PO Box 6873 - Alexandria, VA 22306 - (951) 764-3626
http://www.oursafetowns.com/

• Welcome to the October 2009 Issue

• From the Editor's Desk

• In The News

• Recent and Upcoming Events

• What Lies Ahead

• Useful Information

• Safety Tip

Happy Halloween! On this last day of October, I'd like to pass on the best wishes of all the ghosts here in the National Capital Region. We've got a bit of a short newsletter for you this month as its been an exceptionally busy month, but I wanted to make sure that we got something out to you. As mentioned, Oct 31^st is the last day to buy anything direct from our website. We're moving everything over to other distribution channels. Printed Books will be sold through Amazon.com, and we're working on providing electronic editions for those of you who want to get up into the next century.

Hope your Halloween is a safe one and we'll see you next month!

-Stephen

Stephen is taking care of the editing until we can find a new editor. If any of you are interested, please contact him at: stephen.melvin@oursafetowns.com.

FEMA Launches the Redesigned "FEMA en Español" Web Site

In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month, today FEMA begins a new phase of multilingual information sharing with the launch of a redesigned "FEMA en Español" web site.

The new site is a central location for Spanish-speaking disaster survivors to register for assistance or search for displaced loved ones through the National Emergency Family Registry and Locator system. It is also a tool for individuals and families to get information on topics such as preparedness, recovery and mitigation. The site features a clear format on the main page for ease in locating needed topics, such as general information on disasters, or the ongoing federal recovery efforts in American Samoa.

During disasters, the private sector plays a critical role in emergency management. FEMA encourages all organizations interacting with Spanish-speaking audiences to visit www.fema.gov/espanol

Secretary Napolitano Announces New Proposed Standards for Private Sector Preparedness

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced new proposed standards for a 9/11 Commission-recommended program for the private sector to improve preparedness for disasters and emergencies.

"Preparedness is a shared responsibility and everyone-including businesses, universities and non-profit organizations-has a role to play," said Secretary Napolitano. "Ensuring our private sector partners have the information and training they need to respond to disasters will strengthen our efforts to build a culture of preparedness nationwide."

DHS published a notice in the Federal Register today seeking public comment on three new standards identified for adoption under the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep). PS-Prep is a partnership between DHS and the private sector that enables private entities-including businesses, non-profit organizations and universities-to receive emergency preparedness certification from a DHS accreditation system created in coordination with the private sector.

For further information, visit www.FEMA.gov/privatesectorpreparedness

Railroads, gov't spar over chlorine trains, Oct 11, 2009.

From: United Press International

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Railroads, chemical makers and U.S. government regulators are battling to hammer out new policies on shipments of toxic chlorine gas, observers say.

Even as the federal government was proposing new safeguards to guard the public against gas leaks caused by accidents or terrorist attacks, the Union Pacific railroad was asking the government for authority to turn down such shipments and chemical makers sued in court to prevent it from imposing higher tariffs, The Fort Worth (Texas) Star Telegram reported Sunday.

Trade groups representing chemical makers eventually prevailed as the court struck down a Union Pacific policy charging much higher rates for chlorine gas shipments through major cities such as the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, while the U.S. Surface Transportation Board ruled it was the railroad's responsibility to ensure the shipments remain safe.

Read More

Ethics Training for FEMA employees

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has joined Small Business Administration In an October 14 memorandum for all FEMA employees dealing with ethics training, Administrator Fugate encouraged all FEMA employees to consider the following principles as "a part of their DNA" in how they do their jobs:

• Embrace the public welfare as your primary responsibility.

• Protect the best interests of the entire community-particularly the most vulnerable (e.g., the poor, children, the elderly, the disabled, and pets).

• Deal fairly and honestly with colleagues and the public.

• Act as responsible stewards of the public resources entrusted to you.

• Respond promptly, expertly and without prejudice or partiality.

• Engage in continuity education to enhance skills and knowledge.

Recent Events

9 Sep: ERNIE Steering Committee Election

An election was held to fill one open seat on the Steering Committee with the ERNIE Member agencies voting at the meeting.

Nominated: Mitch Curtis- West Valley Water District

Doug Hefley- Eastern Municipal Water District

Doug Hefley was elected to the Steering Committee

14 Oct 2009: CA LEPC Region I AA Subcommittee Meeting

A note from Brian Abeel after the last Region I AA Subcommittee:

Hello Everyone, Could not attend the meeting today due to Haz Mat Team Typing Inspections this week. I wanted to take this time to address questions and requests for information directed to me at the last meeting.

1. Haz Mat Team Typing Status:

Attached is the latest status report. (Available from Brian or contact Stephen at SRM Associates) Thanks Ron for sharing this at the meeting. Address any questions to me.

2. California Accidental Release Prevention (Cal ARP) Program Public Notices

1. What is the required amount of days to run a Public Notice? There is no specification in the CalARP laws or regulations that address the time period.

2. Is there any government code that addresses time periods for public notices? I have no answer at this time. Will speak to Cal EMA legal counsel.

3. CalARP Program Table 3 Regulated Substances - Toxic End Points (Tes):

When will the CalARP TEs be finalized for Table 3 regulated substances?

Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) approved the TEs for all Table 3 regulated substances. These TEs will be included in the CalARP rulemaking package (for updating the CalARP regulations). Jack Harrah, Cal EMA, is working on this package, 916-845-8759. The regulatory package will be vetted through Unified Program Administrative Advisory Group (UPAAG) prior to submission to the Office of Administrative Law.

4. CalARP Stationary Source - 36.9 % Hydrochloric Acid Dispute - Imperial County - Accu Chem Conversion, Inc.

Pursuant to California law, public comment was being solicited on a dispute arising under the CalARP Program. Cal EMA received an appeal filed by Accu Chem Conversion, Inc. (Accu Chem) to a March 9, 2009 hearing officer decision by Mr. Roger Vintze, Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Pursuant to Title 19 California Code of Regulations 2780.1, Cal EMA was soliciting public comment on the following issues:

• Whether 36.9 percent hydrochloric acid is regulated under the CalARP

• Whether the operations involving hydrochloric acid at Accu Chem are a “stationary source” that should be regulated under CalARP

The public comment period ended at 5:00 p.m. on September 30, 2009. There were several public comments. Cal EMA has given Accu Chem until mid November 2009 to address these comments. Cal EMA will render a decision on the issues in December 2009. That decision will be binding on all parties.

5. CalARP Seismic Assessment Guidance

Is there a revised CalARP Seismic Assessment Guidance for 2009 RMP updates?

LEPC I, not Cal EMA, developed the CalARP Seismic Assessment Guidance. LEPC I, if the need exists, will revise this guidance for 2009 RMP updates. This guidance is not part of the CalARP rulemaking package. If it were then the guidance would be incorporated into Title 19 and LEPC I would loose control of it.

Brian A. Abeel, Senior Emergency Services Coordinator, Hazardous Materials Section, Fire & Rescue Branch, California Emergency Management Agency

3650 Schriever Ave, Mather, CA 95655

Office: (916) 845-8768, Pager: (916) 594-2555, Fax: (916) 845-8734, brian.abeel@calema.ca.gov

16 Oct 2009: CA's LEPC Region I Seismic Guidance
The final draft of CA's LEPC Region I Seismic Guidance is finished and ready ready for full LEPC Region I, approval. For more information, please contact Robert Distaso, PE at: 714-573-6253 or robert.distaso@ocfa.org.

19-23 Oct 2009: 26th Annual Virginia Hazardous Materials Conference and Expo
If you have not registered for the 2009 Virginia Hazardous Materials Conference and Expo, the early registration rates expire on Thursday, October 1st. If you are dealing with budget and travel restrictions, we are offering single day registrations as an alternative. Several pre-conference courses still have available seats but those are filling up as well.

We're very happy to report that through our Scholarships and Grants Program, inclusive of the Walt Sivertson Memorial Scholarship and the Norman S. (Norm) McTague Annual Conference Attendance Scholarship, we are able to fund conference attendance for 10 VAHMRS members from 6 hazmat teams within the Commonwealth, provide an equipment grant, and support three college scholarship requests from members and departments spread across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Overall, nine separate hazardous materials response organizations benefited from this year's scholarship and grants funding.

The 2009 Virginia Hazardous Materials Conference and Expo is just three short weeks away - register today.

Hampton Convention Center, Hampton, Virginia

www.virginiahazmat.org

20 Oct 2009: Secretary Napolitano Live Online Address
Secretary Napolitano delivered a live online address to promote National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and to issue a national call to action to safeguard the nation's digital networks.

She also answered a few questions submitted by viewers, but unfortunately was only able to get to a handful of inquiries. Secretary Napolitano wants to continue the dialogue on this important issue, and to that end she has recorded a video addressing more viewer questions submitted during the webcast.

The video appears at both the DHS blog; and the DHS YouTube Channel. The Ready.gov team encourags you to visit one of these pages and please provide any feedback you may have to ready@dhs.gov.

Upcoming Events

4 Nov 2009: To the ERNIE Agencies participating in the ERNIE Emergency Response Exercise

We are preparing the Exercise Plan for the exercise on November 4th.

We need each participating Agency to prepare a minimum of 20-25 messages that will be incorporated into injects for the Exercise. The messages must be reflective of a possible scenario or scenarios you devise for your Agency when it experiences a 7.8 Earthquake on the lower section of the San Andreas Fault and would require your Agency to request mutual aid to Mitigate the damage. The messages can be based on a realistic sequence of events of one scenario or multiple scenarios (example: discovery, reaction, alert, identification of needs, request).

Please bring your messages with you to the ERNIE Meeting Tomorrow or email them by Friday October 16th to:

Gary Sturdivan, gsturdivan@eastvalley.org;

Frank Salazar, salazar_fr@sbcitywater.org;

John Hull, jhull@yvwd.dst.ca.us;

Bob Frusher, bfrusher@jcsd.us;

11 Nov 2009: San Diego Infragard Chapter Meeting
The next meeting of San Diego's Infragard Chapter will be on 11 Nov 2009.

12 Nov 2009: ERNIE Meeting

Due to the Veterans Day Holiday on November 11, 2009 the ERNIE meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday November 12, 2009 at 1:30 pm.

12 Nov 2009: California LEPC Region I Meeting

The next LEPC meeting will be held at the American Red Cross, in Pomona. Please RSVP to Janice Herrera via email, if you plan on attending the meeting.

Time: 10:00 am

Location: American Red Cross

Western Division

100 Red Cross Circle

Pomona, CA 91768

14 Nov 2009: Durham Tech Mass Shootings Planning and Response for Public Safety (MSPR)

4-hour Planning & Response Course for Law Enforcement, Fire, EMS, Emergency Management and School/College Officials

It appears that the “bad guys” (criminals and terrorists) are more determined, violent and heavily armed than ever before. Crisis situations such as mass shootings, terrorist and criminal attacks are occurring with alarming frequency. These events can occur on college/university campuses, school grounds, the workplace or other public locations.

Public safety agencies must adapt to the changes in society so that appropriate delivery of emergency services is ensured in a crisis. Responder’s safety is paramount during these types of events! Course will cover the following topics:

• Threat Assessments/Threat Groups

• Pre-Incident Planning

• Multi-Agency Response

• Command Considerations

• Scene Safety

• “Lessons Learned”

• Resources for Planning & Training

Date and Location: Saturday, November 14th, 0800-1200, Orange County Emergency Management, Training Room,

510 Meadowland Drive, Hillsborough, NC 27278 (for directions go to www.mapquest.com)

Registration: To reserve a seat please contact briggsc@durhamtech.edu no later than Nov. 10th with name and agency.

STUDENTS MUST BE A MEMBER OF A PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY OR SCHOOL/COLLEGE SYSTEM TO ATTEND AND MUST HAVE PROPER I.D. AND/OR UNIFORM.

Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Learning Series Fall 2009 Offerings
The Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Learning Series continues in the fall of 2009 with a fresh lineup of one-hour Web-based seminars providing expert presentations on the tools, trends, issues, and best practices for infrastructure protection and resilience.
Series offerings are available free of charge and designed for CIKR owners and operators and officials with responsibility for risk, security, and emergency management functions.
To learn more, click here.

1-3 Dec 2009: Counter IED Symposium
Secretary Janet Napolitano, U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been confirmed as the Keynote Speaker at the upcoming Counter IED Symposium.

Secretary Napolitano joins members from DHS, DOJ, DOE, and the Intelligence Community to speak at the December 1-3 symposium that is to be held at the Gaylord National Hotel located just outside of Washington, DC. A list of speakers can be found on the conference website at www.ncsi.com <http://www.ncsi.com/> .

This symposium and exposition will focus on the unique nature of the Domestic Response vs the Military Response to IED prevention. Federal, state, and local government representatives, industry, academia and laboratories will convene to address key issues and critical mission needs in support of IED defeat and prevention - for homeland security and the Warfighter.

The Interagency Council for Applied Homeland Security Technology (ICAHST) is sponsoring this event. For more information, and to register, please visit www.ncsi.com.

As mentioned last month, beginning 1 November of this year, we will discontinue credit card sales through the oursafetowns.com website. We will be moving all book sales, audiobook sales, etc. to other outlets.

Keeping Our Neighborhoods Safe can be purchased through Amazon.com here.

Paperback copies of Keeping Our Chemical Facilities Safe can be purchased through Amazon.com here. Hardback copies will need to be purchased direct from SRM Associates; contact us for more information.

We are still working on links for the audio version of Keeping Our Neighborhoods Safe, the e-book of Mantiendo Nuestras Vecindades a Salvo, How to COPE With Terrorism, and future titles.

We are also still working on electronic versions of our books. Any information you might have would be greatly appreciated.

If you are interested in working with us directly to make your community, business, or agency safer, please contact us at: info@oursafetowns.com.

See you next month!

Flu: A Guide for Community & Faith-based Organizations

The Department of Health and Human Services Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has announced a new resource for community and faith-based organizations: H1N1 Flu: A Guide for Community & Faith-based Organizations <http://flu.gov/professional/community/> .

Community and faith-based organizations are essential partners in comprehensive state and local flu response, and this guide was created to support them this flu season. The guide provides specific action steps that community and faith-based organizations can take to help keep communities healthy during flu season, including:

• Communicating important information about flu

• Supporting vaccination efforts

• Linking vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations to vital information and resources

Visit http://flu.gov/professional/community/ to download the guide.

Vendor-provided NIMS ICS Course and Instructor Validation

A new NIMS Alert titled NIMS Alert 07-09: Vendor-provided NIMS ICS Course and Instructor Validation and Certification has been posted at http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/NIMSalerts.shtm

Private Sector Preparedness Tips of the week from FEMA:

10/2/09

Assess which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to stay in operation after an emergency. Visit www.ready.gov/business/plan/planning.html

10/06/09

Check your office for fire hazards, test fire alarms and extinguishers, and practice an escape route in support of Fire Prevention Week. For more details visit: www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/focus/

10/19/09

Protect your computer systems by using encrypted web sites with secure socket layers (SSL), https addresses and closed padlock icons. For more cyber security resources, visit: www.us-cert.gov

E-mail Stephen