Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), Local or Tribal Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs or TEPCs) must develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually, and provide information about chemicals in the community to citizens. These emergency planning committees, with stakeholder participation, help develop strategies and plans to help make our communities safer. There is one emergency planning committee for each of the more than 3,000 designated local and tribal emergency planning districts. The emergency planning committee membership must include (at a minimum) the following:

• Elected state, local, and tribal officials
• Police, fire, civil defense, and public health professionals
• Environment, transportation, and hospital officials
• Facility representatives
• Representatives from community groups and the media

Mission: The Hanover County LEPC promotes emergency planning, prevention, response, and recovery strategies to better prepare our citizens, industries, and local emergency response agencies for an “all hazards” emergency with a particular emphasis on hazardous materials management.     

Meetings: Open to the public 3^rd Wednesday of January, May, and October. 

Agendas and Meeting Minutes: available upon request at 804-365-4850 or [email protected].

Tier II Reporting, please submit in PDF format to [email protected]. 

Release Notification

To report an unplanned release of hazardous material in Hanover County, please provide immediate notification to the following:

1. For Extremely Hazardous Substances only:
   • Local Fire Department (Emergency 911, Non-emergency 804-365-6140)
   • Local Emergency Planning Committee (Fire Administration 804-365-6195)
   • Virginia Department of Emergency Management (1-800-468-8892)
2. For CERCLA hazardous substances:
   • Local Fire Department (Emergency 911, Non-emergency 804-365-6140) 
   • Local Emergency Planning Committee (Fire Administration 804-365-6195)
   • Virginia Department of Emergency Management (1-800-468-8892)
   • National Response Center (NRC), operated by the United States Coast Guard (1-800-424-8802)
3. Written follow-up report to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ)

The LEPC and the Local Fire Department are the same for Hanover County. Please see below for contact information:

Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory (Tier II Reporting)

Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) requires facilities that possess any OSHA hazardous chemical above specific threshold amounts for at least 24 hours to submit a Tier II Report. The threshold for OSHA hazardous chemicals is 10,000 pounds, except for Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) chemicals whose threshold quantity is 500 pounds or the Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ) of that EHS, whichever is lower. TPQs for EHS chemicals can be found on the EPA List of Lists.

Tier II Reports are due annually on March 1 of every year. Reports are for the preceding calendar year. For example, a Tier II Report submitted on March 1, 2021, should report all Tier II chemicals stored on-site for 2020.

When reporting to Hanover County, please submit in PDF format to [email protected]. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Fire Marshal at 804-365-4850 M-F 0830-1700.