Local Emergency Planning Committee

The mission of the Cumberland County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is to plan for emergencies involving hazardous materials effectively. The LEPC is responsible for:

• SARA Title III environmental compliance
• HAZMAT training and exercises
• Site-specific chemical planning programs
• Coordination of chemical information to emergency responders
• Maintenance of the county-wide HAZMAT Incident Management Plan

LEPC members represent the various organizations, agencies, departments, facilities, and/or other groups within the district. The membership comes from the local area and should be familiar with factors that affect public safety, the environment, and the economy of the Cumberland County. 

Members of the Cumberland County LEPC represent a large number of government and private organizations, industries, and occupations in order to provide the expertise to advise on plan development and to offer a “total package” of planning and outreach capability. 

Federal law stipulates membership of each LEPC shall include, at a minimum, a representative from each of the following groups or organizations:

• Print and Broadcast Media 
• Law Enforcement
• Emergency Management
• Community Group
• Transportation
• Public Health
• Hospital
• Fire Fighter
• First Aid
• At-Large
• Local Environmental Representative
• Utilities
• Operators of Facilities

Term: 3 Years
Compensation: None

Duties:

• Provide a basis for the community to develop and tailor a chemical emergency planning and response program to suit its needs;
• Provide the public with identity, quantity, location, and properties of hazardous substances in the community;
• Review the county and facility plans annually and conduct emergency drills to test the plan. The annual review of the plan should include a hazards analysis and an evaluation of available resources that could be used during a response for a chemical incident.

To apply to join the LEPC please click HERE. Select “Local Emergency Planning Committee” as the board you are applying to.

Executive Committee

• Chairperson: Henry Tyson
• Vice-Chairperson: Daniel Davis
• Secretary: Tiowana Owens

• Hexion
• (Future facilities will be added here)

The Cumberland County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meets at 10:00 am on the 4th Thursday of the 1st month of each quarter. Locations vary.

2025 Meeting Schedule

• January 23, 2025, 1235 Ramsey St, Fayetteville, NC 28301 (Public Health Dept.)
• April 24, 2025, FTCC Fire Training Center, 775 Tom Starling Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28306
• July 24, 2025, Wal-Mart Distribution Center, 1057 Sand Hill Rd, Hope Mills NC 28348
• October 23, 2025, Cargill, 1754 River Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28312

Various industries volunteer to host the meetings and provide the meeting location. Each meeting includes programs to inform and instruct the attendees on a wide range of emergency, environmental, safety and other topics. The public is invited to attend LEPC meetings.

Please feel free to request a link to participate via Microsoft Teams by contacting the Emergency Management office at 910-321-6736 or emailing us 

Agendas are available before the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.

To access the LEPC Bylaws, click HERE

Link to Agendas and Minutes: Local Emergency Planning Committee Minutes

Cumberland County Requirements
Tier II reports are required to be completed by any facility that stores or possesses chemicals listed on their Safety Data Sheet as "hazardous" in quantities equal to or exceeding the lesser of 55 gallons/500 pounds/Threshold Planning Quantity as per the North Carolina Hazardous Chemicals Right To Know Act. Compliance with this will also meet the requirements for the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA).

North Carolina and Cumberland County require submission of Tier II reports via EPlan. To file electronically visit www.erplan.net. Please note the Cumberland County LEPC does not accept paper copies of Tier II reports.

More EPCRA and Tier II guidance from the State of North Carolina can be found at: http://www.ncdps.gov/Emergency-Management/Hazardous-Materials/Chemical-Safety-Reporting and http://www.ncdps.gov/Emergency-Management/Hazardous-Materials/EPCRA-Tier-2

EPlan also provides for the addition of contingency plans, site maps, etc., under the Additional Documents section.

2023 Tier II Filing Updates

NC Emergency Management began requesting additional emergency planning information in the Tier II reports during the RY2023 reporting season. Several of the new fields are existing EPCRA requirements and the goal is to centralize the information for responders.

1. 2023 NC Field Changes and Validation Changes
2. 2023 EPCRA Filing Updates

1.  Company name is reported identically across all facilities leased or owned by the company. Facility names may be unique.
2. Have a minimum of three (3) unique points of contact each with unique phone numbers
3. Address matches mailing address for the physical facility.
4. Latitude/longitude are located directly on top of the facility.
5. Correct, current CAS numbers are present for materials that have CAS numbers. For mixtures, CAS numbers of components are listed.
6. Fire District is accurate based on physical facility address.
7. Site specific plan has been reviewed and updated, if necessary, within the past year

Cumberland County Emergency Management has developed an Emergency Response Planning template to assist your facility in complying with the planning, prevention, control and mitigation of dangerous conditions created by the presence of hazardous materials required under the Emergency Planning and Community-Right-to-know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) and the Hazardous Materials Chapter of the North Carolina State Building Code.

Please reach out to Cumberland County Emergency Management, if you would like to receive a copy or need assistance completing the form.

Community Right-to-Know Act

 In 1986, in the wake of the Bhopal, India disaster, the U.S. Congress enacted the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act as part of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA).

This Act (PL 99-499) requires industry to provide information to local governments and citizens on the types and amounts of hazardous materials they manufacture, store, handle, use or release regularly into the environment (In Cumberland County and the State of North Carolina, the reportable quantities are 55 gallons or 500 pounds or more of any OSHA Hazardous Substance; for Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS), the Federal reportable quantities apply.

Submission, of an annual Tier II report (through the E-Plan website), of any chemicals which meet or exceed these amounts, satisfies the Federal, State, and local reporting requirements). The intent of the Act was that, with this important information, communities could take steps to reduce the risk of fires, explosions, and pollution and be better prepared for emergencies before they occur.

Public Notice

Section 324 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, also known as SARA Title III, requires public notice at least once annually informing the public of the means to access information about extremely hazardous substances that are manufactured, stored, and used within their community. Follow-up emergency notices may subsequently be issued.

Accordingly, access to information concerning LEPC meetings, SARA Title III hazardous materials planning, safety data sheets (SDS), and hazardous chemical inventory forms (listing extremely hazardous substances manufactured, stored or used within Cumberland County) are available for public review using the Public Information Request form found: Public Records Request

• Chemical & Substance (CAS) Search
• NC Department of Emergency Management
• NC Department of Environmental Quality
• Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System Search
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

North Carolina Emergency Management Act NCGS Chapter 166A

• Regional Response Team § 166A-22-28 covers the hazardous materials emergency response program including contracts, equipment loans, regional response team advisory committee, and recovery cost from a hazardous materials response.
• Emergency Planning and Fee Schedule § 166A-29 covers emergency planning fees for fixed facilities including annual Tier II and fee exemptions.

Department of Labor and Labor Regulations NCGS Chapter 95 Article 18 Identification of Toxic or Hazardous Substances defines hazardous chemicals adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the North Carolina Department

Oil Pollution and Hazardous Substances Control NCGS Chapter 143 Article 21 to support applicable provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. Section 1251 and the National Contingency Plan.

Risk Management Program 15A NCAC 2D .2100 to support applicable provisions to 40 CFR Part 68 - Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions.

State Emergency Response Commission Executive Order 242 North Carolina complies with the Emergency Planning, and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) appointment of the State Emergency Response Commission and receiving public information request, including Tier II information to support applicable provision of 42 U.S.C. §§ 11001-11050.

North Carolina Hazardous Chemicals Right-to-Know Act Fact Sheet The North Carolina Department of Labor has produced a fact sheet regarding the North Carolina Hazardous Chemicals Right-to-Know Act. It is available on the NCDOL website here.

NCEM Tier II Field Guide North Carolina Emergency Management has put together a field guide for facilities to help determine if you fall under Tier II reporting. Click here for NC EM Tier II Field Guide. 

Q: What are the LEPC's threshold planning limits? 
A: If the quantity of any hazardous chemical present at any time during the reporting year meets or exceeds the lesser of the following thresholds:

• The EPA’s Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ) stated in the List of Lists
• 55 gallons or 500 pounds

Q: What forms of Tier II submission does Cumberland County accept?
A: The Cumberland County LEPC only accepts Tier II reports submitted using E-Plan. Paper submissions will not be accepted.

A: Qualified first responders and emergency managers are given access to E-Plan information for their respective counties. This allows responders to train, plan and respond to chemical incidents in their jurisdiction.

Q: Are filers responsible for calculating the amount due for Tier II filing fees or will the system calculate it for them?
A: The E-Plan system will automatically identify hazardous substances or extremely hazardous substances based on the supplied CAS number and generate an invoice. Please review the total amount and breakdown of the number of chemicals to ensure accuracy. If you believe the system has misidentified a substance, or if you think the tabulation is incorrect, please contact the EPCRA support team via phone 984-328-0923 or email us  so we can correct the problem, preferably before completing payment/submission.