Section 620.50  Local Emergency Planning Committee

A local emergency planning committee shall be established within each emergency planning district no later than 30 days after the SERC designates emergency planning districts.

a)         Planning Committee Representatives

            The local emergency planning committee shall, at a minimum, be composed of representatives from the following groups or organizations:

1)         State and local elected officials

2)         Local environmental groups

3)         Law enforcement

4)         Hospital

5)         Local government ESDA

6)         Transportation

7)         Fire fighting

8)         Broadcast and print media

9)         First aid or emergency medical service

10)         Community groups

11)         Health

12)         Owners and operators of facilities subject to Section 620.90 of this Part

b)         Establishing a Local Emergency Planning Committee

            The principal executive officer of the geographic area designated as an emergency planning district by the SERC shall be responsible for recruiting and recommending in writing to the SERC the names of volunteers representing the organizations or groups cited in subsection (a) of this Section.  The SERC shall review the list of recommended local emergency planning committee appointees from each emergency planning district and, from these these lists, appoint members to serve on each district's local emergency planning committee.  The SERC shall notify, in writing, the principal executive officer of the geographic area designated as an emergency planning district of the local emergency planning committee appointments.

1)         Within 30 days following appointment by the SERC, the local emergency planning committee shall elect a chairperson (in accordance with subsection (b)(3) of this Section) and designate an official to serve as coordinator for information.  The local emergency planning committee shall also establish rules and procedures for operation by which it shall function in accordance with Section 301(c) of the Act.

2)         The local emergency planning committee shall notify the SERC in writing of its elected chairperson and designated coordinator for information, including the address and phone number of these officials. The SERC shall provide the name of these officials to the public upon request.

3)         The committee chair must be elected by a majority vote of all of its members.  The term of office for the committee chair shall not exceed 3 years.  At the end of this 3 year term the committee chair may be reinstated provided that a nomination is made and seconded and that the nomination is supported by a majority vote of all members.  Otherwise a new candidate must be selected and elected by a majority vote of its membership. The terms of all other offices shall be established by the committee.  The local emergency planning committee, by a majority vote of all its members, may at any time remove a member for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance or, at the request of the committee, the SERC may remove a member of the committee for those reasons.

4)         If an emergency planning district consists only of territory within one county, the SERC shall appoint the members of the committee of the district from a list of persons submitted to the SERC by the County Board Chair of that county.  If the emergency planning district or joint emergency planning district contains territory that is wholly or partly within 2 or more counties, the SERC shall appoint the members of the local emergency planning committee from the list of persons submitted to the SERC by the County Board Chair of each county having territory within the planning district or joint planning district.

5)         The SERC may, as it considers appropriate, modify its designation of emergency planning districts or alter the composition of the groups and organizations represented on the local emergency planning committee or the number of members representing any of those groups or organizations on the committee, provided that each of the organizations or groups specified in subsection (a) of this Section is represented on the committee.  By written petition, members of the public may request the SERC to modify the representation of those groups or organizations on the local emergency planning committee.  The SERC shall declare the position of the members abolished if it reduces or eliminates representation of a group or organization on the committee, and the person whose position is so abolished shall cease to serve as a member of the committee on the effective date of the SERC's declarations.  Appointments of members to fill positions established as a result of modification of the composition of the committee shall be made in the same manner as original appointments under this Section.

6)         If the SERC alters the boundaries of an emergency planning district or designates a joint district, it shall, within 45 days after the effective date of the action, appoint a committee for each district created by or whose boundaries were altered by that action.  Upon the appointment of a planning committee for each such district, the planning committee of each of the districts that existed prior to that action shall cease to exist.

7)         Within 90 days after an emergency planning district is designated or revised, the emergency planning district shall notify facilities within that district of any changes including, but not limited to, contact personnel or mailing addresses.

(Source:  Amended at 22 Ill. Reg. 1294, effective January 1, 1998)