By Stephen Smoot
The Hardy County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) held its quarterly meeting last week. They meet quarterly under the legal requirement of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and have a mandate to focus on emergency planning. In practice, they also serve as a way for local emergency management and other stakeholders to gather, discuss, and develop a big picture approach that encompasses all major interests.
Doug Mongold led the meeting, assisted by Paul Lewis, Hardy County Emergency Services coordinator. Mongold opened by sharing with the LEPC that the County Commission was not represented at the meeting as usual because “there is a public hearing today that has to do with industrial solar systems.”
He added that it was “more than likely Hardy County will be seeing its first solar field in the near future,” but was not sure if that would include a battery backup. Mongold warned that if it did, this would require a five acre plot of batteries and “if that catches on fire, hang on!”
Lewis shared that Hardy 911 had three new dispatchers in training and that by the first of the year, each shift will “hopefully” have three dispatchers instead of two. He stated that this would help to prevent overtime hours when staff go on vacation or fall ill.
Mongold reminded all that “sometimes we need to be patient with these new people” as they learn a difficult and taxing job.
After a discussion of the results of recent drills, Mongold said “learn from it, build on it, and keep getting better.” He next discussed the possibility of bringing training on working with anhydrous ammonia spills, describing his experience with instruction at Jackson’s Mills near Weston. “It was very real. We suited up in Class A suits and were exposed to anhydrous ammonia. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Attendees learned that of the 36 required Tier II emergency planning reports required from industrial, commercial, and some government entities, only seven remained to be completed. These include detailed reports on hazardous substances used at different sites, including water and sewer facilities.
Fran Welton reported that three people completed the recent Community Emergency Response Team (or CERT) training. Trainings can instruct and prepare volunteers in basic disaster response skills and needs. Only those who complete the training may volunteer in an emergency with CERT teams. Welton said that she would reach out to county service organizations to boost numbers.
