Local Emergency Planning Committee — Agenda Packet

1 Sawyer County County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) Meeting Wednesday, April 15, 2026 @ 9:30 AM AGENDA 1. VIRTUAL TEAMS OPTION: JOIN THE MEETING NOW 2. INTRODUCTIONS (AND SIGN-IN SHEET)) 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM 1/21/2026 a. LEPC Minutes January 21, 2026 5. HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN UPDATE a. Review Final Draft Plan b. Review Plan Maintenance Procedure c. Discuss Open House 6. REVIEW OF COUNTYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN '25-'26 a. Updated Countywide Strategic Plan 7. BIRKIE DISCUSSION 8. REPORT OUTS (TRAININGS, OUTREACH) 9. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING 10. NEXT MEETING: JULY 15, 2026 11. ADJOURN DISCLAIMER: Copy sent via email to: County Clerk and News Media. Note: Any person wishing to attend whom, because of a disability, requires accommodation should call the Sawyer County Clerk’s Office (715.634.4866) at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting so appropriate arrangements can be made. Page 1 of 24 2 Mission Statement: The Sawyer County Board of Supervisors will strive to provide excellent services and responsible leadership to protect and enhance Sawyer County citizens, businesses, and resources, while preserving our unique heritage. Page 2 of 24 Sawyer County Local Emergency Preparedness Committee (LEPC) January 21, 2026 Meeting Minutes Meeting Held at Namekagon Transit, WI Members Present: Emily Boucher NWRPC; Sean Anderson, Asst. Chief LCO PD; Zac Dzikonski, Enbridge; Kraig Gay, Jump River Electric; Eric Carlson, LP; Brody Fischer, WI DNR; Greg Ripczinski Sawyer County Patrol Lt; Mike Herrmann, City of Hayward Fire Chief/HazMat; Bryan Deyo, Chief Deputy; Doug Mrotek, Sawyer County Sheriff; Autumn Brimblecom, NWRPC; Brian Cockerham, WEM; Evan Green, Arclin; Jason Weaver, LCO EM; Skylar Strenke, Sawyer County HHS/MRC; Mark Lundeen LCO EM/WHSM Radio; Cory Sulley, LP; Julia Lyons Sawyer County HHS; Julie McCallum, Sawyer County HHS; Mark Manning, Tamarack Health; Nicole Ripczinski, Sawyer County EM; Jay Koslowski, Sawyer County Zoning Meeting Called to Order: 9:35 am by Mike Herrmann • Introduction & Sign-In Sheet Approval of Agenda & Minutes: 9:35 am • Motion to approve minutes & agenda by Greg Ripczinski, seconded by Brody Fischer Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Cont’d • Recap of last meeting where we discussed the review of the previous mitigation action plans from 2020. • Identifying Previous Mitigation Actions Continued • Actions and Progress of Actions Continued • New Mitigation Actions or Progress Follow-Up: • Finalize Draft Plan Review of By-Laws: • Motion to approve by Greg Ripczinski, seconded by Julie McCallum Review of Membership: Page 3 of 24 • Kerri Sabin no longer with Transit and need to vote on new vice chair on even numbered years. o Darrin White (Transit Operations Manager) interim for Transit Manager • Nominations for Vice Chair o Mike Herrmann nominated Brody Fischer for Vice Chair o Brody accepted nomination o LEPC voted to accept Brody as Vice Chair • Add/Modify: o Mary Slisz-Chucka for alternate for Julie McCallum o Celia Hiorns – chiorns@sawyercountyrecord.net o Jeff Johnson – Town of Hayward Police Chief o Jay Koslowski – Sawyer County Zoning  Alternate: Tim Siedel o Cory Sulley – LP add as member instead of alternate o Kraig Gay – Jump River Participant Report Outs: • Jump River Power Video • There was a fall training with Enbridge Incident Command and DNR and March Wildland Fire Training • Sizzling Summer Regional Exercise February 27, 2026 in County Board Room Agenda Items: • Birkie • Review Plan Maintenance Procedure • Review Final Draft Plan • Discuss Open House for Hazard Mitigation Plan Next Meeting: April 15, 2026 @ 9:30 am – Namekagon Transit Adjournment: Motion to Adjourn by Jay Koslowski; second by Doug Mrotek Adjourned at 11:15 am Minutes Taken By: Nicole Ripczinski Minutes Prepared By: Nicole Ripczinski Page 4 of 24 1 Sawyer County EPCRA Countywide Strategic Plan 2025-2026 Page 5 of 24 2 Table of Contents 1 Cover Page 2 Table of Contents 3 Purpose 4 Promulgation Statement 5 Hazard Analysis 6 List of Tier II Facilities 7 Transportation Routes 8 Truck Routes 9 Highways and Airports 10 Railroads 11 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines 12 Local Emergency Response Team 13 Resource List 14 List of Most Common EHS’s at Fixed Locations 15 List of Most Common EHS and Tier II Chemicals Transported 16 Emergency Response Procedure 17 Training and Exercise 18 – 19 LEPC Members Attachments: Sawyer County Resolution Page 6 of 24 3 Purpose: • The purpose of this hazardous materials response plan is to develop policies and procedures for responding to hazardous materials incidents and/or accidents in compliance with the requirements of Title III of EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act) SAR (Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act) of 1986, as codified in 42 USC 11000 to 11050 and s. 323.60-61/323.611 (2m), Wis. Stats., in order to protect the community from the harmful and possibly life-threatening effects of a hazardous materials release. • This plan defines the roles, responsibilities, and inter/intra-organizational relations of government and private organizations in response to a hazardous material incident and includes requirements for the development/update of the Countywide Strategic Plan. • It forms a part of the Sawyer County Emergency Operations plan by reference. Page 7 of 24 4 Promulgation Statement for Countywide Strategic Plan: Page 8 of 24 5 Hazard Analysis Sawyer County encompasses 1256 square miles in the Northwest Region of Wisconsin. There are 56,183 acres in the county. There are approximately 19,313 (2023, NWRPC) residents in Sawyer County. Population centers are widely dispersed throughout the county. (See attachment). Approximately 25% of the population are urban residents and 75% are rural. There are 8,210 households in the county, averaging about two persons per household. There are approximately 3,000 seasonal homes. The median household income for Sawyer County is approximately $53,000. (2023, NWRPC) Sawyer County contains approximately 162 miles of state highways, 233 miles of county highways, and 1093 miles of local roads totaling 1488 of road network. The Sawyer County Airport is located just east of the City of Hayward. The airport serves the Hayward area and has two runways; it is lighted and equipped for instrument landing. The largest industry jobs in Sawyer County as of 2023 are government, retail trade, and accommodation and food services, with health care and social assistance, manufacturing, and construction following behind. (Economy Overview, Sawyer County, NWRPC 2024) Farming, fishing, and forestry, along with construction and extraction, education and protective services are of the top employment concentration areas. As of 2022, there are 144 farms in Sawyer County; 59 are cattle and calves, 50 are beef cows, 8 are milk cows, and 27 are other livestock and poultry. Sawyer County is serviced by one hospital, Tamarack Health and three clinics: Marshfield Clinic, Essentia Clinic, and Northlakes Clinic. Enbridge has a pipeline that stretches through southern townships of Sawyer County and Canadian National has a railway that also travels through the southern portion of Sawyer County. (See Commodity Flow Study, 2024). Page 9 of 24 6 Tier II Active Facilities Planning and Tier II Facilities Page 10 of 24 7 Transportation Routes Page 11 of 24 8 Truck Routes Page 12 of 24 9 Highways and Airports Page 13 of 24 10 Railroads Page 14 of 24 11 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines Page 15 of 24 12 Local Emergency Response Team Sawyer County continues to develop their countywide team. The team’s equipment will be stored at the City of Hayward Fire Department. The team will be made up of members from several fire departments. The Sawyer County HazMat Team will join the Superior HazMat Team for joint training and response. • Attachments of all pertinent information and certifications o Sponsoring jurisdiction concurrence – Sawyer County Fire Association o Letter from LEPC designating team (See attached.) o County Board Resolution designating team (See attached.) o Current team roster Technician Level Mike Herrmann – City of Hayward Fire Kevin McKinney – Cable Fire Terry Patenaude – Winter Fire Jon Snell – Couderay Fire Brad Bates – Stone Lake Fire Mary Slisz-Chucka – Couderay Fire Cory Chucka – Couderay Fire Ed Gorski – City of Hayward Fire Operations Level Bob Valley – City of Hayward Fire Dena Herrmann – City of Hayward Fire Page 16 of 24 13 Resource List Resource management is covered in the Sawyer County Emergency Operations Plan, Annex C. The Hazmat Equipment is currently housed at the City of Hayward Fire Department in the Emergency Services Trailer and consists of the basic equipment needed to respond to secure an area until Superior HazMat arrives. Sawyer County HazMat Inventory List 1 – Trailer 1 – Box Pads 1 – Miscellaneous Tool Box 2 – Bags Floor Dry 4 – Rolls Duct Tape 5 – Tarps 1 – Roll of “Caution” Tape 2 – Pair Green Boots 1 – Box boot covers 16 – pair yellow latex gloves 1 – 85 gallon drum 3 – boxes nitrile disposable gloves 1 – 55 gallon drum 6 – new level A suits 1 – patient carry all tarp 6 – 5 gallon buckets 2 – saw horse 8 – hard hats 2 – chairs 2 – large brushes w/ handles 10 – spring clips 4 – scrub brushes w/ handles Page 17 of 24 14 List of Most Common EHS’s at Fixed Locations CAS # Chemical Name Max Amt Present 50000 Formaldehyde 7450 lbs 7664939 Sulfuric Acid 6726 lbs 108952 Phenol 22620 lbs Reference off-site facility plan for more comprehensive EHS chemical/facility/response information and vulnerability zone maps. Page 18 of 24 15 List of Most Common EHS and Tier II Chemicals Transported* There are 3 EHS’s located in fixed facilities, as stated above, in Sawyer County. These substances range in quantity from 50,000 – 75,000 pounds per facility site. There are approximately 200 hazardous substances located in fixed facilities throughout Sawyer County. These substances range in quantity from 1-223,000 pounds per facility site. The most common are flammable liquids. It is assumed that exposure to all transported hazardous substances in Sawyer County will be the result of road, rail, and air transportation and pipeline delivery. Furthermore, it is assumed that the largest over-the-road container does not carry more than 80,000 pounds of product and that the largest on-rail container (GATX class) carries between 200,000 to 300,000 pounds of product during transport. There are approximately 30 different EHS’s transported annually through Sawyer County, but the potential exists for the transport of any EHS listed on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s “List of Lists” or, the Department of Labor’s “Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Toxic and Hazardous Substance List.” These substances are transported in containers that range from 10-ounce agricultural packages to 196,000 pounds of rail car quantities. (See maps showing major transportation routes and chemicals). A commodity flow study was done in the Spring of 2024 to better monitor the chemicals that are being transported in Sawyer County. The document is located in the EM Office. Page 19 of 24 16 Emergency Response Team Procedures The team responds to in-county HazMat emergencies, or, as stand-by for any accident involving a possible fuel spill. The team is paged out via Sawyer County Dispatch and Active 911. Local Town of Hayward Fire Department City of Hayward Fire Department Sawyer County Sheriff Sawyer County Ambulance Out of County WRR Eau Claire, WI Superior Fire Department / HazMat Team Superior, WI WEM Duty Officer 1-800-943-0003 Federal Assistance National Response Center 800-424-8802 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 404-452-4100 Nuclear Regulatory Commission 301-951-0550 U.S. Department of Energy Radiological Assistance 202-586-8100 CHEMTREC 800-424-9300 Page 20 of 24 17 Training and Exercise Training procedures are covered in the county Emergency Operations Plan. Standards for the HazMat Training Program are found both in the Federal Code of Regulations, National Fire Protection Association 472, and the Wisconsin Code of Regulation. Exercises will be scheduled and conducted per EPCRA requirements. The Sawyer County Emergency Management Director will coordinate the schedule of exercises. Local Training Local training will be conducted as determined by the EPCRA requirements and the county team. A tech/ops refresher is held yearly. Other training is held pending availability of grants. Page 21 of 24 18 LEPC Members The Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know-Act (EPCRA/SARA) require that an LEPC be appointed for each Emergency Planning District. It also specifies the composition of the LEPC. The membership composition, as directed by Section 301(c), of EPCRA is shown below. Page 22 of 24 Group LEPC PositionAppt DateName Email Organization1Member 2017Doug Mrotek dmrotek@sawyersheriff.orgSawyer County Sheriff1Alternate for Doug Mrotek2026Bryan Deyo bdeyo@sawyersheriff.orgSawyer County Sheriff Chief Deputy1Member 2024Mark Helwig mark.helwig@sawyercountygov.orgSawyer County Board 2Chair 2025Mike Herrmanncityofhaywardfd@centurytel.netCity of Hayward Fire Chief/Hazmat2Vice-chair 2026Brody Fischer brody.fischer@wisconsin.govWisconsin DNR2Secretary 2023Nicole Ripczinskinripczinski@sawyersheriff.orgEmergency Manager/Comm Center2Alternate for Nicole Ripczinski2023Darin Jensen djensen@sawyersheriff.orgSawyer County Sheriff's Office Patrol Sgt.2Member 2022John Froemel ambulance@sawyercountygov.orgAmbulance 2Alternate for John FroemelLeah Zesiger leah.zesiger@sawyercountygov.orgAmbulance 2Member 2022Mark Manning mcmanning@tamarackhealth.orgTamarack Health2Alternate for Mark Manning2023Krista Kurtti kkkurtti@hamhwe.comTamarack Health2Member 2024Jason Weaverjason.weaver@lco-nsn.govLCO Emergency Manager2Alternate for Jason Weaver2024Mark Lundeenmdlundeen@gmail.comLCO Emergency Response2Participant Jim Onarheim Sawyer EMS/Round Lake Fire2Participant Mike Schmidt smeco@centurytel.netRound Lake Fire Chief2Participant Jon Snell jonsnell60@msn.comCouderay Fire 2Participant Dave Veness exelandfire@gmail.comExeland Fire2Participant Terry Patenaude terry.patenaude@yahoo.comWinter Fire2Participant Don Hamblin thfd@cheqnet.net Town of Hayward Fire2Participant Bob Shamro thfd@cheqnet.net Town of Hayward Fire2Reccommend as Member2025Nick Al-Moghrabiali.almoghrabi@wisconsin.govDNR2Alternate for Nick Al-MoghrabiTimothy EbertTimothy.Ebert@wisconsin.govDNR2Reccommend as Member2025Brody Fischer brody.fischer@wisconsin.govForester/Ranger2Alternate for Brody FischerPat Zimmer Patrick.Zimmer@wisconsin.govForester/Ranger2Reccommend as Member2026Jeff Johnson twnhaypolice@cheqnet.netTown of Hayward Police Chief2Alternate for Jeff Johnson2Alternate for Bryan DeyoGreg Ripczinski gripczinski@sawyersheriff.orgSawyer County SO Patrol Lt.2Reccommend as Member2025Susie Taylor LCOPD533@lco-nsn.govLCO Police Chief2Recommend as a Member2026Jay Kozlowski jay.kozlowski@sawyercountygov.orgSawyer Co Zoning2Alternate for Jay Kozlowski2026Tim Seidl tim.seidl@sawyercountygov.orgSawyer Co Zoning2Alternate for Susie Taylor2025Sean AndersonLCOPD529 <lcopd529@lco-nsn.gov>LCO Assistant Chief2Member 2024Marshal Savitski msavitski@haywardpolice.orgHayward PD Chief2Alternate for Marshal SavitskiJake Andersonjanderson@haywardpolice.orgHayward PD Asst Chief2Member 2026Scott Johnsonscott.johnson@lcohc.comLCO Public Health2Alternate for Scott JohnsonDawn Joyner djoyner@lcohc.com LCO Public Health2Member 2024Julie McCallum jmccallum@sawyerhs.hayward.wi.usSawyer County Health & Human Services2Alternate for Julie McCallumMary Slisz-Chuckamarys@sawyercounty.govSawyer County Health & Human Services2Participant Julia Lyons jlyons@sawyerhs.hayward.wi.usSawyer County Health & Human Services2Recommend as Member2026Darrin White transitmanager@namekagontransit.comNamekagon Transit2Alternate for Darrin White3Reccommend as Member2025Celia Hiorns chiorns@sawyercountyrecord.netSawyer County RecordAlternate3Member 2024Mark Lundeenmdlundeen@gmail.comRadio4Member 2024Gary Hilgendorfgaryhilgendorf@hotmail.comFaith4Alternate Faith4Member 2024Aaron JennemanAaron.Jenneman@gencomm.comRadio/GenComm4Participant 2025Craig Olson colson@winterwarriors.orgWinter Superintendent4Participant 2023Jessica Hutchinsonjessica.hutchison@lcoosk12.org>LCO School Superintendent4Participant 2025Mark Berquistmberquist@hayward.k12.wi.usHayward School Superintendent5Member 2023Evan Green evan.green@arclin.comArclin5Alternate for Evan Green5Member 2022Eric Carlson Eric.Carlson@lpcorp.comLP5Member 2025Cory Sulley Cory.Sulley@lpcorp.comLP5Alternate 2022Todd Haskell Todd.Haskell@lpcorp.comLP5Participant Jason Laumann jlaumann@nwrpc.comNWRPC5Participant 2025Emily Bouchereboucher@nwrpc.comNWRPC5Participant 2025Autumn Brimblecomabrimblecom@nwrpc.comNWRPC5Reccommend as Member2023Zac Dzikonski zac.dzikonski@enbridge.comEnbridge5Alternate for Zac D 2023Klint Hammannklint.hammann@enbridge.comEnbridge5Participant 2023Nick Comptonnick.comptom@enbridge.comEnbridgeSupporting Partners2Participant Brian DeVries brian.devries@sawyercountygov.orgGIS Sawyer County2Participant NW HERC Coordinator2Participant Brian Cockerhambrian.cockerham@widma.govRegional EM1Participant Liz Klein liz.klein@sawyercountygov.orgSawyer County ClerkParticipant Mike Markgrenmike.markgren@sawyercountygov.orgSawyer County Administrator Page 23 of 24 19 Page 24 of 24