FAQs • Pitt County, NC • CivicEngage

What is the Local Emergency Planning Committee?: A Local Emergency Planning Committee or LEPC is a voluntary organization which is established in an Emergency Planning District designed by the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC). LEPCs are crucial to local hazardous materials planning and community right-to-know programs. The membership comes from the local area and should be familiar with factors that affect public safety, the environment, and the economy of the jurisdiction. That expertise is essential as the LEPC advises the writers of the Local Emergency Response Plan, so that the plan is tailored to the needs of its planning district. In addition to its formal duties, the LEPC serves as a focal point in the community for information and discussions about hazardous substance emergency planning, and health and environmental risks as well as natural disaster planning.

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Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

1. What is the Local Emergency Planning Committee?: A Local Emergency Planning Committee or LEPC is a voluntary organization which is established in an Emergency Planning District designed by the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC). LEPCs are crucial to local hazardous materials planning and community right-to-know programs. The membership comes from the local area and should be familiar with factors that affect public safety, the environment, and the economy of the jurisdiction. That expertise is essential as the LEPC advises the writers of the Local Emergency Response Plan, so that the plan is tailored to the needs of its planning district. In addition to its formal duties, the LEPC serves as a focal point in the community for information and discussions about hazardous substance emergency planning, and health and environmental risks as well as natural disaster planning.

2. Why was the LEPC formed?: When a chemical incident in India killed and injured thousands of people in 1985, there was concern as to whether that same kind of incident could happen here in the U.S. In answer to rising attention President Ronald Reagan signed the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) into law on October 16, 1986. Title III of that Act is known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). One of the first actions of the Act was for each Governor to appoint a State Emergency Response Commission (SERC). This commission divided the state into Local Emergency Planning Districts and appointed members of that community to the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC).