Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

 

 

The LEPC is a volunteer committee comprised of members of law enforcement, fire service, public health, local industry and community members. The committee meets quarterly.

In October 1986 Congress enacted the "Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act" (EPCRA) and "Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act Title III" (SARA Title III). This initiative was in direct response to the 1984 Union-Carbide toxic gas release in Bhopal, India. This one incident resulted in thousands of injuries and deaths in the area surrounding the facility.

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know act contains four major provisions:

  • Planning for chemical emergencies.
  • Emergency notification of chemical accidents and releases.
  • Reporting of hazardous chemical inventories.
  • Toxic chemical release reporting.

Under United States Code Title 42, the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is the organization responsible for the development and implementation at the local level of plan set forth and required by this legislation.

Federal Law requires businesses and industry operators to perform annual chemical inventories. These operators may be required to file a Tier II Chemical Report with the Penobscot County LEPC, the State of Maine and local fire departments.

Whether or not a company must file is determined by the type of chemical and how much is being stored.

Companies or facilities which store hazardous materials may also be required to submit an Emergency Action Plan. This plan deals with items such as emergency response, spill or emission control and public notification.

Tier II Reporting Requirements

Facilities covered by The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) must submit an emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form to the LEPC, SERC and local fire departments annually. Maine uses the tier II form which requires basic facility identification information, employee contact information for both emergencies and non-emergencies, and information about chemicals stored or used at the facility.

Tier II submissions are due by March 1st of each year and are requested to be submitted to the LEPC electronically and/or by email.

penobscoteoc@penobscot-county.net

Additional information on EPCRA can be found here to include a brief video.