Emergency planning panel meets Thursday

The Daily Inter Lake

The organization responsible for developing the county's emergency response plan meets Thursday in Kalispell to add new members and refocus its efforts.

The Local Emergency Planning Committee will convene its quarterly session in the large meeting room in the Arts and Technology Building at Flathead Valley Community College at 1:30 p.m.

The committee's top priority is tracking hazardous materials and making information about the presence of those substances available to the community.

"There may be hundreds of facilities in the county that have a large enough quantity of hazardous materials to require them to comply with federal law and submit an annual report to the LEPC," according to Mark Holston, the committee chairman.

"But our own records show that many are not taking those steps. For instance, in 2002, almost 90 reports were filed. Last year, it was less than 20."

The information is critical, particularly for firefighters and other initial responders who might be in danger if they entered a facility with large stores of such substances but were unaware of it.

The committee also develops a hazardous materials emergency response plan and schedules annual emergency exercises.

For more information about the committee and this week's meeting, contact the Flathead County Office of Emergency Services at 758-5560.