[Added 6-16-2009 by Bill No. 09-4]
(a)
Citing. The rules and regulations hereby adopted
shall constitute and shall hereafter be known as the “Worcester
County Special Hazard Response Team Regulations” and may be
cited hereafter as the “SHRT Regulations.”
(b)
Purpose. The purpose of the SHRT Regulations
is to establish responsibility of the County to prepare, respond and
mitigate any and all chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and
explosive incidents (CBRNE), known as "hazardous materials" emergencies
hereafter cited as "hazardous substances."
(c)
COST
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE
SHRT TEAM
SHRT TEAM MEMBER
Definitions of words and phrases. For the
purpose of this Subtitle, the following definitions shall apply:
Means those costs resulting from actions taken to remove,
contain, or otherwise mitigate the effects of a hazardous substance
incident.
The Worcester County Emergency Management Department under
the Worcester County Department of Emergency Services.
The County Department which has been assigned the responsibility
of forming a SHRT for the purpose of preparation, training, response
and mitigation of all hazardous substance incidents within the County
to include hazmat, bio-terrorism and chemical warfare.
Any material designated by the Federal Environmental Protection
Agency as posing a threat to human health and/or the environment.
Typical hazardous substances are toxic, corrosive, ignitable, explosive,
or chemically reactive.
A specialized response team formed under the direction of
the County Commissioners assigned to the Worcester County Fire Marshal’s
Office for the purpose of preparing, responding and mitigation of
all hazardous substance incidents.
A member of the County’s Special Hazard Response Team
who has completed an application, satisfactorily meets the minimum
training requirements and has been approved by the Fire Marshal. Team
members shall consist of employed full-time and part-time County staff
and members of a bona fide Worcester County Volunteer Fire or EMS
Department. Members of County Fire and EMS Departments shall serve
the County as contractual employees during a hazardous substance response.
(a)
Generally. Operations at a hazardous substance
incident are governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Rule (29 CFR 1910.120),
as from time to time amended. The primary national standard that outlines
the competencies for the required various levels of responders is
the National Fire Protection Associations’ “Standard for
Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Material Incident”
(NFPA 472), as from time to time amended.
(b)
Minimum standards. In addition to any and
all laws and regulations pertaining to the operations at a hazardous
substance incident, the SHRT shall, at a minimum, provide the following:
emergency planning, safety and health programs, site safety practices,
training, medical surveillance, PPE, decontamination procedures, and
use of the IC system or equivalency.
(c)
Appropriations. The County Commissioners shall
appropriate, in the Fire Marshal’s expense budget, an amount
of funding as they deem necessary to promote, for preparation, and
equipment for the SHRT to train, respond and mitigate any and all
hazardous substance incidents. In addition, funding may also be provided
to the County’s Fireman’s Association for the purpose
of Countywide training and drills.
(d)
Reimbursement. Per the authority of Section
16 of the Superfund Amendments and Preauthorizations Act of 1986 (SARA
Title III), as from time to time amended, along with the Fire Laws
of Maryland, CJ § 3-1201, as from time to time amended,
the Worcester County Commissioners authorize the reimbursement of
any and all cost associated with the response, containment, cleanup
and abatement of equipment, closing, chemical and alike on the party(s)
responsible for the hazardous substance incident. The liability of
the response party(s) may be in the form of and from a company, corporation,
business, individual or a transportation company.
(1)
Establishing costs. All claims for reimbursement of costs associated
with the response to a hazardous substance incident shall be determined
according to the process provided herein.
(2)
Assessment of claims for reimbursement costs for the response to
a hazardous substance incident shall be applied in a fair and impartial
manner, so as not to be discriminate against any public or private
entity.
(3)
Cost may include both direct and indirect costs.
(4)
Direct costs shall be the actual costs for those cost factors that
are determined to be appropriate, with consideration of cost differences
between paid and contractual staff with the following cost factors.
(5)
All costs identified in a claim for reimbursement of costs shall
be required to meet the required standards of reasonable, documented
and necessary.
(7)
Indirect costs are incurred as a result of a response to a hazardous
substance incident and the subsequent processing of a claim for the
reimbursement of cost associated with it. These include indirect costs
for clerical, accounting, and legal services, as well as costs for
preparation and planning.
(8)
A claim for reimbursement of costs may include an indirect cost calculation
based on an existing formula currently used by the SHRT or an amount
not to exceed 20% of the total direct costs claimed.
(9)
The SHRT or the Department of Emergency Services shall provide evidence
that substantiates that costs claimed for the replacement of equipment
are legitimate and based on an actual loss resulting from the hazardous
substance incident for which the claim is submitted.
(e)
Dispute over reimbursement. Any party who
wishes to dispute a claim for reimbursement of costs resulting from
a response to a hazardous substance incident may submit a written
request to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Worcester County,
Maryland.
(1)
The request shall include a copy of the claim submitted with an outline
of any disputed item(s). The CAO shall have 30 days to respond in
writing to any and all disputes over a claim for reimbursement.
(2)
Failure of payment and any additional costs after a dispute has been
decided will be the responsibility of the party filing the disputed
claim.
(3)
The County may file suit against a responsible party for failure
to make restitution or payment of expenses related to the hazardous
substance response by the County’s SHRT.
