; Mike Burg, Menard County EMS; David Butt, Sangamon County OEM; Brian Churchill, St. John’s Hospital; Joe Crowe, Athens Fire Department; Roger Cruse, Ameren Illinois; Brian Hollencamp, Menard County GIS; Jim Johnson, Springfield Fire Department (SFD); Tim Krell, Sangamon County Board; Jim Leach, WMAY Radio; Jason LeMar, Menard County GIS; Ralph Long, Illinois Air National Guard (IANG); Chris Richmond, SFD; Steve Schoeffel, Sangamon Mass Transit District; Eric Staley, City Water, Light and Power; Laura Valente, IANG; and Diana Wade, Sangamon County Department of Public Health.

Approval of the Minutes - Minutes from the LEPC meeting of November 17, 2016, were distributed via email prior to this meeting. A motion was made by Katie Bates, seconded by Brian Churchill and approved unanimously to accept these minutes.

Welcome - A sign-in sheet was circulated. Self-introductions were made. Four visitors were present: Dakota Redd and Mandy Sebeschak, Hillsboro Area Hospital; Bob Flemming, Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA); and Mark Newton, Union Pacific Railroad (UP). All were welcomed.

New Business Summary Report Relative to LEPC Activities During 2016 – The Chair distributed a draft of this annual summary with our meeting notice. He recounted the many accomplishments of the LEPC during the past year and also thanked Mark Newton, our visitor from the UP, for training that he helped provide. Proofreading by the committee found a couple of scrivener’s errors With these 2 corrections, a motion was made by Chris Richmond, seconded by Joe Crowe and approved unanimously to approve this summary report for 2016.

2016 Tier 2 Reports – The Chair identified that the filling period is open. A few Tier 2 Reports have already been received by mail thus far. We hope to have all of the nearly 140 Tier 2 Reports that we are expecting in-hand by our next meeting in March.

Hazard Vulnerability Assessments (HVA) for Sangamon and Menard Counties – The Chair is still receiving completed HVA matrices from the membership. These can be useful on many levels. Sangamon County will use HVA results for its hazard analysis in conjunction with the 2017 county emergency plan updating. Menard County can do the same. We can look at the HVA for making assessments that are county-wide, community-wide, campus-wide or building-wide. Several LEPC members have, indeed, done just that.

Quarterly Report on SFD Planning Update for Hazardous Materials – SFD is building base map layers using Marplot® to form the underpinning of this project. Hydrant locations across our 2 counties would be an example of data needed to plan for accidental releases. Many dispatch centers and fire departments have this data in various formats such as ArcGIS® and I Am Responding®. It can be exported to Marplot®, which is a free platform provided by the U.S. EPA. Inquiries are being made to our Tier 2 reporting facilities seeking information about routes traveled by hazardous materials supplier trucks inbound and delivery trucks outbound. An announced goal of this planning update is to develop a Hazardous Materials Route Map and keep it updated, for our planning district. Several years ago, Winnebago County developed such a map. Arrangements have been made to converse with Rockford Fire Department on this topic at their LEPC Conference in April.

Old Business Hazardous Materials Emergency Planning (HMEP) Grant – The last meeting minutes show that the committee is aware that we have been allocated our full HMEP grant request of $149K over 3 years, with over $40K budgeted for the SFD Planning Update Project and over $100K budgeted for our Hazardous Materials Commodity Flow Study (CFS).

CFS – Given the expected size of the CFS, it is subject to more strenuous procurement procedures than smaller studies that we have done in the past. Legal notices were run between December 23 and January 2, announcing that Sangamon County was making a Request for Proposals available at http://co.sangamon.il.us/departments/a-c/county-board/rfps-and-bid-information. Two proposals were received for a CFS that will run for 15 months between March 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018. One proposal from a local vendor, American Environmental Corp., met all our terms with a price within our budgetary limits. The authority for signing contracts rests with the Sangamon County Board, which meets on February 7. The Chair will seek Board approval. This CFS will be wrapped up by the mid- point of the HMEP performance period. This will give the LEPC an opportunity to modify CFS terms, as needed, and conduct a second one over the last half of the performance period.

U.S. EPA Cleanup Project at 1525 E. Phillips, Springfield – Chris Richmond informed us about an open house to meet one-on-one with U.S. EPA and state of Illinois staff to learn more about this project, being held on January 24, at Springfield’s Lincoln Library on Seventh Street. An invitation to this open house is available at https://www.epa.gov/il/pillsbury-mills-llc-removal-site.

Other Business Public Comment – Dakota Redd addressed the committee. Hillsboro Area Hospital hopes to rally momentum for the Montgomery County LEPC. Dakota and Mandy had heard about our LEPC through the hospital’s participation with the Springfield Regional Response Coalition. The Chair thanked them both for attending and recommended that they speak with Mark after the meeting, as Hillsboro is on a UP route. He also recommended that Joe Gasparich, Nokomis Fire Chief, and Stan Krushas, IEMA Region 8, be contacted for advice on their LEPC.

Around the Room – The last meeting minutes forewarned everyone that we would be investing more time on this activity today. All members and visitors were asked (required) to address the committee in a way that shows what they bring to the committee. Such an activity helps build the camaraderie within our membership. Our elected official, Tim Krell, shared his background as a retired from SFD. We appreciated hearing how our activities resonate so well with those who govern us.

Meeting Closure – The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for 8:30 am, March 16, 2017, at the Office of the State Fire Marshal. It will be followed by the final meeting of our fiscal year on May 18, at the Athens City Hall. There being no further business, a motion was made by Brian Churchill, seconded by Chris Richmond and approved unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 am.

http://co.sangamon.il.us/Portals/0/Departments/Office%20of%20Emergency%20Management/Docs/Sangamon%20Valley%20LEPC/LEPC%20Minutes%2001-19-17.pdf