Rusk County LEPC reviews preparedness plans, hazard-mitigation update and hazmat grant options

Rusk County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee reviewed several emergency-planning items, including a state hazmat computer grant, the county’s Integrated Preparedness Plan (IPP) and a multi-county hazard mitigation plan update. The committee also reviewed a recent list of spills that were investigated primarily by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and confirmed the county’s annual Community Right-to-Know (EPCRA) publication schedule.

Emergency grant and equipment: Committee members discussed a recurring state hazmat computer grant that is typically $2,000 annually with a larger $6,000 award every fourth year. The committee noted the grant is frequently used to purchase laptops, radios or credentialing equipment; last year the county used the funds to buy an ID printer for credentialing. The committee stated equipment purchased with the grant must remain under Emergency Management control and used for emergency management purposes.

Integrated Preparedness Plan (IPP): The committee reviewed the IPP, a required three-year planning document used to set training, exercise and equipment priorities tied to emergency management grant eligibility. The IPP topics under consideration included communications upgrades, response to transportation accidents (including rail incidents), damage assessment after storms, and cybersecurity. The committee plans an IPP workshop after the September meeting; members were invited to participate or provide input via a workshop or a survey.

Hazard mitigation plan update and public outreach: Rusk County is participating in a regional hazard mitigation plan update prepared by the Northwest Regional Planning agency. The plan—about 156 pages in the current draft—requires public notices, multiple meetings across municipalities, and formal approvals by the city, villages and the county (townships follow the county unless they adopt their own plan). The committee said the update is funded primarily by a FEMA grant covering the multi-county effort; local match is required and is commonly satisfied by in-kind contributions such as staff time and meeting participation. The committee expects a series of meetings beginning in mid-April through August and final approval in September of the cycle described in the meeting.

Strategic plan duplication / hazard analysis: Committee members flagged duplication between the strategic-plan spill history and the hazard analysis sections. Members agreed to ask state staff for clarification and to postpone final action on the strategic plan until October, directing staff to work with the planning contact (Tom, per transcript) to rewrite and strengthen the hazard analysis so the two sections are not identical.

Spills and DNR follow-up: The committee reviewed a list of spills from the prior year that included fertilizer, diesel, oil, sewage, hydraulic fluid, tar and coolant. The committee said the DNR investigates and typically handles cleanups; the county would only re-open a case if the DNR issued a fine that was not paid or if cleanup costs exceeded the spiller’s ability to pay. One incident involving a personal injury was documented separately. Committee members noted that the DNR handled investigations and that, in recent years, no incidents required county re-opening for cost recovery.

Community Right-to-Know (EPCRA) publication: Committee staff reminded members that the EPCRA community-right-to-know notice must be published annually (historically in June) in a newspaper; the committee confirmed it will continue to publish the notice in June.

Other notes: The committee discussed industrial facility listings and name changes on resource pages—members flagged a local business whose parent company name appears differently in state paperwork and the committee’s resource database; the committee agreed to update entries once the company files official changes with state records.

Next steps: Staff will revise the hazard analysis as directed, circulate the IPP and hazard mitigation materials for member input, schedule an IPP workshop after the September meeting, and post required public notices for the hazard mitigation plan update. The committee reiterated that many grants tied to these plans require current, documented planning exercises and participant records to support matching funds.