Hazmat Team

The Local Emergency Planning Committee (L.E.P.C.) of Chatham County was created in 1994 to address many of the public safety concerns of industry and the community regarding hazardous materials.

Hazmat Team Agreement

HAZMAT Team Agreement

This Agreement is made and entered into by Chatham County, Georgia and the Mayor and Alderman of the City of Savannah. On March 22, 1996, the County enacted an Ordinance requiring the registration and payment of a fee by facilities with hazardous substances over 10,000 pounds for the reasonable cost of the Hazmat Team for promoting the health, safety and welfare of the public.

Under the Ordinance, the Hazmat Team is defined to include qualified and designated members of the Savannah Fire Department and the Chatham Emergency Management Agency's Hazardous Materials Analyst.

The County and City entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement to provide inspections of facilities with hazardous substances and funding in connection with these inspections.

The County and City agreed to the following:

The County Finance Department shall receive all fees to be collected annually in accordance with the Hazmat Ordinance.
The City, though its Fire Department, shall provide the inspection of facilities with hazardous substances pursuant to the provisions of the Hazmat Ordinance.
The County shall compensate the City for the City’s costs in carrying out the inspection activities in the amount of the fees collected annually, in accordance with the Hazmat Ordinance.
The County shall incur the costs associated with the reasonable personnel related expenses for the addition of one Hazmat Analyst to the existing CEMA Staff. Excess funds shall be paid to the City to compensate its cost for the inspection duties performed by the Savannah Fire Department.
The City agrees to limit its costs to only those reasonable personnel related expenses associated with the addition of one Hazmat Coordinator and three master fire fighters, and, in future years, depreciation on vehicle purchased in the first year of the agreement.
The City shall match the County’s total allocation of funds on an annual basis and dedicate all those funds to the reasonable expenses associated with the inspection duties performed by the Savannah Fire Department. Upon execution of this Agreement, the City’s share of these funds shall be used in the first year of this Agreement to purchase a vehicle for the Savannah Fire Department for the purpose of performing inspection duties.
If, in any given year, the revenue from registration fees does not meet the projections necessary to cover the costs of the City’s Hazmat Coordinator and three master fire fighters (after the City and County share), fees will be increased the following year. The additional revenue generated will be provided to the City for the preceding year’s shortfall.


	LEPC Introduction The passage of the SARA Title III: Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 mandates that facilities which produce, utilize and/or store certain hazardous materials must report these chemicals to State environmental authorities. This Act has also intensified local governmental authorities' and the community's concern and interest about these facilities. It encourages these facilities to initiate community awareness about the chemicals they use and to work with local governments, emergency response organizations, and neighborhood groups in developing emergency plans in the event of a hazardous materials incidents at these facilities.