Outagamie County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

On December 2nd, 1984, more than 27 tons of methyl isocyanate gas escaped a Union Carbide chemical facility in Bhopal, India. This incident occurred due to a lack of emergency plans, safety measures, and knowledge of chemicals on site. Sadly, more that 10,000 individuals died that night with more than 100,000 dealing with side effects. From this, it has sparked a movement to better understand what is in our community.

On October 16th, 1986, President Reagan signed Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) into law. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) is within SARA. Citizens and responders received the right-to-know of what chemicals exist in their community. EPCRA requires reporting from facilities who use Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) to all governments.

With a vote of 42 aye, 1 nay, and 1 absent, Outagamie County LEPC was adopted under Ordinance E - Law Enforcement Committee on June 27th, 1989.

The LEPC is now housed in Chapter 2 - Administration in the Code of Ordinances. Within this Chapter, the LEPC information is specifically found under Article VII. - Boards, Committees and Commissions. 

Municipal Code of Ordinance - LEPC

As of January 1, 2026, we have 19 members on the LEPC. Our members meet regularly, attend outreach events, and develop plans to help keep our community and first responders aware of potential hazards. 

LEPCs were formed to be a bridge between facilities and the community. They want to educate the public as much as they can regarding hazardous materials that is being transported, stored, and used  along with their potential risks to the surrounding neighborhood.

Did you know?

• Outagamie County has a total of 241 Reporting Facilities (What is a Reporting facility?)
• Outagamie County has a total of 107 Planning Facilities (What is a Planning facility?)
• Outagamie County most common Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) are Sulfuric Acid, Anhydrous Ammonia, Nitric Acid, and Chlorine

Offsite Plans, Data Sheets, Forms, and Follow-Up Notices

Pursuant to U.S.C. 11044, offsite plans, data sheets, forms and follow-up notices are made available to the public during normal working hours at the Outagamie County Emergency Management Office. Any person may request information with respect to a specific facility and any such request shall be in writing and submitted to the Coordinator of Information. If the requested records are not maintained by the County, the request will be referred to the maintaining agency. Information determined to be confidential may be redacted.

EPCRA Countywide Hazardous Materials Strategic Plan

The Plan is available in WHOPRS, which fulfills the minimum distribution requirements to the LEPC, SERC, and local fire departments, with additional copies available upon request. The Plan is made available to the public during normal working hours at the Outagamie County Emergency Management Office.

Individuals and organizations can call the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to report a spill within their community.

Reportable spills include:

• Impacts or potentially impacts human health.
• Impacts or potentially impacts environment.
• Causes a fire, explosion, or safety hazard.
• Has not been immediately cleaned up.
• It is larger than the quantities listed under the reporting exemptions.

The DNR 24/7 spill reporting hotline number is 1-800-943-0003. For more information about reporting spills to the DNR and their response to spills, visit DNR Reporting and Responding to Spills website.

EPCRA was established to require all facilities that contain Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) to report their hazardous and toxic chemicals to the LEPC. This allows the community the right-to-know what chemicals are present in the facilities within their neighborhoods. 

Under this Section, facilities that contain EHS that are at or above its Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ) they must notify the State Emergency Response Commission and LEPC. Once a facility has a chemical above it's TPQ, emergency planning must be completed. 

Requires facilities to notify the LEPC of a facility representative who will participate in the emergency planning process. Additionally, facilities are required to provide information necessary to develop and modify their Off-site Plan, upon request by the LEPC.

This Section requires facilities to immediately notify the SERC and LEPC if there is a release into the environment of a hazardous substance that is equal to or exceeds the minimum reportable quantity established in the regulations.

Facilities must maintain Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for all hazardous chemicals on site.

Facilities must submit an annual Tier II Report of emergency and hazardous chemical inventory to Wisconsin Emergency Management via Wisconsin Hazmat Online Planning and reporting System (WHOPRS) by March 1st.