LEPC membership roster given update

Fulton County L.E.P.C. (Local Emergency Planning Committee) met Oct. 29, with 15 members present via Zoom.

Election of officers was held with Hugh Caldwell, chairman; Kenney Etherton, vice-chairman; and Carol Parker, secretary/treasurer for two years.

Treasurer’s Report was given by Caldwell saying, “Only one additional expense from the Spring meeting is to The Current for $52, for the notice of the meeting. No money was spent for travel to the Kentucky Emergency Services Conference, which was cancelled, leaving a balance of $1,383.85.”

“We are a community right to know organization and we keep up with the hazardous chemicals in the County. At the present time, hazardous chemicals include anhydrous ammonia at Farm Services; chlorine at Fulton Water Plant; battery acid at the AT&T facility in Fulton; battery acid at Berry Global; and agricultural chemical at Helena,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell updated members about a grant awarded for $976.03, not yet received, but should be coming in the next month, to be added to the $1,383.85.

The Membership Roster was reviewed and updated.

Names to be removed include, Aaron Collins, who has moved out of Fulton County and PaTrice Chambers requested to be added as the Fulton County School System Educational Representative; William Caton Alliance Water Resources at the Hickman Water Plant; Rob Sanger, Fulton County Rescue Squad; and Billy Nelms, Fulton Public Works.

Farm Services, AT&T, and Helena have chosen not to participate.

A request was sent to Sam Price, plant manager at Berry Global, to be added.

An update on the By-Laws was given, with the last change made was as to who could be an officer. Previously, the EM Director was designated by the by-laws as chairman. That was changed to be any member of the committee to be an officer. Key provisions include having at least five members to have a quorum, two meetings annually with the hazardous materials in the County; and two signatures on the checking account.

The Kentucky Emergency Response team will be notified of no changes to the by-laws.

The Emergency Response Plan (ERP) submission has been extended to June 30, 2021.

“The ERP is changing over to a Tier 2 manager program that is web based. They are have issues with the website and COVID-19 hit, so there is reduced staff working on it. The mapping is not working at this time. The Emergency Response plan should have been submitted by April. All other requirements for the grant will be acceptable. We are supposed to have a certification letter stating that our Emergency Response plans have been updated and submitted. This requirement will not be adhered to because of the COVID-19 until June 30, and may be extended again,” Caldwell reported.

The Kentucky Emergency Response Conference scheduled for September was cancelled.