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SERC COMMITTEES
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know |
Aside from the four Local Emergency Planning Committees
(New Castle County, Kent
County, Sussex County,
and the City of Wilmington),
there are four standing committees of the Delaware SERC. When necessary,
special committees can be formed to carry out specific duties:
FINANCE AND BUDGET COMMITTEE
Fees ranging from $250,000 to $275,000 are collected each year
under the Hazardous Chemical Inventory reporting requirements. Any organization requesting
funds must submit a written budget request to the Finance and Budget Committee.
The committee reviews the requests and presents them, along with
recommendations, to the SERC. Funds are routinely distributed to Delaware's four
LEPCs and the HMIMC Committee of the SERC. Monies not distributed are placed into the SERC
Contingency Fund which is used to finance special projects and purchases. Other functions
of the Budget and Finance Committee include projecting probable revenues generated by the
fee system, and exploring alternate funding sources (such as EPA grants).
INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE (ITC)
The primary objective of the Information and Technology Committee is to
ensure that hazardous material information is made available to emergency
planners and responders in a timely manner and in a usable format. The
data management approach established by the ITC revolves around Tier II
Manager™, which is a web-based system that allows facilities to report
hazardous chemical inventory data on-line. Facilities using the system
can simply update their previous data as necessary, and avoid re-entering
data. Since Tier II Manager™ is a web-based, all information
entered in the system can be viewed immediately by emergency planners and
responders. The ITC is responsible for training planners and responders
on how to search and retrieve information from the system. The committee
also has the responsibility of exploring strategies and developing materials
to inform the public through community outreach programs and promote participation
in emergency planning and community right-to-know matters.
PLANNING AND TRAINING COMMITTEE
The purpose of this committee is to perform planning functions and
provide oversight of training activities. Specific responsibilities include establishing
goals and objectives that support state and federal EPCRA mandates, developing compliance
guidance, reviewing emergency plans submitted by LEPCs, ensuring training requirements are
met, developing and coordinating new training opportunities, and oversight of Training
Grant Funds administration
DECONTAMINATION TRAILER COMMITTEE
This Committee provides oversight of the operations,
training, and funding of the Decon trailers provided by the State for
deployment in each of the three counties. The Decon trailers provide
decontamination services to all emergency response personnel and victims of
hazardous materials incidents throughout the State of Delaware or
neighboring jurisdictions through the use of trained personnel and adequate
equipment. The Committee also ensures the standardization of the Decon
trailers, operating procedures, and equipment to maintain the
interoperability of Delaware's hazardous material decontamination
capability.
