Purpose

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services:

A Local Emergency Planning Committee or LEPC, is a voluntary organization that is established in an Emergency Planning District designated by the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC). Most Texas counties have a single LEPC; however, some counties have multiple LEPCs that serve individual cities or communities in that county.

Both SERC and LEPCs were established to meet the requirements of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (or EPCRA, also known as the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), Title III) for emergency response planning. LEPCs are required to receive the annual Texas Tier Two (Chemical Inventory) Reports from facilities in their jurisdictions.

The LEPCs use this information to perform hazard assessments for their communities. In addition, the LEPCs must make information from these reports available to the public, upon request. Under EPCRA and the Texas Community Right-to-Know Act, LEPCs may also request additional hazardous chemical information from facilities for emergency planning purposes.

NOTE: Members of EllisRTK.com have been informed that the Ellis County Local Emergency Planning Commission (LEPC) has been inactive since 2008.

We encourage you to contact your County Commissioners and County Judge Carol Bush to request a reactivation of the Ellis County LEPC.

We recommend you review the following document.

The State of Texas - Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
A Primer for Local Planning for Hazardous Materials
July 2006
http://www.disaster-research.us/lepc_handbook_texas_07262006.pdf

The United States Environmental Protection Agency further states:

"Competent and energized LEPCs are more likely to have a proactive approach and respond effectively to their community emergency needs. It takes conscientious effort to maintain the participation of LEPC members through innovative ideas, practical exercises, constant motivations and incentives. The bottom line is that effective planning saves human lives and reduces property losses and environmental impacts during emergencies."

Read the following EPA document from region 7 (we are in region 6) that explains how to energize your LEPC.

Energize Your Local Emergency Planning Committee
February 2009
http://www.epa.gov/region7/toxics/pdf/energize_your_LEPC.pdf