Chambana Sun

The Champaign County Local Emergency Planning Committee met June 28 to discuss recent incidents.

Here is the meeting's agenda, as provided by the committee:

Champaign County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

Meeting Minutes

June 28th, 2016

Location: ILEAS Boardroom

1701 E. Main St.

Urbana, IL 61802

Time: 10:30 AM

I. Welcome and Introductions

Chairman John Dwyer called the meeting to order at 10:35 am and introductions were made.

II. Public Comment

No public comments were offered.

III. Review and approval of minutes from the February 23rd meeting

Deb Goeting made the motion, the motion was seconded, and all approved.

IV. Trip report from 2016 Midwest Emergency Preparedness & Response Conference

Bill James attended the 2016 Midwest Emergency Preparedness & Response Conference that

was held on 04/12/2016 and 04/13/2016 in Rockford, IL. Bill reported that cyber security

threats have become a major concern and were a focus of the conference.

Lessons learned from the response to the 03/05/2016 derailment of 21 BNSF rail cars

carrying crude oil near Galena, IL that resulted in a significant oil spill were discussed at the

conference. The response to the incident was underway for about three days before a fully

functional unified command structure was established or before an Emergency Operations

Center was activated. This contributed to confusion at the scene.

The conference included a session on Railroad Emergency Response – Safety and

Operational Considerations. Items covered included:

? Railroads such as BNSF have mobile response teams identified and in the event of a large

spill local responders can expect that the railroads may dispatch as many as 20 to 30

semi-trailers to the site of the spill within hours of the incident. A priority of the railroad

response teams will be to recover as much of the spilled product as possible and the

routing and staging of these vehicles needs to be taken into account by local responders.

? Railroads have strict operating rules in place governing activity within the confines of

“active rails”. All personnel who may be within the boundary of an active rail require

special training on the associated hazards.

The conference also included a table top drill simulating a Bakken crude oil train derailment.

Bakken crude oil is distinguished by a greenish color and a much lower flash point than most

other crude oil. Responders were encouraged to always to check the safety data sheets for

any product involved in an incident.

V. Follow-up on Commodity Flow Study – next steps

John Dwyer thanked everyone that had contributed to the recently completed Regional

Planning Commission’s Commodity Flow Study for Champaign County. Those contributing

included the city of Champaign, the city of Urbana, the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit

District, and local Fire Departments. The next steps include conducting a similar survey of

hazardous material carried through the county by railroads by observing railcar placarding

within the next three years. Railroads typically provide limited information due in part to the

proprietary nature of that information and the information that is provided is not in a

consistent format. John stated that for the railroad survey, Champaign County may partner

with other counties and will share survey information with the neighboring counties.

VI. Local incident discussions and upcoming events

The Rantoul and Champaign Fire Departments responded to an incident that occurred midmorning

on 05/26/2016 on I-57 about one mile north of Thomasboro. Two southbound

trucks collided, one of which contained 6,000 gallons of toluene, with both trucks crossing

over into the northbound lanes. Fortunately, only a small amount - less than 20 gallons - of

toluene was released but the incident shutdown I-57 in both directions for several hours.

A recent pop-up thunderstorm occurred in Rantoul. Due to the sudden nature of the storm, no

watches or warnings were issued. Those present were cautioned to be “weather aware”.

Brian Ball of the Champaign Fire Department provided information on a recent call resulting

from the release of a caustic cleaning agent into a storm sewer in Savoy. Brian also reported

that database is being developed to collect the storage locations and quantities of fire-fighting

foam. The database will be made available to fire departments.

John Dwyer stated that he had reminded the local seed companies about the potential for their

field employees to be exposed to pesticides and to have bad weather procedures in place.

A discussion was held regarding a prior radiological plume exposure exercise regarding a

simulated release of radiation from the Clinton nuclear power plant. It was noted that

Parkland College in Champaign is a designated reception site for members of the public

fleeing such an event. It was further noted that the American Red Cross would handle the

processing of people arriving at the site and the Champaign Urbana Public Health

Department would be responsible for any subsequent health monitoring.

VII. Wrap up and Open Discussion

Those present were reminded that a table-top exercise would be conducted immediately

following this meeting to assist with the development of Hazardous Material Response as part

of the Champaign County Emergency Operations Plan.

VIII. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 10:55 am. Deb Goeting made the motion to adjourn, Brian Ball

seconded the motion, and all approved.

Future LEPC Meeting Dates: June 28th, September 27th, and November 29th 2016

Reminder: If you have not done so please complete the Open Meetings Act training at

http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/Default.aspx

Attendees

Iris Ducey IEMA

Bruce Ricketts Presence EMS

Tammy Esposito Macon Co EMA

Raymond Mucha C-UPHD

Bill James Champaign Co EMA

Jerry Clark Kraft Foods

Del Harms IEMA

Lori Canterbury IEMA

Tom Puracchio Peoples Gas

John Dwyer Champaign Co EMA

Deb Goettig American Red Cross

Jane Li C-UPHD

Symatha Aydt University of Illinois

Carol Vorel WDWS-WHMS-WKIO

Duane Miller APL

Brian Ball Champaign Fire Department

Stephanie Brownstein Kraft Foods

Rob Biehl Kraft Foods

Deontrae Nelson Kraft Foods

Rick Snider Champaign County

Derrick Odle Urbana Fire Department

David Scherer University of Illinois-DRS