ASSEMBLY, No. 2260
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED JULY 18, 1996
By Assemblymen O'TOOLE, KELLY, Augustine, Assemblywomen Murphy, Wright, Assemblyman Bodine, Assemblywomen Bark, Vandervalk, Assemblymen Arnone, Bateman, Assemblywoman Heck, Assemblyman Azzolina, Assemblywoman J. Smith, Assemblyman DeCroce, Assemblywomen Crecco, Farragher, Assemblymen Blee, LeFevre and DeSopo
An Act concerning emergency response training, and supplementing P.L.1987, c.220 (C.13:1K-33 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Within 180 days of the effective date of this act the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Department of Environmental Protection shall establish and thereafter shall annually conduct an advanced hazardous material discharge emergency response training program for local government unit employees or agents involved in responding to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances for the purpose of stopping, containing or cleaning up the release. Except as provided below, any agent of or person employed by a local government unit who is a member of a county or municipal hazardous material emergency response team shall complete the hazardous material emergency response training program established and operated by the State Police and the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to this section. The training program may be designed to train persons to different levels of knowledge and responsibility. Any agent of or person employed by a local government unit who is responsible only for hazardous material discharge initial response shall be required to complete the training only as required in P.L.1987, c.220 (C.13:1K-33 et seq.).
b. The advanced training program shall be designed to enable its participants to:
(1) stop or contain, control, and manage the release of a hazardous substance;
(2) know how to implement an emergency response plan;
(3) know the classification, identification, and verification of known and unknown materials by using field survey instruments and equipment;
(4) know how to select and use proper specialized protective equipment;
(5) understand hazard and risk assessment techniques;
(6) be able to perform control, containment or confinement operations;
(7) determine or understand and implement decontamination procedures;
(8) understand chemical and toxicological terminology and behavior; and
(9) have the ability to develop or follow a site safety and control plan.
2. a. There is created in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety a Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Training Advisory Panel. The Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Training Advisory Panel shall consist of seven members, as follows: the Director of the Office of Emergency Management in the Division of the State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety who shall serve as the chairman; the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or a representative; the Commissioner of Health, or a representative; the Commissioner of Community Affairs, or a representative; the Attorney General or a representative; two members, appointed by the Governor, who shall serve for two year terms, and of whom one shall be a member of a county hazardous materials response team and one shall be a member of a municipal hazardous materials response team.
b. It shall be the responsibility of the panel to advise the Office of Emergency Management on changes that must be made to the advanced hazardous material discharge emergency response program to render it more effective and to ensure that it is consistent with any applicable federal and State requirements, and to render advice concerning the effectiveness of the program for training local government unit employees or agents who serve on hazardous materials response teams.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require any municipal or county employee or agent who is a member of the local government unit's hazardous material emergency response team and who is responsible for responding to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances to complete an advanced hazardous material emergency response training program. The bill would require the training program to be established and operated by the State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Department of Environmental Protection. Any person who is an agent of or is employed by a local government unit who is responsible only for hazardous material discharge initial response would be required to complete the training only as required in P.L.1987, c.220 (C.13:1K-33 et seq.).
The bill would require that the program be designed to enable its participants to stop the release of a hazardous substance, know how to implement an emergency response plan, know the classification, identification, and verification of known and unknown materials by using field survey instruments and equipment, know how to select and use proper specialized protective equipment, understand hazard and risk assessment techniques, be able to perform control, containment or confinement operations, determine or understand and implement decontamination procedures, understand chemical and toxicological terminology and behavior, and have the ability to develop or follow a site safety and control plan.
Finally, the bill would create an advisory panel consisting of seven members to advise the Office of Emergency Management on changes that must be made to the program to render it more effective and to ensure that it is consistent with any applicable federal or State requirements, and to render advice concerning the effectiveness of the program for training local government unit employees or agents who serve on hazardous materials response teams.
Requires certain training for members of local hazardous material emergency response teams.