Minutes of the Meeting of the

Sarpy County Local Emergency Planning Committee

8 February 2006

7:30 PM

The Sarpy County Local Emergency Planning Committee convened in open and public session on February 8, 2006 at 7:30pm at Alegent Midlands Hospital. The following members or alternates were present according to the sign-in sheet: Mitch Beaumont, Rod Buethe, Ron Clark, Keith Deiml, Veon Dillon, Robin Gullie, Scott Keep, Dan Klimek (for Tom Schwarten), J.J. Kuzma, Larry Lavelle, Joe Mastandrea, Maria Reiter, Jane Nitchals, Kirk Schuster, Vickie Stevens, Matt Sullivan (for Jeff Strawn), Dale Tedder (for Jeff Reicks), Dick Williams, Gregory Wilch (for Bob DeVriendt), and Rolly Yost. Guests were Jono Anzalone from the Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross, Nancy Braswell from Sarpy/Cass Department of Health and Wellness, Roger Filter from Offutt Fire, Matt Krzycki from Springfield Fire, and Mark Stevens from LaVista Fire Department.

Advanced notice of the meeting was published in the Bellevue Leader and Papillion Times. Copies of Proof of Publication are on file in the Sarpy County Clerk’s Office. All proceedings were taken while the convened meeting was open to the attendance of the public.

Coordinator Mastandrea thanked the members for attending tonight’s meeting and called the meeting to order. Roll call was done by sign-in sheet. Coordinator Mastandrea explained that for roll call, appointed members should initial in the far right column next to their name on the sign-in sheet. Representatives of appointed members should write their name legibly above the appointee’s name and initial in the far right column of the sign-in sheet. Guests were asked to sign in on the Guest Sign-in Sheet.

Coordinator Mastandrea mentioned that the LEPC Chair was recuperating from surgery and the Vice Chair was at a Nebraska Association for County Officials Conference in Kearney. He reminded members to pick up an agenda and handouts by the door in the back of the room. Coordinator Mastandrea asked the members if they had a chance to review the minutes from the previous meeting. Hearing no discussion, Rod Buethe made a motion to approve the minutes from the 14 December 2005 meeting. J.J. Kuzma seconded the motion . All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously.

BOARD REPORTS:

Chairman Report: Coordinator Mastandrea advised that there were no reportable HAZMAT incidents since the December meeting. He explained that the reportable quantity depended upon the chemical according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) definition. Reportable release amounts are less the more hazardous a chemical is . Coordinator Mastandrea described assisting Cass County EMA, State Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ), and the EPA to round up an Orphan Drum located on a sandbar in the Plattsmouth River. The drum was called in by the Plattsmouth Fire Chief and eventually found to be empty. That type of incident is not reportable, but it is the kind of thing that will involve HAZMAT responders.

Vice Chairman: No report.

Information Coordinator: Coordinator Mastandrea pointed out that copies of the draft 2005 Report were available in the back of the room for review. He informed the committee that an annual report on the activities of the LEPC was required to be sent to NDEQ and that the report needed to follow a specific format. Coordinator Mastandrea explained that if previous reports had errors, they were usually found in Section 2 on member attendance if someone didn’t sign in for a specific meeting. Coordinator Mastandrea reminded the committee that the Bylaws require a majority vote of the members in order to issue any reports. He asked the members to carefully check the attendance section for any needed corrections. Hearing no corrections, Dick Williams moved, seconded by Rod Buethe to accept the Draft 2005 Report as written. Hearing no further discussion, Coordinator Mastandrea called for a vote on the motion. All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously.

Secretary: Secretary Reiter reported that the LEPC checking account balance was $775.76. There were no withdrawals on the account since the last meeting except for $3.00 monthly service fees. Secretary Reiter encouraged the members to make a donation, small or large. Coordinator Mastandrea stated that when the LEPC expends funds, it is usually to put together a project for EPA reimbursement. He used Sarpy County Fair Outreach as an example. It cost $100 to rent the booth and the receipt was submitted to the State for reimbursement. Funds have also been used to print handouts.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Exercise: Coordinator Mastandrea reported that the 18 January Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Workshop for the Washington, Douglas and Sarpy Tri-County Area went very well. An Offutt AFB/Community Weapons of Mass Destruction Tabletop Exercise is scheduled for 15-16 February. There are two Sarpy County Unified Disaster Workshops on 8 March. The first workshop will be held from 4:00-5:30 P.M. at the Bellevue Fire Training Center. Target audience is elected officials, including County Board, Mayors, City Councils, and Department Heads – Fire Chiefs, Police Chiefs, Public Works Directors and the volunteer agencies that have roles in disasters . Using a workshop approach, the rewritten LEOP will be walked through section by section, then distributed and signed-out to those on the distribution list. The second workshop will be held from 7:00-8:30 P.M. and will cover the same material. The target audience for that workshop is responders and response support volunteer groups. The workshops are primarily targeted to gear the information to each particular audience. The UASI Workshop found it valuable to get to know responders in other jurisdictions, understand more about each other’s roles, responsibilities and what they require when assisting you in a disaster. The workshops will also include Q&A and networking time. The Workshops are open to the LEPC and members are requested to RSVP if planning to attend one or both.

Larry Lavelle talked about the Interoperable Communication Technical Assistance Program (ICTAP) and Tabletop Exercise . He reiterated that the 8 Mar Workshop walkthrough of the LEOP would be a great learning experience. For the UASI Area, the concept is to formulate and test an Interoperability Communications Plan not only for the tools (radios, etc), but also for the policy/procedure and operational concerns once the tools are in place. The Tabletop Exercise will be held 4 April at the Bellevue Fire Training Center. A tentative invitee list has been put together which is fairly extensive. Leading up to the exercise is a series of planning and design meetings with the ICTAP contractor from the DHS Office of Grants and Training. The next meeting is the Mid-Term Planning Conference on 14 Feb. During the exercise, participating UASI agencies would explain how they would use the TIC Plan.

Legislative: Ron Clark gave the report about two bills which were recently introduced. LB940 wasintroduced by Senator Schimek to create the Office of Homeland Security within the State Government and the Homeland Security Policy Group. The bill codifies the position of the Lieutenant Governor as the Director of State Homeland Security. The bill also appoints one member of the Government, Military and Veteran Affairs Committee and one member of the Appropriations Committee of the Legislature to serve as ex officio nonvoting members of the policy group. LB787 was introduced by Senator Mines to create a cash fund within NEMA for inspection, repair, and calibration of radiological instruments. It also provides state and local governmental agencies a cost-effective source for the calibration of radiological instruments. Formerly, the State of Iowa calibrated radiological instruments for Nebraska. When Iowa could no longer provide the service, NEMA looked at having to obtain the service from another independent lab or doing it in-house. NEMA has a trained employee and can provide the service at cost to first responders across the State.

Right-to-Know (Outreach): Coordinator Mastandrea told the committee that Sarpy County would be holding a Preparedness Fair on Saturday, March 25 at the Bellevue Fire Training Center. It will be free and open to the public from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. and will include local and federal agencies, displays, demonstrations, and some hands-on training. He expected that it would be advertised via newspaper, TV and radio. Coordinator Mastandrea invited the members and their families to attend. He suggested that the LEPC would be able to have a table and provide the same kind of information given out at the Sarpy County Fair. There are Emergency Actions Wheels, Evacuate or Shelter in Place Pamphlets, and a DVD from Operation Secure Metro which can be shown. There are several weeks to put this together and 5 hours required to staff the booth. Coordinator Mastandrea told Ron Clark that he would find a place for the Tornado Simulator and to plan on bringing it to the fair. Ron Clark and Maria Reiter volunteered to staff the LEPC table.

Response Plan : Coordinator Mastandrea informed the committee that the LEOP has been rewritten and approved by the State . He said that he was still in the process of collecting resolutions of support . The rewritten LEOP is in printing and he expects copies to be ready for distribution at the 8 March Unified Disaster Workshop. At that time, he will place copies of the first update in each book before he distributes copies to those on the distribution list. Coordinator Mastandrea thanked everyone for their input in the rewrite process.

Training: Larry Lavelle provided the report. He mentioned several upcoming training opportunities and indicated that fliers were available on the table in the back of the room. The first is the NE HAZMAT Symposium on 4-5 March in Hastings. The 72 nd CST is scheduled to do a session on Sunday, 5 March . They have a very interesting operation and are a great asset that the State can bring to bear for the locals. The 72 nd CST is based out of Lincoln. The next training opportunity is the NE Association of Emergency Management Conference on 7-9 April in North Platte. The conference offers a nice broad-based program, covers a lot of bases, and will touch a lot of folks in this room in one way or another. Larry called attention to a DVD on the decontamination of children that Coordinator Mastandrea obtained from CDC. He told the members to see him for an 800 number and publication number if interested in obtaining a copy. Agencies can request a copy free of charge.

Elections: Coordinator Mastandrea explained that this agenda item was listed on the agenda that went out on the internet. The Bylaws were changed last year to increase the terms for all officers to three (3) years. Chairman Wilson and Coordinator Mastandrea are currently entering the second year of their respective terms. According to the Bylaws, tonight will be elections for Vice Chair and Secretary/Treasurer, each for 3-year terms. Next year at this time, the LEPC will not hold elections. The year after, the Chair and Information Coordinator positions will be up for re-election.

Coordinator Mastandrea opened elections by calling for nominations for Vice Chair.

He stated that the current Vice Chair is Sarpy County Commissioner Tim Schram and indicated that he was interested in running again. He also mentioned that Commissioner Schram was running for another office this election year and while he might not continue to be a Commissioner, he would still be an elected official and eligible to be on the LEPC. Rolly Yost moved, seconded by Dick Williams, to nominate Commissioner Tim Schram. Coordinator Mastandrea called for additional nominations from the floor. J.J. Kuzma moved, seconded by Veon Dillon, to close nominations. All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously. Rod Buethe moved, seconded by Scott Keep, to elect by voice acclamation.

All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously.

Coordinator Mastandrea called for nominations for Secretary/Treasurer.

Jane Nitchals moved, seconded by Vickie Stevens, to nominate Maria Reiter. Coordinator Mastandrea called for additional nominations from the floor. J.J. moved, seconded by Scott Keep, to close nominations. All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously. Larry Lavelle moved, seconded by Rolly Yost to elect by voice acclamation. All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS: Coordinator Mastandrea asked for any old business Hearing none, he moved on to new business.

NEW BUSINESS: Coordinator Mastandrea asked for new business. Nancy Braswell asked about LEPC member appointments. Coordinator Mastandrea indicated that all members were due for re-appointment in September. He said he would also try to get a representative from Omaha Fire since they have a district in Sarpy County. He anticipated getting membership appointment letters signed by the LEPC Chair by the next meeting.

Coordinator Mastandrea asked for agenda items for the 10 May meeting which will be held at Offutt Fire’s new fire station. Offutt Fire Chief Gullie stated that he needed the names of all members planning to attend the May meeting by 5 May for the base Authorized Entry List (AEL). Both Kenney and Capehart Gates will have the AEL, so members can use either gate. Coordinator Mastandrea told the members that when he sends out the agenda, he will include a reminder in the message to RSVP if they need to be included on the AEL. This does not include those with military ID’s . Nancy Braswell suggested Pandemic Influenza as a program for the meeting unless the program was a tour of the Offutt facility. Chief Gullie stated that Offutt Fire was just hosting the meeting, but he would be happy to provide a tour after the meeting. Coordinator Mastandrea thanked Nancy for offering to do a presentation . He stated that the Chair of the Programs Committee, Keith Deiml, was always open to suggestions for programs. Coordinator Mastandrea told the members that Werner Trucking planned to host the 9 August meeting and that Bellevue Fire would host the 8 November meeting. He thanked Alegent Midlands for hosting tonight’s meeting and providing refreshments.

Program: Keith Deiml introduced the program. He said that within the last month there was a plane crash in Sarpy County. It fell, more or less on the border between LaVista and Millard Fire Districts. He asked Robert Filter, HAZMAT Officer with Offutt Fire, to do a presentation since hazardous materials are associated with aircraft. After that, Mark Stevens, an Assistant Fire Chief with LaVista and On Scene Commander for the incident, will describe the response effort. Members will get “what you do and how you protect yourself” and what it was really like at the scene in this instance.

Robert Filter gave a general overall view of civilian police, fire and emergency management response to an aircraft emergency. He said that aircraft emergencies involve a lot of different response agencies. With the size aircraft at Offutt, 90% of the response deals with the medical end of it – taking victims out of the aircraft, triaging victims, setting up transport, tracking patients and transporting them to the hospital. He indicated that both military and civilian airports do basically the same thing as they are pretty much guided by the FAA. His presentation included different types of aircraft coming to and leaving Offutt AFB, Offutt Fire Department capabilities, response objectives when responding to an aircraft emergency, civilian response to aircraft emergencies hand-in-hand with military response, medical concerns (survivors, deceased/morgue), aircraft information for large or small-frame aircraft, extrication concerns, hazards and hazardous materials associated with the aircraft, scene protection, fire suppression and types of agents for aircraft firefighting.

Mark Stevens described getting the call at 0930 on a Thursday morning about a small aircraft down in a field with three unconscious parties, possibly a Code 4. He said that Ralston automatically dispatched with his unit bringing an Engine Company for fire suppression. A second medic unit and second pumper were dispatched from his station. Law enforcement personnel were the first to arrive on scene. The incident occurred near 120 th and Giles Road in a nearby field. The location was hard to access; there was one entrance in and one entrance out. Media parked their vans right at the entrance, so once fire gained entrance to the scene, they were pretty much trapped. The police had three (3) officers respond plus a supervisor and set up a perimeter right away. Once Code 4 was verified, fire life safety and rescue mission was done so fire backed their squad further up and assisted law enforcement. There was no fire on scene and Mark thought the debris field was quite large for a small plane. After life safety, their next concern was jet fuel and the possibility of fire. Rescue squads were sent back to the station and foam trucks and a utility command post was set up for manpower and support. The pilot was still trapped in the wreckage, so fire helped with extrication. Mark said that Rolly Yost was there and Rolly provided a few comments from the LE perspective about securing the scene.

Respectfully Submitted,

MARIA REITER

Secretary

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Updated May 10 , 2006