Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
Ottawa County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) was established by the county to ensure that appropriate plans are in place to increase the safety of the community. The LEPC works with industry and agriculture to help prevent chemical accidents from happening and to develop community plans for responding to chemical emergencies. The LEPC is also responsible for establishing procedures and programs, which make it easier for the community to understand and have access to the information that industry submits about the chemicals they use.
The LEPC is charged with developing off-site spill response plans for facilities and farms within Ottawa County that use certain listed chemicals over the threshold planning quantity. Ottawa County currently has 127 known sites requiring plans. These site-specific plans are utilized in the development of the countywide response plan for Ottawa County. The plans pull together the emergency response plans of municipalities, industry, school districts and others in addition to response plans for natural disasters such as snowstorms, flooding, tornadoes and other severe weather. This plan is updated annually and a copy is available for review by contacting the county Emergency Management office.