On Sept. 23, the Grant County Local Emergency Planning Committee held a meeting to discuss its protocols and procedures. This year, the LEPC has had 13 plans updated. The meeting was to approve those changes, which were made to make sure that all the state and federal government standards were met. As the University of Wisconsin-Platteville is within Grant County, it is important to see how proactive the members of the community are. The LEPC has members of the community, hazardous materials team, local elected officials and some law enforcement who are part of the committee. It is phenomenal to see such a wide variety of community members. The LEPC was created in 1986 based on a similar program, Emergency Planning Community Right-to-know Act. 

The Exponent held an interview with Steve Braun, who has been the Director of Grant County’s Emergency Management for 22 years. Braun states, “A number of events (involving chemical spills) occurred in the ‘70s and ‘80s, raising concerns for local preparedness and the availability to the public of hazardous chemicals being transporting through communities.” The public wanted information on what harmful chemicals are in the community, whether it be for making food or for agricultural use, and how Grant County would go about handling any spills or accidents that can happen. “We view emergency plans for over 40 facilities in the county, you know, to know their inventory and quantities and pre-plan. And so, the preplan talk about the area of the community that could be affected, the actions that hazardous materials team might take, those plans are for review.” Luckily, these emergency plans have not had to be acted on too much.