U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region March 2004 Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention A REVOLUTIONARY MEETING This year's EPA Region III Emergency Preparedness and Prevention conference will journey to the historic City of Philadelphia from December 5 through 8 at the Philadelphia Marriott. Five Local Emergency Planning Committees from the Philadelphia region have teamed up with EPA Region III to host this year's conference. Led by the Philadelphia LEPC, this dynamic group of volunteers is working hard to put on a fantastic conference and to ensure you'll feel right at home while you're in Philadelphia. In addition to a great discount for attendees who register early, we'll also be offering for the first time a substantial discount for multiple attendees from the same organization. We recognize many organizations send several staff members to the conference, and we want to help as many of you in the field attend as possible. The early-bird registration fee will be only $115 and only $100 when three or more individuals attend from the same organization. Included in the registration fee will be several pre- conference training programs starting on Sunday, followed by three full days of workshops, general sessions, networking opportunities, and an exhibit hall filled with solutions to your m ~ % product and service needs. As always, conference attendees will experience the best in education, information and technology. Plan to spend some time exploring Philadelphia's rich history and cultural landmarks including the brand new National Constitution Center, the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall or any of Philadelphia's world-class museums or theatres. (For those of you who are football fans, the annual Army-Navy game will be Saturday, December 4, in Philadelphia.) For those interested in exhibiting, the conference is a premier opportunity to be face-to- face with key decision makers in the emergency preparedness and prevention field. The Host Committe also will be offering a limited number of sponsorships. Call the Conference Hotline at 800-364-7974 for more information. Watch your mail for more on the 2004 conference- Partners in Preserving Liberty-ox visit our website at www.2004conference.org. In This Issue... A REVOLUTIONARY MEETING 1 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS 2 WHAT IS AN OSC? 4 PREVENTION NEWS & TIPS 5 EPA REGION III 2004 PARTNERSHIP AWARDS EPA 2003 PARTNERSHIP AWARD WINNERS EPA'S LOCAL GOVERNMENTS REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM SIGN UP FOR OUR MAILING LIST Chemical EmerQenc^_PreBM^!lSS§A£l§^DlML. ------- BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS THERE'S THREE KINDS OF TEAMS Peter F. Drucker Team-building has become a buzzword in American business. The results are not overly impressive. Ford Motor Company began more than ten years ago to build teams to design its new models. It now reports "serious problems," and the gap in development time between Ford and its Japanese competitors has hardly narrowed. General Motors' Saturn Division was going to replace the traditional assembly line with teamwork in its "factory of the future." But the plant has been steadily moving back toward the Detroit-style assembly line. Procter and Gamble launched a team-building campaign with great fanfare several years ago. Now P&G is moving back to individual accountability for developing and marketing new products. One reason — perhaps the major one — for these near failures is the all-but-universal belief among executives that there is just one kind of team. There actually are three—each different in its structure, in the behavior it demands from its members, in its Chemical Emergency Preparedness & strengths, its vulnerabilities, its limitations, its requirements, but above all, in what it can do and should be used for. The first kind of team is the baseball team. The surgical team that performs an open-heart operation and Henry Ford's assembly line are both "baseball teams." So is the team Detroit traditionally sets up to design a new car. "One reason — perhaps the major one— for these near failures is the all-but-universal belief among executives that there is just one kind of team. There actually are three—" The players play on the team; they do not play as a team. They have fixed positions they never leave. The second baseman never runs to assist the pitcher; the anesthesiologist never comes to the aid of the surgical nurse. "Up at bat, you are totally alone," is an old baseball saying. In the traditional Detroit design team, marketing people rarely saw designers and were never consulted by them. Designers did Prevention Update their work and passed it on to the development engineers, who in turn did their work and passed it on to manufacturing, which in turn did its work and passed it on to marketing. The second kind of team is the football team. The hospital unit that rallies around a patient who goes into shock at three a.m. is a "football team," as are Japanese automakers' design teams. The players on the football team like those on the baseball team, have fixed positions. But on the football team players play as a team. The Japanese automakers' design teams, which Detroit and P&G rushed to imitate, are football-type teams. To use engineering terms, the designers, engineers, manufacturing people, and marketing people work "in parallel." The traditional Detroit team worked "in series." Third, there is the tennis doubles team — the kind Saturn management hoped would replace the traditional assembly line. It is also the sort of team that plays in a jazz combo, the team of senior executives who form the "president's office" in big companies, or the team that is most likely to produce a genuine innovation like the personal computer fifteen years ago. On the doubles team, players have a primary rather than a fixed position. They are supposed to "cover" their teammates, adjusting to their teammates' strengths and weaknesses and to the changing demands of the (( A. A A " game. Business executives and the management literature have little good to say these days about the baseball-style team, ------- BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS whether in the office or on the factory floor. There is even a failure to recognize such teams as teams at all. But this kind of team has enormous strengths. Each member can be evaluated separately, can have clear and specific goals, can be held accountable, can be measured — as witness the statistics a true aficionado reels off about every major-leaguer in baseball history. Each member can be trained and developed to the fullest extent of the individual's strengths. And because the members do not have to adjust to anybody else on the team, every position can be staffed with a "star," no matter how temperamental, jealous, or limelight-hogging each of them might be. But the baseball team is inflexible. It works well when the game has been played many times and when the sequence of its actions is thoroughly understood by everyone. That is what made this kind of team right for Detroit in the past. As recently as twenty years ago, to be fast and flexible in automotive design was the last thing Detroit needed or wanted. Traditional mass production required long runs with minimum changes. And since the resale value of the "good used car"— one less than three years old- was a key factor for the new-car buyer, it was a serious mistake to bring out a new design (which would depreciate the old car) more than every five years. Sales and market share took a dip on several occasions when Chrysler prematurely introduced a new, brilliant design. The Japanese did not invent "flexible mass production"; IBM was probably the first to use it, around 1960. But when the Japanese auto industry adopted it, it made possible the introduction of a new car model in parallel with a successful old one. And then the baseball team did indeed become the wrong team for Detroit, and for mass- production industry as a whole. The design process then had to be restructured as a football team. The football team does have the flexibility Detroit now needs. But it has far more stringent requirements than the baseball team. It needs a "scpre" — such as the play the coach signals to the huddle on the field. The specifications with which the Japanese begin their design of a new car model — or a new consumer-electronics product — are far more stringent and detailed than anything Detroit is used to in respect to style, technology, performance, weight, price and so on. And they are far more closely adhered to. In the traditional "baseball" design team, every position— engineering, manufacturing, marketing — does its job its own way. In the football team there is no such permissiveness. The word of the coach is law. Players are beholden to this one boss alone for their orders, their rewards, their appraisals, their promotions. The individual engineer on the Japanese design team is a member of his company's engineering department. But he is on the design team because the team's leader has asked for him — not because the chief engineer sent him there. He can consult engineering and get advice. But his orders come from the design- team chief, who also appraises his performance. If there are stars on these teams, they are featured only if the team leader entrusts them with a "solo." Otherwise they subordinate themselves to the team. Even more stringent are the requirements of the doubles team — the kind that GM's Saturn Division hoped to develop in its "flexible-manufacturing" plant and a flexible plant does indeed need such a team. The team must be quite small, with five to seven members at most. The members have to be trained together and must work together for quite some time before they fully function as a team. There must be one clear goal for the entire team yet considerable flexibility with respect to the individual member's work and performance. And in this kind of team only the team "performs"; individual members "contribute." All three of these kinds of teams are true teams. But they are so different — in the behavior they require, in what they do best, and in what they cannot do at all — that they cannot be hybrids. One kind of team can play only one way. And it is very difficult to change from one kind of team to another. Gradual change cannot work. There has to be a total break with the past, however traumatic it may be. This means that people cannot report to both their old boss and to the new coach, or team leader. And their rewards, their compensation, their appraisals, and their promotions must be totally dependent on their performance in their new roles on their new teams. But this is so Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update 3 ------- BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS unpopular that the temptation to compromise is always great. At Ford, for instance, the financial people have been left under the control of the financial staff and report to it rather than to the new design teams. GM's Saturn Division has tried to maintain the authority of the traditional bosses — the firstline supervisors and the shop stewards — rather than hand decision-making power over to the work teams. This, however, is like playing baseball and a tennis doubles match with the same people, on the same field, and at the same time. It can only result in frustration and nonperformance. And a similar confusion seems to have prevailed at P&G. Teams, in other words, are tools. As such, each team design has its own uses, its own characteristics, its own requirements, its own limitations. Teamwork is neither "good" nor "desirable" — it is a fact. Wherever people work together or play together they do so as a team. Which team to use for what purpose is a crucial, difficult, and risky decision that is even harder to unmake. Managements have yet to learn how to make it. From Managing in a Time of Great Change by Peter F. Drucker. Copyright © 1995 by Peter F. Drucker. Used by permission of Dutton Signet, a division of Penguin Books USA, Inc. Peter F. Drucker is a writer, teacher, and consultant specializing in strategy and policy for businesses and social sector organizations. He has consulted with many of the world's largest corporations as well as with nonprofit organizations, small and entrepreneurial companies, and with agencies of the U.S. government. He has also worked with free-world governments such as those of Canada, Japan, and Mexico. He is the author of thirty-one books which have been translated into more than twenty languages. He has been an editorial columnist for the Wall Street Journal and a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review and other periodicals. Peter Drucker has been hailed in the United States and abroad as the seminal thinker, writer, and lecturer on the contemporary organization. In 1997, he was featured on the cover of Forbes magazine under the headline, "Still the Youngest Mind," and BusinessWeek has called him "the most enduring management thinker of our time." Mr. Drucker has received honorary doctorates from universities around the world. He is Honorary Chairman of the Leader to Leader Institute. WHAT IS AN OSC? A key player on EPA's emergency response team is the On-Scene Coordinator or OSC. OSCs are highly skilled men and women who conduct, direct, and coordinate emergency response actions and take whatever actions are necessary, consistent with Federal law, to remove the threat. In every area of the country, OSCs are on-call and ready to respond to hazardous substances releases and oil discharges 24 hours a day. When a release is discovered or reported, the OSC evaluates the situation and, if the OSC determines a Federal response action is necessary, he or she works with state and local response teams, local police and firefighers, or other Federal agencies to eliminate the danger. The OSC also will ensure that the public and business community are kept informed and that their concerns are considered throughout the response action. Bob Kelly, an OSC at EPA Region III, will present a workshop on the role of OSC's and how they can help state and local responders at EPA Region Ill's 2004 Conference in December. If 4 Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update ------- PREVENTION NEWS & TIPS ACCIDENT PREVENTION TIPS Bill McHale, P.E. U.S. EPA Region III Jennifer Shoemaker U.S. EPA Region III In August 2002, approximately 48,000 lbs of chlorine was accidentally released from a railcar during unloading operations at a facility near St. Louis, Missouri. The root cause was a Flex Line failure. Emergency response personnel were unable to quickly stop the railcar from emptying its contents through valves located in the railcar valve hood, which increased the extent of the release. In the end, three workers and 63 residents from the nearby community were sent to the hospital for chlorine exposure. Railroad cars supplying toxic or flammable materials to stationary facilities face a high risk that the flexible line connecting the car to the process will leak during transfer operations. During a release event, it can be difficult to access the valves in the railcar valve hood and stop the flow (the excess flow valve in the railroad car usually requires a massive leak to actuate). A number of facilities in the EPA Region 3 area have installed valve closure systems (some purchased, some homemade) to minimize the amount of released material during an accident. The valve closure systems are designed to shut off the valves in the railcar valve hood upon receiving a signal from the nearby toxic or flammable sensors. When the railcar is hooked up, the valve closure system is mounted on the railcar valves located in the railcar valve hood. Since the sensor signal operates the valve closure system, it is critical that the sensors be accurate. Also, a check valve in the process line should be installed to prevent back-flow from the process. In our Risk Management Plan audits, we recommend these valve closure systems. Bill McHale and Jennifer Shoemaker are located in EPA's Philadelphia Office and can be reached at 215-814-5000. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PREVENTING CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS • EPA issues periodic "Alerts" which explain specific hazardous substance hazards that have become evident through our accident investigation efforts. You can view these alerts at www.epa.gov/ceppo (click on "CEPP" and "Preventing Chemical Accidents." • The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the American Chemistry Council, and Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association, has made available online, free of charge, the book Essential Practices for Managing Chemical Reactivity Hazards (2003). This book, intended for safety managers, chemists, and engineers, helps both small and large companies address safe handling, processing and storing of chemicals that might become involved in uncontrolled chemical reactions. To access the book online, you will need to first complete a one-time sign-up procedure through Knovel, CCPS's online book distributor. Register at the Knovel Web Site at http: //info.knovel.com/ccps. RISK MANAGEMENT PLANS DUE FOR RESUBMISSION In 1996, EPA established a list of extremely hazardous substances and issued regulations for the prevention and mitigation of accidental releases of those substances under section 112® of the Clean Air Act. Facilities covered by the regulations are required to implement a risk management program and submit a description of the program (called a risk management plan or RMP) to EPA. RMPs must be updated at least once every five years. The majority of facilities submitted their initial RMPs by the original June 21,1999 deadline and have not resubmitted their RMPs since. This means that most RMPs must be fully updated and resubmitted by June 21, 2004. If certain process changes occur at the facility before the 5-year anniversary of the RMP, the RMP must be updated and resubmitted before those changes are made. The 5- year anniversary date is reset whenever the RMP is fully Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update 5 ------- PREVENTION NEWS & TIPS updated and resubmitted. In July 2003, EPA proposed to amend RMP reporting requirements including the addition of several new data elements. The final rule will be issued soon followed by the new version of RMP*Submit, EPA's software for RMP submission. The new version is estimated to be available sometime this month. For the 5-year update and resubmission, all nine sections of the RMP are to be reviewed, updated and certified as true, accurate and complete. Under Section 1, ensure that the registration information is up to date and remember that "facility location address" cannot be a post office or rural box number. Latitude and longitude coordinates must be verified through use of global positioning system receivers, U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps, or web-based siting tools. Lastly, since NAICS was revised in 2002, check whether the NAICS code reported for covered processes is still valid. The NAICS codes for construction and wholesale trade have been revised along with a number of other codes. The Census Bureau maintains a Web Site with a list of the 2002 NAICS Codes. Sections 2 through 5 state that the offsite consequence analyses (OCA) should be reviewed to determine whether the parameters and assumptions are still valid, and the data used to estimate the population and environmental receptors should be reviewed and updated. Accidental history needs to be updated to include any accidental releases that occurred over the past 5 years from a covered process and resulted in death, injury or significant property damage under Section 6. Sections 7 and 8 require that the most recent dates of prevention program activities be reported in the resubmission. In Section 9, the dates of the most recent review of your emergency response program and most recent training must be reported on the resubmission. In addition to requirements for updating the RPM, regulations require that several aspects of the prevention and emergency response programs be implemented or reviewed. The implementation of these recurring requirements must be up-to-date. The following are some recurring requirements highlights: • For Program 2, review and update hazard review once every five years. For Program 3, update and revalidate process hazard analysis once every 5 years. For Program 2 and 3 processes, verify that any recurring prevention program implementation requirements have been carried out. Finally, it is required that the emergency response program be reviewed and updated, and employees notified of any changes. EPA has a fact sheet which provides more detail on resubmitting your RMP available on its Web Site at www.epa.gov/ ceppo. EPA REGION III 2004 PARTNERSHIP AWARDS Know a person or organization that is making a difference in emergency preparedness, prevention or response? Maybe that person is you! Nominate yourself or others for a 2004 EPA Region III 2004 Partnership Award. The requirements are that the person or organization be demonstrating creativity or resourcefulness; going beyond what is required by a job description or law; or taking action to promote effective partnerships and working relationships with others. The person or organization must be within EPA Region III (states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.). Send a one to two-page description of the individual or organization's efforts to awards@2004conference.org or fax it to "EPA Partnership Awards" at 410-676-2320. Nominations must be received by November 1, 2004. EPA will present the awards at their 2004 Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Conference in Philadelphia on Monday, December 6. 6 Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update ------- EPA 2003 PARTNERSHIP AWARD WINNERS 2003 PARTNERSHIP AWARD WINNERS Each year, EPA Region III recognizes individuals and organizations who are making a difference in the emergency response and preparedness fields through the establishment of effective partnerships and extraordinary efforts. Dennis Carney, Chief of EPA Region Ill's Removal Branch, presented the 2003 awards at the Emergency Preparedness Conference in Norfolk. Captain Richard Brooks For more than 24 years, Captain Richard Brooks has served the Baltimore County Fire Department and his community as a firefighter, paramedic, and Hazmat team member. In addition, he generously gives of his time in a variety of positions at the state and Federal level. At the state level, Richard has ~ f volunteered with the Maryland State Fireman's Association and serves on the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute President's Board of Advisors. At the national level, Richard serves on the International Association of Fire Chiefs Hazardous Materials Committee and supports a number of other projects. In 2001 and 2002, Richard served on the EPA Region III conference committee and provided support for the two conferences held in Baltimore. He has served as the Chair of the Baltimore County Local Emergency Planning Committee, as Vice Chair for more than 12 years, and as a member since its inception in 1986. Under Richard's direction, the LEPC initiated outreach efforts to small businesses and held a variety of annual seminars targeted at small businesses. His numerous awards and citations speak to his commitment to the emergency services field and those who work with Richard speak to his commitment that every endeavor receives his best effort. Chesapeake, Virginia LEPC The Chesapeake LEPC continues its progressive role within their community by actively engaging industry in its mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. Private industry has actively participated in the development of the City's all- hazards mitigation plan. The LEPC has held two functional drills, a tabletop drill, and Virginia's first Comprehensive f e t y\ *' * A last four years. The strong commitment of volunteers helped raise the level of coordination, cooperation, and support in the execution of the exercises. This increased support was evident during the response and recovery from Hurricane Isabel when many LEPC members donated their time and resources from their industry. John Gustafson John Gustafson, the U.S. EPA Executive Director of the U.S. National Response Team, has made extensive contributions at all levels of government during his 40-year career in t I \ y HAZMAT Emergency Response - Capability Assessment Program exercise within the hazardous materials emergency preparedness and response. His determination and commitment to developing strong intergovernmental partnerships and his innovative ideas and technical skills have significantly improved chemical emergency preparedness and response in the U.S. and have helped spread U.S. best practices to other countries. John has spearheaded technical projects that have improved the safety of hundreds of communities. He has had an important impact on programs which have trained thousands of planners and responders. A few of John's career highlights include the Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update ------- EPA 2003 PARTNERSHIP AWARD WINNERS U.S. National Response Team (NRT) revitalization, Counter Terrorism/Homeland Security operations and advisory boards, co-chairing the development of the Emergency Planning Guide NRT-1, leading EPA's efforts in the development of the CAMEO computer system, and teaching the first chemical hazards analysis portion of the contingency planning training course used at the Federal Emergency Management Institute. John's countless achievements in public safety throughout his career have improved hazardous materials preparedness and response and trained thousands of planners and responders. Stephen Kappa As director of Emergency Services and Chairperson of the State Emergency Response Commission, Stephen Kappa has operational and planning responsibility for West Virginia's response to all emergency and disaster operations and consequence management for incidents involving weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. As SERC Chairperson, he provides skillful leadership to 50 West Virginia LEPCs. Under his guidance, LEPCs in West Virginia persist in expanding their abilities and outreach activities by participating in local fairs, informing the public of LEPC activities, conducting exercises, updating plans and providing information to citizens interested in safer communities. Steve Milligan As the Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Management for Upshur County in West Virginia, Steve Milligan quickly turned an inactive LEPC into one of the more active in the State and the first Comprehensive HAZMAT Emergency Response - Capability Assessment Program community for West Virginia. Long before September 11, Steve worked to better prepare his community by creating scenarios and objectives that included potential terrorist activities. Since September 11, Steve encouraged his State to take a regional approach to terrorism planning and began organizing his own region before an official regional plan was put in place. He has helped to organize a HAZMAT team in his own county and helped equip the team through donations and grants. Steve has developed an excellent working relationship with his county commissioners and has earned their respect for his work in increasing the preparedness of his community. In addition to his paid position in emergency management, Steve is a volunteer firefighter and serves in various positions with professional and community groups. In 2002, a local newspaper, The Record Delta chose him as Citizen of the Year. The National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC) The NCLETTC is a non-profit, federally-funded organization located inside the former West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia. Their mission is to provide quality low- cost training to corrections, law enforcement, first responders and public safety agencies throughout the country. Prior to the September 11 attacks, the NCLETTC, along with approximately 40 first responder agencies in West Virginia and Ohio, began planning for a large-scale disaster event, "Mock Disaster." As the date of the exercise neared, additional government agencies as well as private industries requested # f, J * VPI the opportunity to be involved. During the exercise, the critical goals to be accomplished were to identify future training needs for first responders, bring agencies together to identify 8 Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update ------- EPA 2003 PARTNERSHIP AWARD WINNERS their equipment and response capabilities, and to establish a unified command during emergencies. Additional goals were added after September 11. Mock Disaster incorporated unscripted situations which required agencies to respond as they would in real-life. Mock Disaster 2002 and 2003 allowed participants to recognize their shortcomings and abilities and resulted in a number of valuable lessons learned and successes. Norfolk Environmental Crimes Unit Working under the direction of the City Attorney's Office, the Norfolk Environmental Crimes Unit has tackled many issues and delivered outstanding results. The members of the unit (the first such unit established in Virginia) are Police Officer \\ ¦1 f? 1 1 1 Richard Burnette, James Stanek, Hazmat Investigator, and Michael Carden, Hazmat Investigator. From investigating illegal dumping to developing protocols for responding to WMD events, the unit has been an asset to other City agencies as they seek to solve a variety of tough problems. Their efforts have led to the fostering of close working partnerships with all City agencies. Pennsylvania TransCAER Pennsylvania TransCAER® was formed as a voluntary effort focused on assisting communities prepare for a possible hazardous materials transportation incident. Its membership is reflective of the breadth of the chemical industry in Pennsylvania with representatives from chemical manufacturers, transporters, t i \ ft hazardous materials responders, as well as government representatives. In 2003, Pennsylvania TransCAER undertook intensive outreach and planning to conduct hazardous materials response training for more than 200 people in five Pennsylvania counties. Volunteer members were assigned to work with each county to describe the training, help them determine dates and locations, and to assist with the selection of a scenario specific to that county. Each tabletop training exercise was created to be unique to the circumstance of each county. Video footage of a real site within the county was used as the backdrop for the scenario. The response and feedback was very positive. PA TransCAER is not looking to rest on its laurels after receiving such accolades. Instead this volunteer outreach and training will continue and expand in 2004 to reach even more of Pennsylvania's first responders. Lieutenant Tom Fitzpatrick, Philadelphia Police Department LT Tom Fitzpatrick started his career as a police officer in 1982 with the Philadelphia Police Department. His reputation as an outstanding police officer propelled him to the very prestigious Stakeout Unit in 1985 until he was promoted to detective in 1990. In 1991 he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and continued to pioneer highly successful law enforcement methods. In 1999, he was promoted to lieutenant and was given command of the Ordnance Disposal Unit. Tom has been heralded 13 times for his acts of service demonstrating his high level of initiative and perseverance in the performance of police duties, including two heroism awards and a commendation of valor. Tom has demonstrated the importance of partnerships through his continuing efforts to improve emergency preparedness in his community, particularly through the training and education of Philadelphia's police officers. Tom has arranged for EPA to provide several training programs at the Police Academy to improve the preparedness of officers to respond to situations involving hazardous materials. In return, Tom has trained EPA's On-Scene Coordinators in recognizing incendiary devices that they might encounter when on a HazMat scene. Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update 9 ------- EPA 2003 PARTNERSHIP AWARD WINNERS Captain Art Grover, Philadelphia Police Department Captain Art Grover was quickly promoted at the start of his career with the Philadelphia Police Department to detective and then to sergeant four months later. He served as lieutenant for the Management Review Unit and was then assigned to the Police Board of Inquiry. In 1994, he was transferred to the Philadelphia Police Academy where he instructed recruit officers and served as the Commanding Officer of the Recruit Training Unit. Art has also worked hard to facilitate a beneficial working partnership between the Philadelphia Police Department and EPA. Capt. Grover has been extremely responsive in providing EPA with training class space at no cost on short notice so that EPA can bring training programs to the Philadelphia Area. His helpfulness with the coordination of these training programs has added to the mutually beneficial partnership between EPA Region III and the Philadelphia Police Department. William (Buddy) Turner In 2000, Mirant Chalk Point's oil pipeline experienced a significant oil spill. Since then Team Leader of Operations, Buddy Turner and his watch have devoted a great deal of time and effort to improving response strategies and communications. Going beyond his job requirements and taking initiative, Buddy worked on his days off to ensure all control points on the pipeline were identified and labeled. He enhanced radio communications so that they are now the primary means of communication on the entire pipeline as cell phones do not provide good communications in some areas along the pipeline. Buddy's attendance at drills, the follow- up with his team, and resulting suggestions has added value to the drill critiques; in addition, Buddy has conducted drills with his own watch. Response trailers have been readied, inventoried and labeled for easier deployment and improved safety of the personnel responding to incidents. Richard F. Wagner Since the age of 16, Richard Wagner has worked his way through the ranks to become a Deputy Chief and Fire Marshall in the town of McCandless, Pennsylvania. He is a founding member of the Allegheny County HazMat program and served as the Commander of the all- volunteer "Silver Team" for more than five years. He is also a member of the Allegheny County LEPC. Thousands of students have been taught and inspired by Rich's instruction at the Allegheny County Fire Academy. In 2001, Rich was tragically injured in a training accident, causing permanent brain damage. He was forced to give up most of his responsibilities. Against all odds, Mr. Wagner has regained much of his physical and mental acuity. He was appointed as Administrative Deputy Commander of the Silver Team in 2001 and took over responsibility for procurement, billing and other administrative duties. Mr. Wagner continues to volunteer much of his time for the benefit of the team and inspires others through his outstanding service and dedication against all odds. 10 Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update ------- EPA REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM EPA'S LOCAL GOVERNMENTS REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM While EPA's local governments reimbursement program has been in place for quite some time, we thought it might be helpful to remind our readers about this program and provide an example of a eligible reimbursement. EPA's local governments reimbursement program provides Federal funds to local governments for costs related to temporary emergency measures conducted in response to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances. The program serves as a "safety net" to provide supplemental funding to local governments that do not have funds available to pay for these response actions. Eligible local governments may submit applications to EPA for reimbursement of up to $25,000 per incident. On February 18, 1998, EPA published a new regulation that simplifies and streamlines the process for applicants. EPA has designed the reimbursement process to be very straightforward. Local governments obtain and complete a simple application form, that requires a local government to provide basic information about the incident, document its response costs by attaching copies of receipts, and certify that certain program requirements have been met. An applicant may receive a reimbursement check from the federal government in as little as three months after EPA receives the application. Local governments can take action today to help ensure that they are eligible to participate in the program in the future. EPA's LGR Program is just a telephone call away. If you have any questions about the program and how it works, you can call the HelpLine at 800-431-9209, send an e-mail to lgr.epa@epa.gov, or visit the program's Web Site at www.epa.gov (enter "local governments reimbursement" into the search field). Village of Downers Grove Reimbursed More Than $21,500 On November 11, 2001, the Village Hall in Downers Grove, Illinois received a threatening letter that suggested that anthrax had been released into the village's water supply. The letter was opened by an employee of the Village Hall and contained a blue-ish white powdery substance, also suspected to be anthrax. The Police and Fire Departments responded and followed all protocols related to the handling of suspicious substances. Water samples were drawn from 14 locations throughout the Village and were tested by a local firm. Samples and tests were also conducted on the substance found in the envelope containing the threatening letter. All results came back negative. No responsible parties were ever identified. The state informed the Village that they were not aware of any funding mechanism available to reimbursement emergency response to threatened releases of hazardous substances. The Village is also self-insured and therefore unable to recover costs from the insurance. The Village then requested reimbursement from the EPA's Local Government Reimbursement program for the costs associated with the testing of the water supply and the powder found in the envelope, as well as for overtime costs for the responders to secure the scene. The testing alone cost the Village over $21,000. The Village of Downers Grove submitted an application signed by the mayor with all appropriate documentation (i.e., copies of all invoices, overtime paysheets for the responders as well as their rate of pay). Downers Grove received reimbursement for $21,502.50 in June 2002, for the cost of testing and overtime worked by the responders. 11 *U.S. Government Printing Office: 2004 — 604-072/00001 Chemical Emergency Preparedness & Prevention Update ------- SIGN UP FOR OUR MAILING LIST Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Update will be published periodically on an irregular basis by the Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention folks at EPA Region III under the direction of Jerry Heston. Our goal is to provide interesting, informative, and often timely information to hazardous materials emergency planners, responders and stakeholders. If you have a story you would like to tell, a point you would like to make, or want to join the mailing list, fill out this form and mail it to: Katrina Harris General Physics Corporation 500 Edgewood Road, Suite 110 Edgewood, MD 21040 Fax to: 410-676-8545 Email to: kharris@genphvsics.com NAME COMPANY/AGENCY POD OTHER FEDERAL STATE GOVERNMENT/EMA JNDUSTRY MEDICAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT FIRST RESPONSE/LEPC OTHER: PHONE FAX . E-MAIL ADDRESS. CITY_ STATE ZIP COMMENTS .HAVE A STORY IDEA? HAVE A GOOD IDEA? HAVE NO IDEA? U.S. EPA Region III 1650 Arch Street (3HS33) Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029 Address Correction Requested PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID CLAYSBURG, PA PERMIT NO. 6 Coming to Philadelphia: The 2004 EPA Region III Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Conference December 5 through 0 ~ o printed with soy-based or vegetable-based inks on 100% m * March 2004 recycled/recyclable paper with 50% or more post-consumer fiber. ^ ------- |