Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act, each county in Wisconsin is designated as an Emergency Planning District with a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). LEPC membership is broad and includes representatives from: elected state and local officials, emergency management, law enforcement, fire service, local health, emergency medical service, local media, community groups and industry. This means local people are making local decisions about how to plan for, train for and respond to chemical emergencies in your community. The LEPC is the point of contact for the public to receive information on storage/locations of chemicals, types of chemicals and hazards associated with those chemicals. Most people will agree that efforts to protect the public are best handled locally by the people and for the people whom the law was meant to protect.
Emergency Planning: The LEPC enables communities as a whole to prepare for hazardous chemical releases through emergency planning. This planning also provides information and facilitates training for the first responders who are called upon to protect the public in the event of a chemical accident. Your LEPC can provide you with information on evacuation routes, shelter-in-place procedures and other information you may need to help your family plan for a chemical emergency.
Community Right-to-Know: The LEPC increases awareness of chemical hazards in your community and allows you and your local government to obtain information about chemical hazards. If you are concerned about the types, amounts or locations of chemicals stored in your community, contact your LEPC.
Pursuant to §59.54(8), Wisconsin Statutes, the Local Emergency Planning Committee is required to have members as specified in 42 USC 11001(c), which shall have powers and duties under 42 USC 11000 to 11050 and under §323.20 and 323.21, Wisconsin Statutes. Superfund Amendments and Re-authorization Act (SARA) Title III (Section 301(c)) requires that the Committee consist of at least one representative from each of the following groups:
- Elected State and Local Officials
- Law Enforcement
- Fire
- Emergency Management
- Public Health
- Environmental Group
- Representatives of facilities subject to the EPRCRA requirements
- Media representative.
Duties and Responsibilities. Pursuant to 42 USC 11000 to 11050 and under §323.20 and §323.21, Wisconsin Statutes, duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:
- This is an advisory Committee, not a policy making Committee
- Consult and coordinate with the County Board, the County and local heads of emergency management services, and the Public Safety & Judiciary Committee in the execution of the Local Emergency Planning Commission’s duties