Minutes of the Meeting of the

Sarpy County Local Emergency Planning Committee

10 May 2006 7:30 PM

The Sarpy County Local Emergency Planning Committee convened in open and public session on May 10, 2006 at 7:30pm at Offutt Air Force Base Fire Department. The following members or alternates were present according to the sign-in sheet: Bill Bowes, Ron Clark, Christopher Coville (for Jason Johnson), Keith Deiml, Bob DeVriendt, Veon Dillon, Robin Gullie, Bernie Kiscoan (for Scott Keep), J.J. Kuzma, Sgt R. Leader (for Lt Tom Schwarten), Joe Mastandrea, Maria Reiter, Jane Nitchals, Steve Smith, Gregory Wilch, Dick Williams, Louie Wilson , Steve Young, Rolly Yost, and Carol Zimmer. Guests were Nancy Braswell from Sarpy/Cass Department of Health and Wellness, Jeanie Deiml from Metro Omaha CERT, Roger Filter from Offutt Fire, Kevin Fishburn from DPC Industries, Deena Howard from the Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross, Rich Moss from DPC Industries, and Jesse Wolf, member of the public. 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. Chairman Wilson thanked the members for attending tonight’s meeting, called the meeting to order, and asked for roll call. Roll call was done by sign-in sheet. Chairman Wilson asked if there were any corrections to the 8 February 2006 meeting minutes. Coordinator Mastandrea made a motion to approve the minutes with the correction of Plattsmouth to Platte River on the first page. Bob DeVriendt seconded the motion . All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously.

BOARD REPORTS:

Chairman Report: Chairman Wilson reported that Bellevue Fire responded to one Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) call the day before. He had no information on any other reportable HAZMAT incidents during the last quarter.

Vice Chairman: No report.

Information Coordinator: Coordinator Mastandrea indicated that he was in the process of entering Tier II reports into the database. He received 49 reports so far, including submissions from OPPD for its substations. Coordinator Mastandrea briefed that he was upgrading the CAMEO database. He taught a 3-day class for Offutt Fire and wanted to meet with other fire departments to determine how he could make that information useful to them for planning and response. Chairman Wilson asked about progress on the Resource Book Revision. Coordinator Mastandrea explained that the project was being worked on by a United Way volunteer. He expected shortly to receive paper copies and CD-ROM versions of the local emergency operations plan (LEOP) from the State of Nebraska. He explained that once he receives the copies, he will deliver copies to everyone on the distribution list. This year, agencies will be required to sign for their copies for tracking purposes. This will enable Sarpy County Emergency Management Agency to more efficiently provide updates to agency points of contact as they become available.

Secretary: No report. Previous meeting minutes were approved at the start of the meeting.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Exercise: Coordinator Mastandrea gave the report. He said it had been very busy for exercises in the County. The Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Workshop was held 18 Jan and the Sarpy County Unified Disaster Workshops were held 8 March. There was an afternoon session for elected and appointed officials and an evening session for responders and response support volunteers. Both sessions were well attended. The Interoperable Communication Technical Assistance Program (ICTAP) Tabletop Exercise was held 4 Apr. Functional exercises in interoperable communications have been scheduled concurrently with the College World Series because of the number of agencies already planning for and working together on that event. The UASI Full Scale is still scheduled for the end of October. There had been some indication that the Full Scale might be moved up to September. Secretary Reiter said she understood that if the TIC Plan was validated during the College World Series, the Full Scale Exercise would take place at the end of October. If there were problems with the TIC Plan, then Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would required that the Full Scale be conducted in September. Coordinator Mastandrea asked why we would be drilled earlier if there were problems with the TIC Plan. Jane Nitchals explained that an evaluation would have to be turned in before the end of the federal fiscal year. Jane asked about the dates for the College World Series and when the TIC Plan validation would be done. Secretary Reiter stated that the College World Series started on 16 June and Coordinator Mastandrea thought the TIC Plan validation would occur on 21 Jun. Jane Nitchals asked about an after action report on an ammonia release in Douglas County that occurred on Highway 6. Coordinator Mastandrea had no information on that incident.

Fiscal: No report .

Legislative: Chairman Wilson informed the committee that the next SERC Meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, 11 Jul in Lincoln. Two bills were introduced that are connected to LEPCs. LB940 passed on 13 April and codified the position of the Lieutenant Governor as the Director of State Homeland Security. LB787 passed on 13 Mar and created a cash fund within NEMA for inspection, repair, and calibration of radiological instruments. Chairman Wilson referred the committee to the previous meeting minutes and thanked Secretary Reiter for the detailed description of both bills in the minutes.

Right-to-Know (Outreach): Coordinator Mastandrea provided feedback on the Preparedness Fair that was held on Saturday, March 25 at the Bellevue Fire Training Center. The event was successful and an article was written about it in the 26 March Omaha World Herald. Coordinator Mastandrea told the committee he just received paperwork from the Sarpy County Agricultural Society and asked the committee to decide if it wanted to staff an LEPC Outreach Booth at the County Fair from 2-6 Aug. He explained that the open air booth was located under the seating for the rodeo arena, same as in previous years. The $100 booth cost would be reimbursed through a mini-grant from EPA through the State of Nebraska. Secretary Reiter made a motion, seconded by Jane Nitchals, to do an LEPC Outreach Booth at the County Fair. All were in favor, none opposed, and motion passed unanimously. Coordinator Mastandrea indicated that Wednesday and Thursday nights are lightly attended, so the booth didn’t need to be staffed everyday. Maximum attendance typically occurs on Friday evening and all day Saturday; there is usually some downtimes on Sunday. Chairman Wilson asked who would set up staffing. Coordinator Mastandrea stated that the Outreach Committee Chair, Steve Young, would take care of signing up volunteers to staff the booth. Committee members were encouraged to volunteer their time. Chairman Wilson asked for any other business under Right-to-Know. Secretary Reiter informed the committee that Sarpy, Douglas and Pottawattamie County LEPCs were co-sponsoring an Outreach Booth during the 17-18 May Health and Safety Summit to be held at the Qwest Center. Secretary Reiter planned to staff the booth and asked for the assistance of additional volunteers. She said that the Pottawattamie County LEPC Chair spearheaded the effort and the Safety Council agreed to waive the cost for the booth provided that the three LEPCs jointly provide materials and staffing. Coordinator Mastandrea mentioned that he would provide a box of Emergency Action Wheels.

Response Plan : Coordinator Mastandrea provided an update about the LEOP under IC Report.

Training: Coordinator Mastandrea encouraged anyone involved in response and response support to complete the IS 100 Incident Command System and IS 700 National Incident Management System on-line courses as soon as possible. The courses are free of charge and can be accessed through the FEMA on-line training website (www.training.fema.gov). He advised the committee members to provide copies of the course completion certificates to their employers or volunteer agencies before the end of September. Coordinator Mastandrea said that certification of NIMS compliance was required to be eligible for future federal grant funding. He mentioned that the President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs testified to Congress that part of the problem with the response to Hurricane Katrina was not using NIMS. Coordinator Mastandrea stated that NIMS training should be very helpful. The on-line courses are awareness level, shouldn’t take more than a few hours to complete, and should be well worth the effort. Coordinator Mastandrea thanked the agencies who registered to attend the Emergency Response to Biological Incident Class scheduled for 23-25 May at the Bellevue Fire Training Center. He also thanked those who participated in the WMD Incident Command Class which was well attended. He passed out flyers for the LEPC Conference in Beatrice and informed the committee that the State had budgeted one person per LEPC for the hotel room for this conference. He reminded the members that for past State LEPC Conferences, Sarpy County LEPC was able to send up to three representatives on scholarship. Although he could only guarantee one scholarship for the LEPC Conference in Beatrice, Coordinator Mastandrea indicated that if other counties don’t use their allotment that money may be freed up and made available. He said that the Conference itself was no charge and that members were free to drive back and forth for some or all of it. Coordinator Mastandrea passed around a pamphlet about the Nebraska Hazardous Materials Association. He explained that this association provides free quarterly training when they can afford to do so. He also informed the committee that the association intended to provide free training this quarter on the benzene spill that occurred in Scottsbluff. Training has been scheduled for Saturday, 17 Jun in Scottsbluff.

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

NEW BUSINESS: Chairman Wilson asked for new business. Coordinator Mastandrea reported that he received an e-mail from Senator Priester’s office yesterday about upcoming vacancies on the SERC. He said that SERC representatives and when their terms expire are posted on the NEMA Website. Beginning in September, the SERC needs a fire chief representative, a public or community member, and a municipal member (city or county official but not Emergency Management and not a sheriff). Coordinator Mastandrea advised that he has copies of the Executive Appointment Application for anyone interested. Representatives to the SERC are appointed by the governor and publicly interviewed by the Unicameral. Coordinator Mastandrea indicated that current LEPC appointments are up in September. Since the SERC meets in July, he intends to send in re-appointments for all current and new members. Those applications should be on the agenda for the SERC meeting in July and voted on. Coordinator Mastandrea advised that he might be calling people for information needed on the application form. Jane Nitchals introduced the new Triage Tags. She said that OMMRS purchased the tags and the OMMRS Equipment and Training Subcommittee Co-Chair distributed them to all the fire departments in Sarpy and Douglas Counties. The new triage tags will be used in the next exercise and in any mass casualty event. Jane explained that the tags are waterproof and designed to address decontamination. She pointed out the features of the tags. Each tag has a pink strip which requires the paramedic or first responder to determine whether or not any type of contamination is involved. If there is, the pink strip remains attached to the tag. If the patient is not contaminated, the paramedic or first responder would remove the pink strip. That becomes very important when the patient arrives at the Emergency Department. If the pink strip stays attached to the tag, the patient will be decontaminated at the Emergency Department. The tag has an area to write down the kind of contamination because hospital staff will need to know that. If there is contamination and the patient’s clothes are removed, the clothes can be put in a plastic bag along with the number strip from the triage tag for tracking the patient’s personal belongings. The tag contains all kinds of mini-tags: color-coded triage areas, a place to mark down SLUDGEM (clinical signs associated with nerve agents), a place to check off respirations, perfusion and mental status and the corresponding triage category. The tags cost $1.10 each. Omaha Fire Department has agreed to test the tags quarterly on each shift. Jane encouraged the Sarpy County Fire Departments to start testing the tags for staff familiarization. She mentioned that Midlands Emergency Department staff was going to be trained on how to use them. Jane said the military recognizes the same tag. Since the tags were purchased with OMMRS grant funding, each agency would be responsible for replacing what they used unless additional grant money became available to purchase more tags. Program: Nancy Braswell, Emergency Response Coordinator with the Sarpy/Cass Department of Health and Wellness presented a program on Avian Influenza Preparedness and Response. Chairman Wilson told the members that the meeting would be held on 9 August starting at 7:30 P.M. at Werner Trucking. The last meeting for the year would be held on 8 November at Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department Training Center. Chairman Wilson thanked Chief Gullie for hosting tonight’s meeting and said that there would be a tour of the Offutt Fire Department facility after the meeting for anyone interested.

With no further business, Chairman Wilson called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dick Williams motioned, seconded by Carol Zimmer. All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

MARIA REITER

Secretary

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Updated August 9, 2006