Sixteen Organizations Receive 2019 Emergency Planning Awards at EPA Conference in Omaha

August 9, 2019

Contact Information

David Bryan (bryan.david@epa.gov)

913-551-7433

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., Aug. 9, 2019) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced 16 awards at the biennial Region 7 Local Emergency Planning Committee’s Planning and Response Conference on Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, at the Embassy Suites Omaha Downtown Old Market. The conference brings together experts from business, industry and government in the fields of chemical emergency, preparedness, prevention, transportation, and health and safety to collaborate and inform participants about chemical risk protection and promotion of chemical safety.

Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) serve as focal points in communities for information about hazardous materials, emergency planning, and environmental risks. To assist LEPCs in conducting their jobs more effectively, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) join private industry and tribal, state and local government partners to host the Emergency Planning and Response Conference.

Award recipients include the following:

Click on the links below to view detailed information about that award recipient

Overall Excellence for LEPC Serving Population Less than 20,000

Labette County, Kansas, LEPC
Region 26 Nebraska LEPC, serving Thomas/Blaine/Loup/Garfield Counties

Overall Excellence for LEPC Serving Population Between 20,000 and 80,000

Overall Excellence for LEPC Serving Population Greater than 80,000

Iowa Region 6 LEPC, serving Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Delaware, Fayette, Jackson, and Jones counties.

Tribal Emergency Planning and Response Program

Santee Sioux Nation, offices in Niobrara, Nebraska

Exercise Award

Digital Communication Award

Iowa Region 6 LEPC

Innovation Award

Iowa Region 6 LEPC

Note: Innovation is about being creative and original in your work and thinking. Every brand, person and product wants to be perceived as innovative, but what separates actual innovation from everything else is the idea of improvement. Without improvement, innovation is just a story created for its own sake. New for this conference, the Conference Planning Committee established an award recognizing innovation by LEPCs.

Industry Award

Albaugh, LLC, manufacturing facility, St. Joseph, Missouri
Big River United Energy, Dyersville, Iowa, ethanol facility
Lyondellbasell, Clinton, Iowa, location
River Valley Cooperative, Clarence, Iowa, serving 18 Iowa and 6 Western Illinois communities
R&S Digital Services, Inc., Great Bend, Barton County, Kansas

Student Ignite Presentation

This year, the Conference Planning Committee set out to recognize the work being undertaken by students in areas related to chemical emergency planning and response. Students were invited to submit proposals to present their research at today’s awards luncheon.

Sydney Lottie, a student in the University of Nebraska-Omaha College of Public Affairs and Community Service, was chosen to present her research, “The Calm Before the Storm: Emergency Managers Observing Animal Behavior,” which focuses on how emergency managers can use animal behavior as a tool in preparing for natural disasters.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Award presentation photos available upon request on or after August 12.