The Erie County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) was established in accordance with the provisions of the federal Title III, Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA Title III), commonly known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). The committee was established to implement the provisions of this law within Erie County and to carry out the duties specified for Pennsylvania LEPCs in Section 203 of the Pennsylvania Hazardous Material Emergency Planning and Response Act (Act 165 of 1990).
The Erie County LEPC is composed of individuals representing a cross section of the County’s emergency and health services community, large and small industries, elected officials and the public, as well as Erie County Council, the Erie County Emergency Management Coordinator and the Erie County Hazardous Materials Response Team. The LEPC meets monthly.
LEPC Meetings
Erie County LEPC meetings are open to the public. All meetings start at 8:00 a.m. at the Erie County Department of Public Safety, 2880 Flower Road. Please be advised – the first 6 months of meetings will be held virtually.
2023 Executive Planning Committee
2023 General Committee Meetings
Meetings will be held at the Department of Public Safety Building located at: 2880 Flower Road, Erie, PA 16509.
General Committee @ 8:00AM
- February 10, 2023
- May 12, 2023
- September 8, 2023
- November 3, 2023
What Does the LEPC Do?
The primary duties of the Erie County LEPC are:
- Prepare and coordinate a chemical emergency response plan for all facilities in the county where extremely hazardous substances are present in quantities above a threshold level, as required by SARA Title III, Section 303.
- Collect and maintain SARA Section 312 hazardous chemical inventory reports (Tier II reports) for facilities required to submit such reports.
- Receive information about reportable accidental chemical releases and ensure that emergency response plans are followed by the responsible facility when responding to such releases.
- Assist the county in the preparation of a Hazardous Material Emergency Response Preparedness Assessment.
- Ensure the review, implementation and updating of the Erie County Emergency Response Plan and the component plans for each reporting facility.
- Collect and deposit into the County Hazardous Material Emergency Response Account all fees and funds received in accordance with the provisions of Erie County Ordinance Number 10, 1991, and ensure the timely submission of required fees by reporting facilities. Maintain a database of all planning and reporting facilities and the hazardous chemicals reported by these facilities.
- Provide outreach and education to municipalities and the community concerning hazardous materials within the community.
Erie County LEPC Membership
The minimum composition of all LEPCs in Pennsylvania is prescribed in Section 203 of the Pennsylvania Hazardous Material Emergency Planning and Response Act, Act 165 of 1990. The by-laws of the Erie County LEPC provide for this minimum representation plus additional representatives to provide an adequate cross-section of the involved community. Candidates for membership on the Committee are recommended to the Erie County Executive for submission to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council, which appoints the members.
Public Access to Information
Section 324 of SARA Title III provides that the Emergency Response Plan, material safety data sheets (MSDS), chemical lists (Tier I list), inventory forms (Tier II form), toxic chemical release forms and follow-up emergency notices shall be made available to the general public, consistent with the provisions of Section 322 of SARA Title III (relating to trade secrets).
This information for Erie County is kept at the following location:
Erie County Department of Public Safety
Emergency Management Agency
2880 Flower Road
Erie, PA 16509
Telephone: 814-451-7920
Office hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
The following procedure has been established by the Erie County LEPC for requesting information from the Erie County Emergency Management Agency (EMA):
- All requests for information shall be in writing to the Emergency Management Agency office.
- Files may be reviewed in the EMA office, but no copies will be made.
- All requests received by the EMA office will be sent to the company in question so that they may supply the requested information.
- Companies should send requested information to the county EMA for distribution to requesting party.
- The county EMA will supply the information provided to the requesting party with a copy of correspondence to the company in question.
A fee schedule has been established by the committee to help defray the cost of reproduction, file maintenance and postage, as follows:
- $1 for the first page of information copied.
- 25 cents for each additional page copied.
Please contact the LEPC at lepc@eriecountypa.gov.