Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
sections of the terrorism annex, interjurisdictional responsibilities should be readily
identifiable.
State Emergency Responders
If requested by the local officials, the state emergency management agency has the
capabilities to support local emergency management authorities and the Incident
Commander.
State and Local Public Health Authorities
State laws grant the state and local public health authorities emergency powers to
combat communicable disease. The powers available, diseases that trigger them,
and procedures for enforcement vary from state to state. Typical powers include
the power to isolate or quarantine persons and places and the power to compel
vaccination and other preventive measure, such as wearing masks. In some states,
these measures may be taken whenever there is a threat of communicable disease;
in others, the powers apply to only one or more specific, named diseases.
Medical Service Providers
Hospitals generally perform emergency planning, both to protect their own facili-
ties and patients and to respond to disasters in the community. State licensing
and accreditation standards require hospitals to meet certain criteria for emergency
preparedness, which often include participation in local or regional medical plan-
ning for disasters. Hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organization must be prepared for a variety of disaster scenarios,
including facilities for biological, radioactive, or chemical isolation and decontami-
nation, where appropriate.
Local Emergency Planning Committees and
State Emergency Response Commissions
These entities are established under the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization
Act of 1986 (SARA) Title III, and the implementing regulation of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs)
develop and maintain local hazardous materials emergency plans and receive notifi-
cations of releases of hazardous materials. State Emergency Response Commissions
(SERCs) supervise the operation of the LEPCs and administer the community
right-to-know provisions of SARA Title III, including collection and distribution
of information about facility inventories of hazardous materials, chemicals, and
toxins. LEPCs will have detailed information about industrial chemicals within
the community. It may be advisable for LEPCs and SERCs to establish MOUs
