Active Local Emergency Planning Committee's already exist.   There are approximately 4,000 of these committees operating accross the USA incorperating local police, fire, hospital, health departments, local government officals and industry representitives.  These committees were established in 1986 by the US EPA under SARA, Title III legislation in response to the perceived need for communities to be able to respond to hazardous materials accidents in the USA following the Bhopal disaster in India in 1984.

I propose that these committees which still operate, be reinvigorated with their mandate  expanded to include planning for a variety of other local disaster possibilities.   This could be done on a voluntary basis, community by community with ideally some funding offered in support of the planning process.  Input from each of the committee chairmen as to how this might be done would be useful. Some of the main issues addressed could be educational regarding the kind of support the community can expect from the state and federal governement. Each LEPC (Local Emergency Planning Committee) could identify what can be best handled at the local level, soliciting citizen participation and ideas. This could include organizing volunteers, intercommunity response coordination and developing written plans.  Perhaps local planning guidance from FEMA could be offered through a website which could include the sharing of ideas and plans between communities.

Doing this on a voluntary basis allows each community to go through the process of assessing what will be needed to comply rather than having the negative reaction of being required to comply with a new unfunded mandate.   Many financial and other incentives can be developed to make the process an exciting grassroots endeaver.

Sincerely,

Fred Weil