The Sarpy County Local Emergency Planning Committee was convened in open and public session on 12 September 2001 at 7:30 PM at Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department District 2. The following members or alternates were present according to the sign-in sheet: Jeff Book, Rod Buethe, Ron Clark, Dave Coombs, Keith Deiml, Bob DeVriendt, Gary Fleihmann, Jane Hedges, Joe Mastandrea, Travis Mayer, Wade Petersen, Jeff Reicks, Maria Reiter, Bill Roche, Tim Schram, John Strawn, Matt Wallace, and Rolly Yost. Guests were Mr. Pat Clark from the BVFD HAZMAT Team.
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 Fleihmann called the meeting to order and asked for a reading of the previous meeting minutes. Because of the length of the minutes, Coordinator Mastandrea moved, seconded by Bill Roche, to waive the reading and approve minutes for 14 March 01 and 13 June 01 LEPC meetings. Motion passed unanimously.
BOARD REPORTS:
Chairman Report: Chairman Fleihmann advised that there were no reportable Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) incidents for the third quarter. Bellevue HAZMAT Team responded to 6 non-reportable incidents. Jeff Reicks passed along an excellent heads-up for the area fire departments and surrounding communities. Meth producers are changing the heads on 20-lb propane cylinders to brass fittings enabling the cylinders to be filled with anhydrous ammonia. This causes the fittings to turn blue. The brass fittings only work for so long and eventually leak because there is no relief valve or mechanism built into them. The meth producers panic when they can’t shut the valves off and instead, dispose of the cylinders in parks or ditches. This situation poses a hazard for the firefighter, city employee, or concerned citizens who pick up the cylinders unaware of the product identification and potential exposure to anhydrous ammonia. Typical health effects include burns and inhalation-type problems.
Vice Chairman Report: Vice Chair DeVriendt thanked the units that participated in the Offutt Air Show Disaster Exercise. From the feedback he received, Vice Chair DeVriendt reported that everyone learned a lot and thought the exercise went off well. Vice Chair DeVriendt also thanked the units that supported the base during the actual Air Show. Matt Wallace echoed these comments and stated that the Mutual Aid Assist Departments worked very well and laid the groundwork to respond to a real world situation. Chairman Fleihmann showed a 5-minute videotape of the Air Show Exercise made for the LEPC by the base Visual Information Office.
Information Coordinator: Coordinator Mastandrea reported that the State and FEMA recently approved the changes to the Radiological Emergency Plan and the LEOP that he submitted back in March. The State Printing Office started making copies available in August. Coordinator Mastandrea plans to personally distribute the updates to each agency and post the changes. He found some agencies had outdated plans either because they had not posted past changes and/or had misplaced the latest version of the plans. Coordinator Mastandrea mentioned that EPA published guidance for the LEPCs on counter-terrorism in May 01. The publication is titled, "LEPCs and Deliberate Releases: Addressing Terrorist Activities in the Local Emergency Plan." Since our Terrorism Annex was incorporated into the LEOP before the EPA guidance was published, Coordinator Mastandrea requested that the Response Plan Subcommittee, along with the entire membership, review the EPA guidance, compare it to our Terrorism Annex, and submit changes/additions/upgrades for next year’s plan revision. The Terrorism Annex is Annex 1 under Law Enforcement Appendix H. Coordinator Mastandrea informed the committee members that Chemical Reactivity Worksheet Version 1.4 is now available, so those using Versions 1.3 or earlier should upgrade. At the SERC Conference, Coordinator Mastandrea previewed a new version of the CAMEO/MARPLOT/ALOHA response and planning programs that are being worked on by EPA and should be available by the end of the year. Coordinator Mastandrea has a list of who received Fire Administration Grants. Although there were several grants given to the State of Nebraska, unfortunately none were awarded to Sarpy County Fire Departments.
Secretary Report: The LEPC officers and Committee Chairs held a pre-meeting on 6 September. Since most of the information had already been discussed, it was decided not to read the Pre-Meeting Minutes to the general membership.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Exercise: Coordinator Mastandrea provided information on upcoming exercises. The Omaha/Council Bluffs Sub Area Contingency Plan Functional Exercise is scheduled for Thursday, 8 November, starting at 0830 at the Pottawattamie County National Guard Armory, near Iowa Western College. The exercise will run through the morning, there will be a break for lunch, then followed by a critique in the afternoon. Coordinator Mastandrea hopes to get industry to sponsor the lunch. Matt Wallace is taking care of signing up exercise participants from the Bellevue Fire Departments. Coordinator Mastandrea needs the names of anyone else interested in participating or observing by the end of the month. From this functional exercise, next year we’ll build a full-scale exercise with a HAZMAT spill on the Missouri River scenario. There’s also a Radiological Relocation Exercise on Oct 22 that will be evaluated by FEMA. To get ready for that exercise, there’s going to be a practice session conducted on 8 October in the morning.
Financial: No Report.
Legislative: No Report.
Outreach: Chairman Fleihmann and Coordinator Mastandrea talked to several LEPC members while attending some business continuity planning training last week in Lincoln. One LEPC member from Adams County mentioned sponsoring a booth at the county fair and handing out literature and printed fans. This provided great visibility. Chairman Fleihmann thought it an excellent idea and brought it before the general membership and specifically the Outreach Committee to determine if our LEPC wants to do something similar at the Sarpy County Fair next year. Coordinator Mastandrea mentioned that the SERC plans to distribute pamphlets and over 300 Shelter-in-Place videos at the next Nebraska School Board Association Conference in November. The expectation is that our LEPC may hear from school districts that may want to upgrade the evacuation and shelter portions of their emergency plans. We should anticipate providing some additional assistance to the schools as a result of the conference. Matt Wallace recommended having an LEPC representative at that meeting. Some media issues may come up which could be addressed at that time, and we may want to prevent being blindsided if questions later come up which have already been discussed at that meeting. Coordinator Mastandrea will obtain additional information on meeting location and time so we can try to have a representative present. Chairman Fleihmann asked the general membership if anyone was interested in participating in the Veteran’s Day Parade in Bellevue. Matt Wallace mentioned that the fire departments would be tied up supporting the event. There were no other comments. Chairman Fleihmann also brought up the idea of purchasing LEPC-type T-shirts in case we want to do something as a group. The State has developed LEPC logos that could be embroidered or printed on the shirts. Matt Wallace asked about how this would be funded. Chairman Fleihmann asked Coordinator Mastandrea if we could request State funding. Coordinator Mastandrea replied probably not. He suggested possibly pre-selling the shirts; he also had no objection using the money currently available to pay for the shirts as long as it gets returned from shirt sales. Matt Wallace recommended better use of our funds for things like another newspaper article, but suggested it might not hurt to price the shirts and find out what the minimum order is. Coordinator Mastandrea stated that the shirts would provide good visibility.
Plans: Coordinator Mastandrea brought up for general discussion the question about public display of the LEOP. Concerns included placing a copy in each library in the county, marking out sensitive information like home phone numbers, and pulling out some information like facility and chemical lists. Technically, the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act requires the LEOP to be available and accessible to the public. Traditionally, that’s been accomplished by placing a copy either in one or more libraries within a jurisdiction. There’s also the possibility of posting a copy to our website. Now that we’ve got our updated copies of the LEOP, Coordinator Mastandrea requested feedback of what the general membership wants to do. Jeff Reicks thought we met the intent of EPCRA by making the plan available to people that request to see it, not that we have to place copies physically in libraries. Coordinator Mastandrea stated that city clerks, county clerks, mayors, and police and fire chiefs all have copies of the LEOP. The general membership all agreed that there are sufficient copies available through these agencies for public access.
Training: Dan Peterson was unable to attend, so Coordinator Mastandrea provided the report. Coordinator Mastandrea brought along several copies of the final draft of the Emergency Management Training Calendar for the next fiscal year and encouraged everyone to get a copy. When the official print version comes in, Coordinator Mastandrea will make copies and distribute them to all Chiefs and Training Offices in the county. Radiological Monitor Training has been moved to 17 September starting at 1900 hours at Bellevue Fire District 1. The TRANSCAER Whistle Stop Training Tour will be held 18-19 September in Lincoln at the Burlington Northern Depot by the Old Market. The training tour will consist of training tank cars along with classroom cars, general awareness training on tank trucks and tank cars, and specialized training. This training is for responders only and anyone participating is required to bring along bunker gear, boots, gloves, and eye protection. Coordinator Mastandrea mentioned that he and Matt Wallace attended the bi-annual Region VII SERC/LEPC Conference that was held in Overland Park, KS, 7-9 September. Matt Wallace thought it was a very good conference. He stated that just like the previous one he attended, he came away from this one thinking that the Sarpy County LEPC was far ahead of other LEPCs, especially in this region. Other LEPCs meet maybe once a year and they don’t have a whole lot on their agenda. He expressed that everyone who is or has been on the Sarpy County LEPC should feel really good and proud because we’re miles ahead of what other LEPCs are doing. Matt also commended Coordinator Mastandrea for garnering a very prestigious award at the conference. The Sarpy County LEPC was presented a plaque and certificate for the best LEPC whose web site gets information out in the most comprehensive manner to the community. Coordinator Mastandrea emphasized that we’ve set the bar high and other LEPCs are looking to improve their websites based on what we’ve done. He also expressed thanks to his volunteer assistant Alice Mark, a web design major who’s scheduled to graduate this year. Coordinator Mastandrea stated that there are some ways to improve the website and make it even better. If the website falls under Outreach, those subcommittee members could make suggestions about what types of things we might want to include. There was general consensus to post the LEOP minus the HAZMAT locations and home phone numbers on the website. The Communications Section of the LEOP should be left up to Dan Peterson to determine how much he’s comfortable with putting on the website. Coordinator Mastandrea emphasized sensitivity of certain information in this day and age of terrorism. Matt provided additional feedback from a Meth Lab Session he attended at the Conference. There was a lot of discussion about propane bottles being diverted into accepting anhydrous ammonia. The brass valves these bottles contain oftentimes start corroding from the inside, so responders should be very suspicious when dealing with any pressurized cylinder because they might not see the telltale blue color at all. From the fire service perspective, the "Mom & Pop" operations do not pose a great hazard because the quantities of materials they deal with are so small – perhaps a gallon. The greatest threat is from the Mexican National Labs, the big producers, involving mass production and 55-gallon drum quantities of chemicals. Matt also recommended being aware of ammonia theft. One method involves taking a bicycle inner tube, cutting it, and using it as a hose. Matt stated that this will continue to be a challenge for all of us and emphasized awareness. Coordinator Mastandrea informed the membership about DOE-sponsored WMD training being offered in October and November near Las Vegas. Participants must be respirator-certified to attend and should see Coordinator Mastandrea for additional information.
OLD BUSINESS: None
NEW BUSINESS: Jane Hedges informed the membership that the hospitals received notification from CDC and the State Department of Health to be on the lookout for unusual clusters of illnesses about 7-days out from 11 September. These could be GI-type problems, bronchitis, and difficulties breathing which really don’t go along with flu-type symptoms. Coordinator Mastandrea stated that we’ve been trying to work out a notification system since Sarpy and Douglas Counties share dispatch facilities. This came out of the previous Omaha WMD exercises. Sarpy would like Douglas County to run a simple query on a daily basis, and provide the raw number of squad runs. That way, Sarpy County could establish a baseline and tell when there is a significant difference. However, even though we’re on the Douglas County mainframe, Douglas County has been unable to provide us with this information. Jane suggested that the Hospital Infection Control Nurses who cross talk with each other all the time would pick the information up first. The Omaha Metropolitan Medical Response System (OMMRS) Steering Committee will be meeting 17 September at 0730 at Methodist Hospital. The OMMRS meets the third Monday of each month at Methodist Hospital.
Matt Wallace introduced Pat Clark who provided an overview of the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department HAZMAT Team. Pat Clark gave an excellent briefing along with a slide show on the HAZMAT Team, its equipment, and how it interfaces with Mutual Aid. The HAZMAT Unit was available and on display for the general membership to look at.
Adjournment: Location and date of the next meeting is still to be determined. With no further business, Chairman Fleihmann asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion made by Rolly Yost and seconded by Bob DeVriendt. Motion carried.
Submitted by
MARIA REITER
Secretary
Return to the Sarpy County LEPC Page
Created October 18, 2001
