Tier II Reporting
Online Application Improves Tier II Reporting
Login to the City Of Wilson Online Tier II Reporting System
The city of Wilson, North Carolina, has adopted an online reporting system for chemical storage sites that incorporates GIS and provides a more effective and efficient means of updating and retrieving this information.
In the case of hazardous material spills, rapid response is of utmost importance to the teams fielded by local fire and police departments and offices of emergency management. However, current methods for accessing and evaluating chemical storage information and response measures are manual and time-consuming and can delay response efforts.
Facilities covered by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) must report the characteristics and quantities of chemicals stored on-site as well as emergency contact information by the first day of March every year. This information, known as Tier II reporting, is submitted to the State Emergency Response Commission, the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and the fire department with jurisdiction over the facility.
A majority of states, including North Carolina, rely on a process that is mostly manual. Once information is submitted by the facility, it must be reviewed and filed at the state and county levels. For regions that have many reporting facilities, administrators have reported that it takes as much as six months for Tier II information to be reviewed and filed.
Wilson, recognizing the importance of maintaining and accessing this information, developed a Web-based reporting system in collaboration with Intelligent Decisions Systems (IDSi), Inc., of Fort Lee, New Jersey, that serves first responders, county administrators, and facility submitters.
Typically, chemical inventory records are physically stored by the fire department and LEPCs. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), supplemental forms that contain vital first aid and fire fighting information, are stored in binders at chemical facilities. Collecting chemical storage information scattered at various locations is difficult. Consequently, many first responders report that they do not access Tier II chemical inventory information in emergencies.
Wilson has implemented a system that maintains chemical inventories, site plans, and chemical description information in a central database. In an emergency, first responders can access the most current facility contact, chemical inventory, MSDS, site plan, and other detailed information via a secure Internet connection. The GIS component helps first respondents map the chemical facility and understand its relationship to other critical infrastructure.