Cobb County Resource Council, Inc.

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Cobb County Resource Council, Inc.

• Dedicated to Hazardous Materials Safety in Cobb
  County, Georgia

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Could This Happen In Cobb County?

• Hecht said Chatham County industries didnt
  cooperate much in helping fight the fire. The
  Savannah Fire Department ran out of firefighting
  foam and had to go out of state for refills.
  After the fire was out, some Savannah area
  industries came forward to say they had foam.
• Randy Hecht of the Chatham Emergency Management
  Agency as quoted in a October 17, 1996 Atlanta
  Journal/Constitution article on the April 1995
  Powell Duffryn Terminal Fire in Savannah,
  Georgia.

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Questions to Consider

• Do you know
• What sort of hazardous materials your neighboring
  facilities have or produce?
• What sort of emergency response capabilities your
  neighbors have?
• If your neighbor would let you borrow emergency
  response equipment or supplies if you had an
  emergency?
• What the capabilities of the local professional
  Hazardous Materials Response Teams are?
• If the local professional responders know what
  your emergency response capabilities are?

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Who We Are

• The Cobb County Resource Council, Inc. is a
  non-profit membership corporation, designed to
  assist you in answering these questions and to
  develop a network for sharing of information and
  response supplies among Cobb County private
  industries, government facilities, emergency
  response organizations and any other facilities
  or organizations in Cobb County with an interest
  in Hazardous Materials Safety.

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If You Answered No To Any Of The Questions,
Then

• A voluntary group where members agree to assist
  each other in emergencies through loan of
  supplies and/or equipment.
• A group is formed with a membership agreement
  that limits liabilities, provides for supply
  reimbursement, etc.
• Cobb County Emergency Response organizations are
  also involved with the group.

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How It Works

• Members prepare inventories of emergency response
  supplies/equipment they would be willing to loan
  to others in an emergency.
• A pre-signed agreement (membership agreement)
  spells out how companies must reimburse each
  other for loaned/borrowed equipment/supplies and
  provides liability protections to the providing
  member.
• Each member receives the inventory of all other
  members along with contact names, numbers, etc.
• Periodic meetings are held to exchange
  ideas/information.

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Example

• Company A has a chemical spill that is not
  serious enough to call in the county Hazardous
  Materials Response Team.
• As Company A is cleaning up the spill, they
  run out of absorbent pads. They refer to their
  membership inventory book and see that Company B
  maintains an inventory of absorbent pads.

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Example (cont.)

• Company A contacts Company B to obtain more
  absorbent pads. This will likely take less time
  than having to order absorbents through a supply
  house, enabling Company A to complete the
  clean-up of their spill faster.
• Because of the pre-existing membership
  agreement, Company B knows that Company A will
  reimburse them in a timely fashion.

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Where Did The Idea Come From?

• The Ashland Oil late 80s major spill into the
  river near Pittsburgh resulted in Congress
  passing a new law, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
• This law required facilities that transfer
  petroleum products on or near water to prepare
  response plans and certify that they have
  response equipment and capabilities to handle
  their worst potential spill.

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Where Did The Idea Come From?

• Not many companies had or wanted to have and
  maintain all of the equipment necessary to handle
  a major spill, so Cooperative Response Groups
  among industries were established in numerous
  places, particularly along the Ohio River.
• The membership agreement and information from one
  of these cooperative response groups (Three
  Rivers Pollution Response Council, Inc.,
  Imperial, Pennsylvania) was used as the starting
  point for developing the ideas for a resource
  council in Fayette County, Georgia. We have used
  the Fayette County work as our starting point.

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Benefits

• Establishes a network among local industry and
  local emergency responders.
• For little cost, provides the potential for a
  significant amount of resources if needed in an
  emergency.
• Provides an organizational structure that is
  ideal for information sharing, joint drills, etc.
• Is a positive step for industry in terms of
  public relations.
• Having such a group in place should be of benefit
  as industries finalize their Risk Management
  Plans as required by the EPA Accidental Release
  Rules
• i.e. 112 (r).

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Cobb County Resource Council, Inc.

• A legal non-profit membership corporation
  incorporated in Georgia in 1998

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Cobb County Resource Council, Inc.

• Two membership levels
• Regular This level has full voting rights in
  the organization and representatives may be
  officers. (Facilities or organizations with
  significant hazardous materials or response
  capabilities or significant interest in the
  management of the Council).
• Associate This membership level does not have
  voting rights. (Facilities or organizations
  without significant hazardous materials but with
  an interest in Hazardous Materials Safety).

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Cobb County Resource Council, Inc.

• Structure
• Group headed by a five member Board of Directors
  (chosen by the membership).
• Council has four elected officers (Chairman,
  Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer).
• Council holds quarterly meetings.
• Decisions made by a majority (51 or greater)
  vote of a quorum of members at scheduled
  meetings.

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Cobb County Resource Council, Inc.

• Membership Requirements
• A facility or organization with interests in
  Cobb County.
• Sign a copy of the Resource Council Agreement
  (which provides for the liability protections and
  cost recovery agreements the Council offers.)
• Payment of the annual membership fee
• 500 for regular members
• 250 for associate members
• Pays for the administrative expenses of the
  Council (copying, postage, legal fees etc.)
• Provides a source of funding for local member
  emergency response organizations (upon
  decision/vote of membership)
• Provides funding for sponsorship of joint
  training/drills.

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The Next Step

• Review the proposed Council Agreement and discuss
  with your management.
• Let us know if your company is interested.
• The Council is only as good as its membership.
  We hope you will consider joining!

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For Additional Information

• Council Officers
• Chairperson Mike Flowers, Cobb County Fire
  Emergency Services, [phone]
• Vice-Chairperson Richard Cunningham, Brenntag,
  [phone]
• Secretary Cindy Garrett, Cobb County Fire
  Emergency Services, [phone]
• Treasurer Jim Parsons, Cobb County-Marietta
  Water Authority, [phone]
• Member at Large Kelly Caldwell, Marietta Fire
  Department , [phone]