Clark County Emergency Management Raising Awareness on Accidental Chemical Releases
Tuesday, July 29th, 2014 -- 1:03 PM
-The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act was created in 1986 by Congress to initiate local emergency planning for accidental chemical releases.According to a press release from the Clark County Emergency Management Department, the EPCRA Program requires communities to prepare for hazardous chemical releases through emergency planning and by maintaining hazardous chemical information that is submitted to them by the facilities covered under the law. Facilities which store or use hazardous chemicals in certain quantities are required to report these quantities to the State of Wisconsin annually.
The planning portion of the law requires local communities to develop preparedness plans for these potential accidental releases. These plans provide essential information for responders along with creating a database of stored chemicals. The community right to know portion increases the public?s awareness of chemical hazards in their community and assists in obtaining information about these hazards. Each Wisconsin county is designated as an emergency planning district and has a Local Emergency Planning Committee to administer the local program.
Clark County Emergency Management in cooperation with the LEPC continues efforts to make the public aware of the potential hazards around us along with the efforts of industry and emergency response agencies to minimize risks and prepare for accidents.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.