Local Emergency Planning Committees

Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act , Local or Tribal Emergency Planning Committees must develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually, and provide information about chemicals in the community to citizens.

Plans are developed by these emergency planning committees with stakeholder participation. There is one emergency planning committee for each of the more than 3,000 designated local and tribal emergency planning districts. The emergency planning committee membership must include (at a minimum):

Elected state, local, and tribal officials;
Police, fire, civil defense, and public health professionals;
Environment, transportation, and hospital officials;
Facility representatives; and
Representatives from community groups and the media.

To find your LEPC or TEPC, please contact your State or Tribal Emergency Response Commission SERC or TERC.

In 2008, EPA conducted a Nationwide Survey of Local Emergency Planning Committees to track the progress and learn the practices and preferences of the emergency planning committees.

On this page:

Emergency response plan requirements
Local Emergency Planning Committee Resources
Where can I get more information?

What are the required elements of a community emergency response plan?

Identification of facilities and transportation routes of extremely hazardous substances.
Description of emergency response procedures, on and off site.
Designation of a community coordinator and facility emergency coordinator(s) to implement the plan.
Outline of emergency notification procedures.
Description of how to determine the probable affected area and population by releases.
Description of local emergency equipment and facilities and the persons responsible for them.
Outline of evacuation plans.
A training program for emergency responders (including schedules).
Methods and schedules for exercising emergency response plans.

LEPC Resources

CAMEO Software Suite

Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations Software Suite is a system of five applications intended to help communities plan for and respond to chemical emergencies. The suite includes the following applications ALOHA Air Modeling, CAMEO Chemicals, CAMEO Data Manager, MARPLOT GIS, and Tier2 Submit. The software system is free and available for download on the CAMEO website.

LEPC Boundary Shape Files

Local Emergency Planning Committees boundaries were provided by State Emergency Response Commissions during a survey of the SERCs. These boundaries are available for use in geographic information systems . These boundaries may be used for emergency planning and preparedness activities. Activities may include determining the response jurisdictions and evaluating the populations within jurisdiction boundaries. The files are compatible with commonly used GIS applications and include the CAMEO Software Suite’s MARPLOT application.

Note: These boundaries were provided by the State Emergency Response Committees. Please coordinate with the emergency planning committees to verify accuracy. For questions about the boundaries, contact the EPA EPCRA Information Center (800) 424-9346; (703) 348-5070 in the Washington, D.C. area.

The boundary files are available in the following formats for use:

Where can I get more information?

For more information on state and local EPCRA implementation, visit the National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials.