Are Local Emergency Planning Committees Effective in Developing Community Disaster Preparedness

Five years after SARA Title III set a deadline for communities to establish community emergency plans for releases of toxic chemicals, it appears that many-if not most-jurisdictions have failed to fully comply with the requirements of this legislation. However, there are a number of Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) that have made significant progress, and, in this regard, SARA Title III compliance is quite comparable to that of other federal hazard mitigation and emergency preparedness programs. Moreover, the planning process mandated by this legislation does provide some significant improvements over previous methods of emergency preparedness. Some of the impediments to effective performance of LEPCs are identified, and policy and implementation changes to overcome these obstacles are recommended.