HomeMy WebLinkAboutNortheast Iowa Response Group - Agreement - 4.3.2006 z1 3�°
NIRG
Waterloo Fire Rescue as a leader in the state in Hazardous Material training, education,
and response, is familiar with the scope and magnitude of hazardous material emergencies. With
that contingency, it is emphasized that initially all emergency personnel be provided on-going
education in matters relating to and dealing with hazardous material incidents.
All emergency response agencies have new and expanding legislative mandates. From
enacted Federal laws such as CERLA (Comprehensive Environmental Release and Liability
Act), RCRA (Resource Conservation Recovery Act), SARA (Superfund and Reauthorization
Act) and state laws such as the Iowa Clean Air and Water Act, came performance-based rules
issued and enforced through OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Agency) 1910.120
Subsection Q and 1910.146 and (DOT) Department of Transportation M 181.
Emergency responses to hazardous material incidents involve large expenditures in both
equipment and manpower. The expense involved to provide a safe work site during hazardous
material training operations could result in inadequate equipment and trained staff due to
resource constraints. No entity should be expected to stand alone in the face of such a fluid and
expanding area.
Emergency response agencies who are in the position of being first on the scene at
hazardous material incidents must be thoroughly trained and educated so that they do not
aggravate an already volatile situation. When the incidents expand beyond the first responders'
control necessitating specialized personnel and equipment, they must be able to adapt quickly to
fulfill a support role to the specialized response team.
In today's response to environmental incidents, the regional approach is the only viable
method. Communities cannot be expected to stand alone in the face of this national problem.
The fire service has a long, respected, and successful tradition of mutual support, and it will
strive to continue that.
Based on the information collected, knowing the problems that exist, and having the
experience of a well established state recognized Hazardous Material Response Program,
Waterloo Fire Rescue would like to present the following proposal in the form of a 28E
Agreement for "Northeast Iowa Response Group" for the counties of Allamakee, Black Hawk,
Brenner,Butler, Chickasaw, Grundy, Hardin, Howard, Poweshiek, Tama, and Winneshiek.
AGREEMENT
for
NORTHEAST IOWA,RESPONSE GROUP
Recitals
WHEREAS, Waterloo Fire Rescue, City of Waterloo, Iowa (hereinafter "City") has the
support personnel and equipment to respond in the case of a hazardous substance emergency
creating a hazardous condition or causing harm or threatening immediate harm within the
counties named herein; and
WHEREAS, certain counties named in this Agreement need the assistance of City in case
of a hazardous substance emergency creating a hazardous condition or causing harm or
threatening immediate harm within the county or counties; and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to enter into an Agreement for City to provide assistance to
the named counties by supplying support personnel and equipment in case of a hazardous
substance emergency creating a hazardous condition or causing harm or threatening immediate
harm within the named counties.
NOW, THEREFORE, this Agreement is made and entered into by and between City and
certain counties in Iowa named in this Agreement for and in consideration of the mutual
covenants and promises contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the
receipt of which is hereby acknowledged.
In order to meet the requirements of Iowa Code Chapter 28E (2001), the following are
specifications as required by Iowa Code §28E.5 (2001):
1. DURATION OF AGREEMENT
(a) This Agreement shall be in full force and effect upon execution by Allamakee,
Black Hawk, Bremer, 'Butler, Chickasaw, Grundy, Hardin, Howard, Poweshiek, Tama, and
Winneshiek counties, by and through their Board of Supervisors, and by the City Council of the
City of Waterloo, Iowa, and upon filing with the Iowa Secretary of State and recording in the
respective County Recorders'Offices of Black Hawk County and the counties named herein.
(b) This Agreement shall be in full force and effect for ten (10) years as noted by the
signatures dated herein. The expiration date of this agreement will be March 1, 2016. This
agreement shall supercede all other agreements.
(c) Any party to this Agreement may unilaterally terminate its involvement in said
Agreement by providing written notice of such intent, delivered by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the attention of the Fire Chief, Waterloo Fire Rescue, 425 East Third Street,
Waterloo, Iowa, 50703. Said notice must be given at least ninety (90) days before the end of the
fiscal year. Fiscal years shall be from July 1 through June 30 of each year. Any notice which
does not comply with this subparagraph shall be ineffective and all obligations shall remain in
full force and effect until proper notice is given as set forth herein. Before this Agreement
becomes ineffective as to the terminating party, all of the terminatingparty's obligations
under this Agreement must be paid by said terminating party prior to theeffective date of
termination. Failure thereof shall nullify any attempts to terminate this Agreement.
2. ENTITY ORGANIZATION COMPOSITION AND NATURE
(a) The Northeast Iowa Response Group (hereinafter "NIRG") shall be a public body
corporate and political and a separate legal entity exercising public and essential governmental
functions to provide for the public health, safety, and welfare as set forth more fully in this
Agreement.
(b) NIRG shall be comprised of a joint Advisory Board consisting of one designated
member representative and an alternate representative from each county and City. The
designated member representatives (including alternate) shall serve for one (1) year or until a
successor is designated. Until such time as there is a permanent designation, the member
representative from each county shall be the Chairperson of the respective county Boards of
Supervisors. Alternate representatives shall have voting rights when designated member
representatives are unable to attend NIRG meetings. The Fire Chief of Waterloo Fire Rescue or
his/her designee shall be the designated member representative of City.
(c) The joint Advisory Board shall form an Executive Board consisting of a
chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a treasurer, each elected annually by a majority of those
designated member representatives of each county attending a meeting called for the purpose of
electing said Executive Board. All parties shall be given written notice of said meeting at least
ten (10) days prior thereto with the time and place designated. The Executive Board shall have
authority to act on behalf of the full Advisory Board.
(d) The Fire Chief of Waterloo Fire Rescue or his/her designee shall have supervisory
control over Waterloo Fire Rescue personnel and the use of equipment involved in a response by
NIRG Said personnel.. shall be referred to as the re.s)orise team which shall be com osed
exclusively of personnel so designated lav the Chief of Waterloo Fire Rescue. The incident I
commander of each member community to which a response is occasioned shall retain overall
command of said response with Waterloo Fire Rescue and/or others in support thereof.
3. PURPOSE
The purpose of this Agreement is to provide assistance to the counties named herein by
supplying support personnel and equipment in case of a hazardous substance emergency creating
a hazardous condition or causing harm or threatening immediate harm within the named
counties.
4. FINANCING
(a) The cost allocation of NIRG shall be borne by the respective members on an
annual per capita basis as follows: The total expense allocation for NIRG shall be divided by the
number of persons in the entire membership area to yield the per capita expense. Payment by
each county shall be determined by the number of residents within said county multiplied by the
per capita expense.
(b) City shall provide trained personnel, maintenance and housing of equipment, and
dispatching and information services for NIRG.
(c) The joint training facility and the cost of training shall be paid by member groups
in accordance with the number of personnel to be trained. Said funding shall be arrived at by
assessing at fifty cents ($.50) per capita each city or county for the original 10 counties and ($.75)
per capita each city and County of Allamakee to this Agreement. Said assessment shall cover the
costs of training all personnel, the cost of equipment, the costs of medical surveillance, and
insurance for NIRG.
(d) The counties named herein shall provide (through per capita assessment) the
equipment necessary for the efficient and safe operation of NIRG, their respective shares of the
costs of maintenance of said equipment, as well as their respective share of the training expenses,
including but not limited to travel, overtime occasioned by hazardous materials response or
training, tuition to hazardous material training seminars, and food and lodging. The member
counties shall further provide for the costs of their respective share of liability insurance
premiums, the required medical expenses and physicals undertaken, and any additional personnel
benefits or expenses as a result of this Agreement, including worker's compensation and Iowa
Code Chapter 411 (2001) and any amendments thereto contributions. Any additional unforeseen
personnel costs incurred as a result of a response or training pursuant to this Agreement shall be
borne by the counties named in this Agreement. Any and all costs incurred in responding to a
hazardous substance emergency creating a hazardous condition or causing harm or threatening
immediate harm within the county requesting said response shall be borne by the party
responsible for said emergency. The county in which said response is affected shall send a bill of
said costs to NIRG which shall then be reimbursed by the responsible party. The county in
which said emergency occurs shall be responsible for collecting the reimbursement of all costs
incurred.
(e) Only liable individually named counties shall indemnify and hold harmless city,
including its consultants, agents, and/or employees from and against all claims, damages, losses,
and expenses, including but not limited to, attorney's fees, whether incurred prior to or during
litigation, administrative hearings, arbitration, or bankruptcy proceedings, including trial and
appellate levels, which may in any way arise out of or result from this Agreement, provided that
any such claim, damage, loss, or expense is caused in whole or in part by any negligent act or
omission or other fault of the liable individually named counties or anyone directly or indirectly
employed by them or anyone for whose acts the individually named counties may be liable,
unless it was caused by a party indemnified hereunder. Furthermore, the foregoing assumption
of liability and indemnificationshall apply to any liability, which may arise out of this
Agreement.
(f) The party-county requesting NIRG shall be responsible for all costs incurred by
NIRG and City while responding to the request. Nothing in this Agreement shall preclude e
named county or counties from recovering costs of services from anyone who may be legally th
liable therefore. To assist the name counties in the recovery of costs, City agrees to comply with
all state and federal reporting requirements, including but not limited to the reporting
requirement of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection
Agency, including the National Response Team, and any others designated by law.
(g) Each member county or City to this Agreement shall have in full force and effect
within thirty(30) days of the execution of this Agreement, an ordinance placing the responsibility
of the cost of cleanup of any hazardous material incident or emergency on the party who is found
to be responsible for said incident or emergency.
h Neither the City, its officials, nor its employees acquire anv tenure right nor an
ri�ihts or benefits from the named. cor111ties by way of Workers Compensation. nor mly benefits
under the named counties' personnel prograrns ,coverinp medical and hospital care sick Pay.
vacation nay. or severance pay, The City will be responsible for providigg workers
co n perisation insurance or comparable coverage for the members of the response team regardless
of where the response team is worki g
5• DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY
Upon partial or complete termination of this Agreement, ownership of all vehicles and/or
equipment purchased for NIRG shall remain with City, with the exception of any existing
equipment and/or vehicles, to be utilized by the current Hazardous Material Response Team or
for other fire suppression activities which shall be at the discretion of the Fire Chief of Waterloo
Fire Rescue. Should one member county choose to terminate this agreement they will forfeit all
rights to equipment to the other member counties. Should the City of Waterloo choose to
terminate this agreement, all equipment will be divided between the current member counties.
Dated this '3 day of j4or i
200(. .
CITY OF WATERLOO, IOWA
By:
Tim Hurley, Mayor
ATTEST:
Nancy cke ty Clerk
STATE OF IOWA )
ss.
BLACK HAWK COUNTY )
On this A day of , 20 , before me the
� � undersigned, a Notary Public in
and for the State of Iowa
person ly appeared Tim Hurley and Nancy Eckert, to me personally
known, and who, being by me duly sworn, did say that they are the Mayor and City Clerk,
respectively, of the City of Waterloo, Iowa; that the seal affixed to the foregoing instrument is the
corporate seal of the corporation, and that the instrument was signed and sealed on behalf of the
corporation by authority of its City Council as contained in the Resoluti n adopted by the City
Council, under Council Action No. of the City Council on the day of
20-k, and that Tim Hurley and Nancy Eckert acknowledged the execution of the i '
be their voluntary act and deed and the voluntary act and deed of the corpo ati nm by it
voluntarily executed.
N tart'Public in and
t State of Iowa
3l aaILW
AGREEMENT
for
NORTHEAST IOWA RESPONSE GROUP
PURPOSE
THIS AGREEMENT is by and between the City of Waterloo, Iowa, (City) and Counties
in Iowa, for the purpose of providing assistance to the named counties by supplying personnel
and equipment in case of a hazardous substance emergency creating a hazardous condition or
causing harm or threatening immediate harm within the named counties.
ORGANIZATION
The Northeast Iowa Response Group shall be comprised of a joint Board consisting of
one designated member representative from each county and the City. Said members shall be
designated for a calendar year, and shall serve for the calendar year or until their successor is
designated: Until such time as the designation is made, the member-representative from each
party shall be the chairperson of the respective County Boards of Supervisors and the Fire Chief
of the Waterloo Fire Department. Meetings of the Board of the Northeast Iowa Response Group
shall be subject to the Iowa Open Meetings Law. The joint Board shall form an Executive Board
consisting of a chairperson, a vice chairperson, a secretary and treasurer, elected annually by a
majority of those member representatives attending a meeting called for the purpose of electing
the Board and for which meeting at least ten (10) days written notice of the time and place of
meeting shall be provided to each governmental unit. The Executive Board shall have authority
to act on behalf of the full Board.
The following definitions, labeled Exhibit "A", incorporated by this reference herein, and
made a part hereof, will govern the working operations of the Northeast Iowa Response Group.
FINANCING
The standard operating procedure, labeled Exhibit "B" attached herein, and by this
reference incorporated as a part hereof, shall govern the procedures of the Northeast Iowa
Response Group. The allocation of the cost of the Northeast Iowa Response Group will be borne
by the respective members, on a per capita basis, as follows: the total expense allocation for the
Group will be divided by the number of persons in the entire membership area and the payment
by each respective county will be determined by the number of residents within said county
multiplied by the per capita expense. The definitions in Exhibit A or the standard operating
procedures in Exhibit "B" may be changed by a vote of the majority of the members of the
Northeast Iowa Response Group at a meeting wherein notice is provided above.
The City will provide trained personnel, maintenance and housing of equipment, and
dispatching and information services for the Northeast Iowa Response Group.
1. Joint training facility, the cost of training to be paid by member groups. When
alternative funding is available, any reduction in cost for training will be reflected
in cost for member counties.
The named counties will provide the equipment necessary for efficient and safe operation
of the Northeast Iowa Response Group, their respective share of the cost of maintenance of said
equipment, and their respective share of training expenses including but not limited to travel
expenses, over-time caused by hazardous materials response or training, tuition to hazardous
material training seminars, and necessary food and lodging. The counties will further provide for
the cost of their respective share of liability insurance premiums, required medical expenses and
physicals, and any additional personnel benefits or expenses as a result of this agreement
including worker's compensation and Chapter 411 contributions. The counties will further
provide for their respective share of any overtime caused by a response or training under this
agreement.
The officer in charge of personnel of the City or the Fire Chief of the Waterloo Fire
Department, or his designee, shall have supervisory control of the use of personnel and
equipment involved with respect to a response by the Northeast Iowa Response Group. (The
incident commander of member community will retain overall command with Waterloo Fire
Rescue or others in support.)
The named Counties shall indemnify the City, its officers, employees, agents and
representatives for any amount that they may be required to pay as a result of any action arising
from a response pursuant to this agreement, and shall hold them harmless from any amount that
they may be required to pay pursuant to this agreement, after all reasonable efforts at restitution
for said loss by the party responsible for the hazardous condition have been exhausted.
Nothing in this agreement shall prevent the named counties from retrieving costs of
services rendered from a third party who may be liable pursuant to law. To assist the named
counties in the recovery of costs, the City does hereby agree to comply with all state and federal
reporting requirements, including but not limited to the required reporting to the Iowa
Department of Natural Resources, required reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency,
including the National Response Team, and others as designated by law.
DURATION
This agreement, unless terminated as stated below, shall be in full force and effect for ten
(10) years. The expiration date of this agreement will be September 1, 2014. Any party may
unilaterally terminate its involvement in this agreement at any time upon written notice delivered
by certified mail to the Fire Chief, Waterloo Fire Department, 425 East Third Street, Waterloo,
Iowa 50703. Said notice shall be given at least ninety (90) days before the effective date of
termination, and all obligations due under this agreement shall be paid by the terminating party
prior to the termination by the party.
DISPOSING OF PROPERTY
Upon partial or complete termination of this agreement ownership of all vehicles and
equipment purchased by the Northeast Iowa Response Group shall remain with Waterloo Fire
Rescue to be utilized by the current Hazardous Material Response Team or other fire suppression
activities at 'the discretion of Waterloo Fire Rescue. Should the City of Waterloo choose to
. If
only one member county chooses to terminate this agreement they will forfeit all rights to the
terminate this agreement all equipment will be divided between the current member counties
equipment to the other member counties.
This agreement shall be in full force and effect upon execution by the named Counties,
through their Boards of Supervisors and by the City Council of the City of Waterloo, Iowa;
filing with the Iowa Secretary of State; and recording in the respective County Recorder's
Offices. This agreement may be amended by a written instrument executed by the parties hereto.
DATED this 3 J day of A�l 20_0L
CITY OF WATERLOO, IOWA COUNTY
By: By.
Tim Hurley, Mayor
ATTEST:
Nancy Ecke
City Clerk/A for
EXHIBIT "A"
1 DEFINITIONS: For purposes of this Agreement, the following definitions shall
apply:
(a) "Hazardous condition" means any situation involving the actual, imminent
or probable spillage, leakage, or release of a hazardous substance which,
because of the quantity, strength, and toxicity of the hazardous substance,
its mobility in the environment and its persistence, creates an immediate
potential danger to the public health or safety of persons or property within
the afore named counties at any of the following locations:
(1) within the City of WATERLOO;
(2) within any other city in the named counties, including those which
extend beyond the boundaries of the named counties;
(3) within any other area within the boundaries of the named counties;
or
(4) onto land, into the water, or into the atmosphere within the state of
Iowa, but outside of the named counties, which creates an
immediate potential danger to the public health or safety of persons
or property within the names counties.
Hazardous condition includes any accident involving hazardous materials
required to be reported under section 321.200 (4) of the Code of Iowa
(1987).
(b) "Hazardous substance" means any substance or mixture of substances that
presents a danger to the public health or safety or environment and
includes, but is not limited to, a substance that is toxic, corrosive, or
flammable, or that is an irritant, or that, in confinement, generates pressure
through decomposition, heat, or other means. The following are examples
of substances which, in sufficient quantity, may be hazardous: Acids,
alkalis; explosives; fertilizers; heavy metals such as chromium, arsenic,
mercury, lead and cadmium; industrial chemicals; paint thinners; paints;
pesticides; petroleum products; poisons; radioactive materials; sludge; and
organic solvents. "Hazardous substance" includes any hazardous waste
identified or listed by the administrator or the United States Environmental
Protection Agency under the Solid Waste Disposal Act as amended by the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, or any toxic pollutant
listed under Section 307 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of
1976 as amended to January 1, 1977, or any hazardous substance
designated under Section 3311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
as amended to January 1, 1977, or any hazardous material designated by
the Secretary of Transportation under the Hazardous Materials
Transportation Act, or any hazardous substance listed under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act of 1980.
(c) "Responsible person" means the person, whether the owner, agent, lessor
or tenant, in charge or the hazardous substance being stored, processed or
handled, or the owner or bailee transporting hazardous wastes or
substances whether on public ways or grounds or on private property
where the spill would cause danger to the public or to any person or to the
environment.
EXHIBIT "B"
S.O.P. Response for Hazardous Material Incidents in county area.
With the agreement between the counties of
of Waterloo to provide Haz-Matand the City
response throughout the counties, the incidence of Haz-Mat
alarms is likely to increase. With that increase in alarms the possibility of simultaneous
hazardous material spills becomes greater. In order to guide decision making by the Waterloo
Fire Department officer in charge at a Haz-Mat incident should two or more such alarms occur at
the same time, the following procedures are to be followed:
If, while conducting response activities at a hazardous condition, an additional report of a
hazardous condition requiring response by the Waterloo Fire Department Hazardous Materials
Team is received, the Chief of the Fire Department or his/her designee shall make the
determination based on predetermined criteria as to whether a disengagement of the Waterloo
response personnel and/or equipment is necessary to mitigate the subsequent incident. When
disengagement is deemed necessary, it shall be accomplished as rapidly as personnel and public
safety allows. p
For the purpose of making such determination, a hazardous condition shall be categorized in
accordance with the following three levels:
LEVEL ONE: An incident of such a nature or scope that it can be safely mitigated by initial
response apparatus and personnel from the responding fire dept./fire district. Each fire
department/fire district shall have proper equipment and have proper training to mitigate a Level
One incident. Responding officer in charge shall determine when assistance is needed from the
Haz-Mat team. Level One incidents are those that are generally smaller in size, require no
evacuation beyond initial scene isolation and require minimal, if any, assistance from additional
departments or agencies. Level One emergencies would, additionally, be those resulting from the
release of. 40 gallons or less of common hydrocarbon liquids (gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil), low
pressure natural gas or LP gas from fuel lines smaller than two inches in diameter, or less than 5
gallons of other flammable or combustible liquids,
pesticides
e easily
containable and not posing an immediate exposure rriskto the publ c corrosives esp nset ersonnel
property or environment. personnel,
- Establish response levels.
- L 1 -First units must be first responder/operations.
- Must yearly update training.
LEVEL TWO: An incident of such a nature or scope that a limited evacuation of areas beyond
the immediate incident location is indicated, or response resources in addition to initially-
responding personnel and apparatus are needed. Level Two incidents would require assistance
from other departments or agencies not initially responding, such as Public Works, road
maintenance, Iowa Department of Transportation, Natural Resources or Health. Level Two
incidents would additionally be those releases of hazardous substances not easily containable and
posing an immediate exposure risk to the public, response personnel, property or environment in
the immediate vicinity of the release.
LEVEL THREE: An incident of such a nature or scope that evacuation of large areas is indicated
and/or an immediate, or potentially immediate, exposure risk to large segments of the public and
response sector and property or the environment exists.
Level Three incidents would likely result from release of large quantities of hazardous substances
or moderately-sized releases of exceptionally hazardous substances.
- EMS and NFPA 473 (As a Goal)
If, while conducting response activities at a hazardous condition, an incident with a higher level
of classification occurs, Waterloo Fire Department personnel shall be disengaged from the
incident of lesser classification as soon as safely possible as determined by the Waterloo Fire
Chief or his/her designee in order to respond to the incident of higher classification. When
determining incident classification levels, those hazardous conditions occurring in densely
populated areas or threatening extensive impact on water supplies, or may have long term effect,
shall be given higher priority than those occurring in areas of lesser population.
If, while conducting response activities at a hazardous condition, an incident of similar
classification occurs, the Waterloo Fire Chief or his/her designee shall send appropriate
representative to the scene of the subsequent incident for the purpose of recommending
mitigation and safety measures until time as the personnel of the Waterloo Fire Department may
respond.
Personnel from the fire department having jurisdiction shall be dispatched at the receipt of a
report of a hazardous condition for the purpose of establishing scene control and command. The
chief or his/her designee of the fire department having jurisdiction shall function as incident
commander. Waterloo Fire Department personnel dispatched, in addition to those of the fire
department having jurisdiction, shall function in an advisory and/or assisting role to the incident
commander.
Dated this /
�daY of � l , 20 C
County of Allamakee, Iowa
By:
Chairperson
Board of Supervisors
ATTEST:
Auditor
STATE OF IOWA, ALLA.MAKEE COUNTY, ss.
On this -L— day of 10 , 20 C� before me, a notary public in and for the State of
Iowa personally appeared4and�Vluru(� N 1 I L to me personally known, and who,
being duly sworn, did say that they are the Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors and County
Auditor respectively, of the County of Allamakee, Iowa; that the seal affixed to the foregoing
instrument is the seal of Allamakee County and the instrument was signed and sealed on behalf
of the County by Authority of the Board of Supervisors, as contained in action passed by the
Board of Supervisors on the �_ day of , 20 , ands(' mom and
4 O` acknowledged the execution of the instrument to be their voluntary act and
deed and the voluntary act and deed of the County, by it voluntarily executed.
CHRISTINE M.GiAVIN
F Comn*dm WNW 220M5
FSbMM
Notary4Publice Stateof Iowa