HomeMy WebLinkAboutLEPC MEETING Minutes 082213
LEPC MEETING MINUTES
HAWAII COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE
August 22, 2013, 10:00am
Members Present: Henry Silva, Chairperson; Gerald Kosaki, Vice-Chairperson; John
Bowen, Hazmat Consultant; Tracy Aruga, Hilo Medical Center; Newton Inouye, DOH;
Michel Uchida, HFD Hazmat; John Drummond, Hawaii County CD; Chris Honda for
Lance Uchida, EMS; James O’Connor, HPD; Geoffrey Lauer, BEI Hawaii; Non-
Members: Harold Lao, DOH HEER; Sharon Leonida, DOH HEER; Lucas Parrish, BEI;
Mark Behrens, DOE; Orasa Fernandez, DOE
I. Call to Order – 10:04 am by Vice-Chair Gerald Kosaki
II. Approval of minutes from May 23, 2013 meeting – No objections to minutes,
minutes accepted and adopted
III. Tier II project report – John Peard was not present. Henry Silva talked about
two EPA inspections that were done at Hamakua Energy Partners (HEP) and
Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV). Jeremy Johnstone did the major part of the
inspection for EPA and stated to us that in Hawaii, tier II reports are under
reported throughout the state. He said that EPA is willing to assist to help
increase compliance. Sharon Leonida said that we could use the GIS to
update tier II information and possibly store it electronically. Therefore, we
would be able to store it on the county server.
IV. School labs and chemicals update – Mark Behrens from the DOE Safety and
Security office was present at the meeting to discuss what the DOE is doing to
address chemicals in the schools that may be outdated or stored in abundance.
He said that the schools are doing internal inspections using training that they
received. Training began at the district level and information was given down
to the Principals and to the maintenance personnel performing the inspections.
He also gave us a list of schools that were inspected and the costs incurred
from having the hazards removed.
V. County reports:
Civil Defense – CD-1 Darryl Oliveira joined the meeting discussion via
phone since he could not attend. He discussed the recent incident at PGV
when there was a small release. He stated that an After Action Review of
the incident was done and identified the need for improved
communications. One change recommended was to call 911 in the event
of any release. Civil Defense should also be notified at the inset of any
release. He reiterated that a standard level of care must be followed
regardless of the type of incident.
Fire – We were provided Area Rae training by Tom Bellit from Rae
Systems on the new Area Raes that we received. We also identified
strategic locations near PGV where these Area Raes would be deployed.
The LEPC sponsored 2 Hazmat personnel from the department to attend
the Continuing Challenge conference in Sacramento. Upon return, they
will give a report of their experience.
Police – no report given
VI. Industry partners reports –
PGV – No one from PGV was present due to their facility being shut
down for the week.
BEI – They will be moving storage site and are changing their local
management. Geoff Lauer will be retiring in April 2014 so he brought his
replacement to the meeting, Lucas Parrish.
VII. Department of Health HEER report – EPCRA brochures were completed by
HEER and distributed to us to be put at strategic locations such as the
planning office, DPW, Tax office, etc. These brochures provide information
on who needs to complete a tier II report and what needs to be reported.
Harold Lau reported that the HMEP grant had been completed for next year
for the upcoming Hazmat Technician classes. These classes will be scheduled
soon.
VIII. Announcements – Henry announced that the LEPC will need to vote on the
upcoming NASTPO conference in April 2014. There is a grant that will cover
the costs of our attendance.
IX. Next meeting - The next LEPC meeting will be held on November 21, 2013 at
CD.
X. Adjournment – the meeting was adjourned at 11:58 am.