LEPC

Local Emergency Planning Committee

Glossary of Terms

CERCLA: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act - aka "Superfund"; this law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. ($1.6B trust fund)
EHS: Extremely Hazardous Substances - Any of 406 chemicals identified by the EPA as toxic, and listed under SARA Title III. The list is subject to periodic revision.
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency - A Federal government organization whose mission is to protect human health and to safegaurd the natural environment - air, water, and land - upon which life depends.
GRAIL: Grand Rapids Area Information Line - a privately run, emergency-use only, information distribution service for broadcast media in West Michigan.
IC: Incident Commander - The person in charge of the response at the immediate incident scene. Depending upon the nature of the incident, this is usually a senior fire, police, or medical person.
ICS: Incident Command System - A system used to respond to incidents. The system consists of a scene manager, a command post, and pre-planned positions for functional response. (An incident command system is required to be used for all hazardous material incidents.)
KCEMS: Kent County Emergency Medical Services - the Medical Control Authority (MCA) for Kent County and some of Ottawa County; they provide for optimal care for the ill or injured patient through continued development of an emergency medical services system in the Kent County Medical Control Region.
LEPC: Local Emergency Planning Committee - The committee appointed by the Michigan Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Commission, as required by Title III of SARA, to perform local emergency planning and community right-to-know activities. Committees are appointed in each emergency planning district in the state and are required to have representation from a variety of groups.
MIOSHA: Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration - state-level OSHA.
MSDS: Material Safety Data Sheet - A compilation of information required under the OSHA Communication Standard on the identity of hazardous chemicals, health, and physical hazards, exposure limits, and precautions. Section 311 of SARA requires facilities to submit MSDSs under certain circumstances.
OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration - A Federal government organization whose mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and protect the health of American workers.
PIO: Public Information Officer - the person responsible for gathering information and releasing authorized information during an incident; also the point of contact for the news media.
RQ: Reportable Quantity - Quantity of a hazardous substance that triggers reports under CERCLA. If a substance exceeds its RQ, the release must be reported to the National Response Center, the SERC, and community emergency coordinators for areas likely to be affected.
SARA: Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act - an amendment to CERCLA; it stressed permanent remedies, considered other State/Federal laws, provided new enforcement, increased State involvement, increased the focus of human health problems, and increased the trust fund to $8.5B.
SARA Title III: aka - Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act - created a program with two goals: to facilitate and promote planning for chemical emergencies at the state and local levels; and to provide information to the public about the chemicals used, stored, and released in their communities.
SERC: State Emergency Response Commission - Commission appointed by each state governor according to the requirements of SARA Title III. The SERCs designate emergency planning districts, appoint local emergency planning committees, and supervise and coordinate their activities.
TPQ: Threshold Planning Quantity - A quantity designated for each chemical on the list of extremely hazardous substances that triggers notification by facilities to the State Emergency Response Commission that such facilities are subject to emergency planning requirements under SARA Title III.