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April 11, 2008 For more information, contact: Hazardous Materials Tabletop Training Offered May 5 in Dent County SALEM—Dent County Emergency Management, in partnership with Meramec Regional Planning Commission and NuStar Energy, will host a tabletop training centered around an anhydrous ammonia pipeline leak on May 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dent County Fire Protection District Firehouse in Salem. All emergency response agencies and elected officials in the area are encouraged to participate. “We hope to get a broad range of folks involved,” said Tammy Snodgrass of MRPC. “We need law enforcement folks, 911 dispatchers, elected officials, schools, hospitals, Red Cross volunteers, firefighters and other emergency response agencies because we all have roles to play in acting out the response and then planning ahead and looking at ways to minimize the impact.” The training will provide a realistic scenario, and class participants will react to that emergency. Because an anhydrous pipeline crosses Dent County and other counties in the Meramec Region, the scenario will involve a pipeline rupture. Ardel Gloe of NuStar Energy, a pipeline company, and Brad Nash, Dent County emergency management director, are assisting Snodgrass with the exercise. “We want the training to be realistic, therefore this tabletop will allow participants to react in a fashion that actually allows them to plan for such an event and learn how to better work together, use existing resources and reduce the impact to people and property involved,” said Snodgrass. Persons interested in attending the exercise should RSVP Tammy Snodgrass at MRPC, 573-265-2993 or by email at tsnodgrass@meramecregion.org. Lunch will be provided for participants. The class is offered free of charge by the Meramec Regional Emergency Planning Committee, the seven-county local emergency planning committee. MREPC periodically coordinates and offers education and training opportunities for emergency responders in the region. The purpose of the committee is to work with local governments as well as the private sector to maintain plans responsive to chemical hazards that seriously threaten the area. Kraig Bone, Washington County emergency management director, chairs the group. The committee meets quarterly, and meetings are open to the public. Persons needing more information the MREPC or chemicals in the region may contact MRPC at (573) 265-2993. Meramec Regional Planning Commission, a voluntary council of local governments serving the Meramec Region, provides staff support for the local emergency planning committee. |