Commission on Emergency Planning & Response

Minutes

March 5, 2015

Members Present:

  • Tim East, CEPR Chair / representing Energy
  • Chuck Magaha, representing Regional Councils
  • Russ Tomevi, representing Public Works
  • Martha Gabehart, representing Individuals with Disabilities
  • Mark Willis, representing Emergency Services
  • BG Lee Tafanelli, Adjutant General
  • Leo Henning, representing Dr. Susan Mosier, KDHE Environment
  • Kent Cornish, representing Business / Industry – Broadcasting
  • Darryn Gillihan, representing Business / Industry
  • Doug Grauer, representing Business / Industry
  • Ashley Goss, representing Public Health
  • Maj. Mark Bruce, representing KHP
  • Clay Adams, representing KDOT
  • Scott Briggs, representing Counties
  • Teri Smith, representing County Emergency Managers
  • Larry Stainbrook, representing Agriculture, Crop, or Livestock
  • Henry Hungerbeeler, representing Transportation, Trucking, and Rail
  • Kirk, Thompson, representing KBI
  • Doug Jorgensen, representing Fire Marshal’s Office
  • Keith Meyers, representing Pat George, Kansas Department of Commerce
  • Charles Keeton, representing Hospitals
  • John Sweet, representing Cities

Members Not Present:

  • Jack Taylor, representing Firefighters
  • Sandy Johnson, representing Jackie McClaskey, Kansas Department of Agriculture
  • Michael McNulty, CEPR Vice-Chair / representing KDHE, Health

Call to Order / Roll Call: Chairman

  • Meeting was called to order at 1000.
  • Roll Call was called by Angee Morgan at 1002.

Consent Agenda Review: Chairman

Motion to approve Consent Agenda was made by Charlie Keeton, seconded by Chuck Magaha.

Presentations:

Spill report Update Jamie Schwartz, KDEM/Kent Schierkolk, KDHE

  • Three agencies receive spill notifications for the State of Kansas: KDEM- receives air releases, KDHE- receives ground and water releases, and KCC- receives oil production property releases;
  • Total 2014 releases for all agencies: 1,688- down from 1,835 in 2013(8% decrease);
  • Total releases by agency:
  • KDEM: 170 follow-up Form A reports received- does not reflect number of incidents reported, just those that require a follow-up reporting; approximately 9% decrease from 2013; KDHE: 672- approximately 3% decrease; KCC: 846- approximately 12% decrease;
  • Top five counties reporting releases:
  • Montgomery- 75;
  • Butler- 30;
  • McPherson- 25:
  • Wyandotte- 8;
  • Ford- 6;
  • Top five materials released by weight:
  • Sulfur dioxide- 1,374,831 in 36 incidents;
  • Anhydrous Ammonia- 115, 537 in 76 incidents;
  • Crude Oil- 113,075 in 7 incidents;
  • Diesel Fuel- 73,765 in 11 incidents;
  • Gas Oil- 35,666 in 2 incidents;
  • Top five modes of release:
  • Fixed facilities- 144;
  • Motor carrier / Vehicle- 18;
  • Pipelines- 10;
  • Other- 7;
  • Railroads- 2;
  • KDHE:
  • Spill response in 2014:
  • Impact soil and/or water- 372;
  • Impact surface waterways- 67;
  • Impact ground water requiring expanded / long term remediation- 4;
  • Sites inspected by staff- 208;
  • Joint response with KCC to oil lease spills- 8;
  • Sources reported:
  • Motor vehicle- 210;
  • Fixed facility- 171;
  • Transformer- 126;
  • Pipeline- 39;
  • Railroads- 38;
  • AST- 37;
  • Causes:
  • Equipment failure- 334;
  • Operator error- 123;
  • Transportation accident- 92;
  • Weather- 56;
  • Vandalism / dumping- 15;
  • Aircraft crashes- 4;
  • Introduction of Kansas Environmental Interest Finder (KEIF):
  • A web-mapping application; is not yet linked on website due to not having full approval;
  • Identifies sites or facilities that have or could impact the environment;
  • Sites permitted or registered to store chemicals;
  • Links to detailed information on contaminated sites, spill, solid waste facilities, and AST/USTs;
  • Program site identification numbers;
  • Spills Working Group Update:
  • New Spill and All-Hazard Notification Solution activated on December 1, 2014;
  • Finalizing WebEOC Spills database testing;
  • Anticipate public launch of WebEOC Spills database late spring or early summer;

Managing the Risk Jonathan York, KDEM

  • 2014 booklet includes articles from all partners in emergency management;
  • New Technological Hazard Section Chief is Dave Whitfill- replaces Jennifer Clark;

HMEP Grant UpdateSwapan Saha, KDEM

  • Provides funding for counties for training and is a pass-through grant from USDOT from fees that are collected from hazmat shippers and carriers that follows the Federal Fiscal Year;
  • Federal Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Federal Allocation- $361,991;
  • Planning allocation- $156,965 (75% pass-through is $117,724);
  • Training allocation- $205,026 (75% pass-through is $153,770)
  • 90% of funds are distributed to LEPCs;
  • Seek approval to proceed with project applications that have been submitted to USDOT;
  • Chairperson: would need a motion at the end of presentation to either accept or reject proposal;
  • Angee: if project managers or LEPC members are on CEPR, can they vote?
  • A: Teri Smith: think would be best if those members abstained;
  • State Priorities:
  • Commodity Flow Study/Hazards Analysis, Response Capabilities Assessment, Hazmat Plan Development/Revision, Hazardous Materials Exercises to test Emergency Response Capabilities/Emergency Response Plans, Hazmat conferences, NFPA 472 Core Competency Training and Mission Specific Training courses, Chemical Specific Response Training, Hazmat drills and exercises to identify gaps in training, and other training courses authorized by USDOT;
  • Subgrant Application Process:
  • Applications are sent to locals in December, and are given 45 days to submit proposals;
  • Received 11 subgrant applications – 5 planning (2 regional) and 7 training projects;
  • Grant Review Committee reviewed applications, selecting 9 with one regional planning project being withdrawn and one training project being rejected; KDEM developed projects with residual funds;
  • Subgrant Proposal Selection Criteria:
  • Applications were rated based on:
  • Project scope, project benefit, assessment needs, impact, application being complete, number of proposals, type of project, and previous HMEP grant funding;
  • Planning Grant Proposals:
  • Total Amount Requested- $289,635; however, USDOT only approved $156, 965;
  • Douglas County LEPC Commodity Flow Survey: $8,500- approved;
  • Douglas County LEPC Hazmat Exercises (Functional): $60,000- approved;
  • Franklin County Hazard Analysis Update: $8,465- approved;
  • Southwest Regional Commodity Flow Survey: $157,670- committee recommended $55,000 for analysis of RFP responses, project was withdrawn by region;
  • Southeast Regional Commodity Flow Survey: $50,000- approved;
  • KDEM Sponsored Crude Oil Tabletop/Functional Exercise: $59,375;
  • Training Grant Proposals:
  • Total Amount Requested- $157,971; USDOT approved $205,026;
  • Douglas County LEPC Hazmat Full Scale Exercise: $80,000- rejected, however a functional exercise was approved for $60,000;
  • Gray County LEPC request for tablet purchase: $3,540- rejected as equipment for response purposes are not allowed;
  • Finney County LEPC Hazmat Technician Training: $20,000- approved;
  • Linn County LEPC AR AAAF Foam Training for Crude Oil Spills: $3,764- approved;
  • Mid-America LEPC Regional Responders Training: $26,500- approved;
  • Riley County LEPC HazSim Equipment and Training: $12,437- approved;
  • Saline County LEPC Portable Hazmat Instrumentation Technician Certification Course: $10,950- approved;
  • KDEM Sponsored Training through KU Fire and Rescue Training Institute: $25,000;
  • Hazmat Technician Training through OSFM: $15,000;
  • Highway Specialist Training (through contractor): $17,000;
  • Chemistry for First Responders: $10,000;
  • Kansas LEPC Conference: $15,000;
  • KDEM Administrative Activities:
  • Expenses: $ 20,000;
  • Q: Why don’t the amounts on the planning grant proposals don’t match?
  • A: The funds that were asked for differ than what was approved;
  • Q: Do you get a good distribution of counties asking for funds or is it the same ones?
  • A: There is not an even distribution;
  • Q: Are there any efforts to get more counties involved?
  • A: Have went to counties and tried to get them involved but did not happen;
  • Q: Is the pass-through funds sent back if not used?
  • A: Yes, anything left over is sent back to USDOT; however, all funds for FFY have been spent;
  • Q: What are the funding trends like?
  • It is decreasing, this year there is an approximate 7% decrease, which is $8,000 less than last FFY;
  • Motion to approve recommended applications/projects made by Martha Gabehart and seconded by John Sweet- motion approved with Doug Jorgensen, Teri Smith, Mark Willis, Ashley Goss, and Chuck Magaha abstaining;

Reminders from Chairman:

  • Please check the member information packet for changes; get information to Tina Fike;
  • Angee Morgan: Committee member appointments expire in the fall, if interested in continuing to serve, please contact Tina Fike and she will make a list of those for the Governor’s office;

EPA On-Scene Response UpdateFatima Ndiaye, EPA

  • EPA Conference will be held on August 6-8, 2015 at the Lied Lodge and Conference Center in Nebraska City, NE;
  • Nominations are due by Monday, June 1, 2015
  • Award categories within different sized communities for LEPCs and TERCs, Business and Industries, Websites, and Social Media;
  • 2013 TRI National Analysis Report:
  • 21,598 facilities reported to TRI in 2013, totaling 25.63 billion pounds of toxic chemicals in production-related wastes;
  • Total production-related waste declined by 4% or over 1 billion pounds; however, the quantities of TRI chemicals in waste that were recycled, combusted for energy recovery, treated, or released increased;
  • New rule published on November 7, 2013 added o-nitrotoluene to list of chemicals subject to TRI reporting requirements. Chemical will be eligible for reporting in RY 2014;
  • MARPLOT 5.0 is now available for download; software has been redesigned and has many new features;
  • Risk Management Program:
  • New Compressed Gas Association standard G-2.1-2014: Requirements for the Storage and Handling of Anhydrous Ammonia is now available; replaces previous standard ANSI K61.1; now includes farmers as well as retail fertilizer dealers;
  • Emergency Response and Removal Program:
  • Responded to a mercury spill in Oakley, KS due to leak in blood pressure cuff;
  • Responded to oil spill in Gardner, KS due to oil leaking into Spoon Creek;
  • Responded to mercury spill in Logan, KS due to possible boiler leak;
  • Q: What was the source of the mercury?
  • A: It was part of an old heating system that had not been completely removed;
  • Q: How was it discovered?
  • A: People were moving in to house;
  • Q: Who funded the cleanup of the mercury?
  • A: EPA funded the cleanup; the funds came from the Superfund;
  • Q: How much mercury was spilled from the blood pressure cuff?
  • A: Don’t know exact amount, but it doesn’t take much to cause a problem;
  • Removal Action Website:
  • Can visit for information on removal actions completed by EPA;
  • Regional Response Team Meeting:
  • Will be held on April 21-23, 2015 in St. Charles County, Missouri;
  • Q: To what point is the anhydrous ammonia overlooked or not and how will it be enforced?
  • A: This is mainly for those farmers that have the big tanks, not the smaller nurse tanks;

LEPC Appointment Status Update Harry Heintzelman, KDEM

  • Appointment Letters:
  • Have a few counties that are not providing required information and coincides with those counties not receiving EMPG funds; have contacted them but they don’t want to participate or do not return phone calls or emails;
  • Compliance Certification:
  • Have counties requesting information what the requirements are so have been assisting with that and progress has been made;
  • Meeting Minutes/Agendas/Public Notice:
  • Most counties are having meetings; some do not use agendas for their meetings. Counties have used different ways for public notice- newspapers, social media, websites, etc.;
  • Bylaws:
  • Have received from most counties;
  • Q: Do you have copies for the agendas from the MARC Region?
  • I don’t have them but know they are doing them; will look on website again as didn’t see them before;
  • Would like assistance on how to get counties involved as nothing has worked so far; put resources out so counties to evaluate where they stand, guidance to help get things started and still not getting cooperation;
  • Q: Do you ask to be on the agendas for the regional meetings?
  • A: Have not done that yet, but all of KDEM’s Regional Coordinators have this information as well and have asked them for assistance; went out to each sub-region two years ago with little improvement;
  • Q: How many LEPCs are there in Kansas?
  • A: There is one per county except for the MARC Region- is made up of the three Kansas counties within the Metro Region as well as three Missouri counties;
  • Q: Maybe the smaller counties are struggling to create an LEPC and would benefit from doing the same as MARC?
  • A: It is a possibility, but politics get involved and makes things very difficult;
  • EPA Region 7 RRT Subcommittee for Executive Order 13650
  • Order came out after the West Texas explosion;
  • Members include: OSHA, EPA, DHS, FBI, USDA, ATF, NEMA, NDEQ, IDNR, MERC, KDEM, and KSFM;
  • First meeting was held on January 22, 2015;
  • Should there be any other representation for Kansas?
  • KDHE and KDA are possibilities; have been talking to KDHE already, and not sure how involved KDA could be;
  • KCC could be added;
  • Subcommittee would like to keep membership as manageable as possible;
  • Objectives established:
  • Gather data;
  • Establish cross-program data sharing process;
  • Coordinated stakeholder outreach program;
  • Monthly teleconferences and quarterly physical meetings;
  • Q: Would it be a good idea to present to the regional councils making regional LEPCs?
  • Have had a lot of pushback from the counties stating they don’t want to do this;
  • Q: What is RRT?
  • A: Regional Response Team;

Communications Trends and Capabilities Darryn Gillihan, Verizon Wireless

  • Verizon Wireless is largest wireless carrier in U.S.; owns the entire 3G and LTE / XLT network for state of Kansas, do not have to rely on roaming partners; can deploy COWs and COLTs anywhere in state;
  • Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery Supports Reliability
  • Have extensive annual Crisis Management Structure and Training;
  • Focus on private industry helping with COOP planning;
  • Crisis Management Structure:
  • 44 teams throughout U.S.
  • No charge for any device or service (COWs, COLTS, etc.) that is requested and brought in for business or government agency if affected by disaster area;
  • Network Operation Centers:
  • 2 locations- New Jersey and Texas;
  • Monitors entire network 24 / 7 / 365;
  • Mobile Switching Centers:
  • When phone call is made, signal goes to tower then to center, then on to destination;
  • Are state of the art, well-protected sites, and are hurricane or tornado resistant, depending on location;
  • Cell Sites:
  • Have battery back-ups at all cell sites; most sites have generator back-ups as well;
  • Portable Cell Sites:
  • Cell on Wheels (COW);
  • Cell on Light Truck (COLT);
  • Have 800 number to contact for deployment of sites, need to contact Darryn as well for assistance;
  • Back-Up Power:
  • Generator on a Trailer (GOAT);
  • Can assist agencies and/or businesses if power goes out, hook up a generator for power;
  • Talk To Us:
  • Company is proactive, will hand out phones to affected people, set up cyber cafes for those needing to reach loved ones; brought in netbooks during Joplin, MO tornado relief so those affected could register for FEMA relief;
  • Verizon Wireless Crisis Response Team (VCRT):
  • Main contact for Kansas and Missouri;
  • Program supports first responders, government agencies, and non-profit organizations during emergencies and large events;
  • Can deploy phones with push-to-talk (walkie-talkie) feature for search and rescue teams; can deploy modems, routers, etc.; can be made to have static IP addresses for added security;
  • Services:
  • Wireless Priority Service (WPS): service that gives first priority to network for call queue- will not kick anyone off network, but will allow your call to be routed to an open channel;
  • Five levels of Service, depends on what your position is and what level of priority you are;
  • Best to add service before emergency;
  • Wireless Emergency Alert System: emergency alerts for mobile devices based on location;
  • Enhanced 911: helps dispatchers identify caller location;
  • Law Enforcement Response Team: used mainly in searches for missing persons;
  • Wireless Solutions:
  • Contact Information: can store contact information in the cloud and on the device;
  • Broadband Access: consists of Jetpack MiFis, wireless routers, and network extenders;
  • News and Information: get access to internet;
  • Working Together:
  • Work with many different agencies, from local to Federal levels;
  • Public Safety Outreach:
  • Company is very public safety centric;
  • Proactive Support:
  • Can provide support at any large event, please give at least 90 day notice if would like assistance;
  • Q: Where are the buildings located that have the information that is stored in the cloud?
  • A: Yes, there are large facilities around the nation that have servers that store all that data;
  • Q: Who called first for the Joplin, MO response:
  • A: We reached out to them first;
  • Q: Is the WPS charge consistent across wireless carriers?
  • A: Can’t speak for other carriers;
  • Q: How can Verizon help places like hospitals recover when they lose power and their Voice-over IP phone system server?
  • A: Verizon is more of a connection, so can set up a router and use their network;
  • Q: Are they charged for this or is it considered disaster assistance?
  • A: This service is charged, it is considered a back-up solution; no charge for set-up, but actual service is charged;
  • Q: Can you explain more about public safety broadband?
  • A: Is a 700 MHz LTE network which is set aside for public safety use only; will allow major metropolitan areas can launch their own networks for public safety only; can use existing wireless carriers’ infrastructure;

Remarks from Commission Members:

  • John Sweet: Have been accessing the State and Federal Surplus sites, and from an emergency management perspectives, they have storm sirens and speakers available, have tornado shelter signs available, is excess surplus from FEMA;
  • Keith Meyers:If anyone is looking for employees, encourage use of is a website through Kansas Dept. of Commerce;
  • Scott Briggs:Went to town hall meeting held regarding support for Fort Riley, and would encourage everyone else to do so;
  • Eric Pippin:Col. Garcia resigned in December; Maj. Mark Bruce is has been named interim and is waiting on Senate confirmation; three years ago, CEPR accepted responsibilities as the Senior Advisory Committee for the HLS Grant Program, DHS has changed requirements and responsibilities so CEPR no longer fits role; went back to the Regional Councils Coordinating Committee; thank you to commission for filling role; can put together a brief on what the HLS Grant Program is doing annually, would be the third quarter meeting;
  • Chairperson:would like to have brief added to the September meeting agenda;
  • Angee Morgan: Would like to invite everyone to full-scale exercise in Salina at Crisis City on March 31-April 2;

Remarks from Public Attendees: