Emergency Preparedness

Our mission is to ensure the safety and well-being of our community by providing comprehensive resources and plans for effective emergency management.

Local Emergency Planning Committee

Mission Statement

The mission of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Local Emergency Planning Committee is to prepare emergency response plans for all hazards, whether natural or manmade, occurring in the community; and to establish procedures for receiving and processing requests from the public for information generated by SARA Title III reporting requirements.

 

The KPB LEPD

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Local Emergency Planning District (LEPD) is located in Southcentral Alaska. The LEPD has a population of approximately 50,000 increasing to 150,000 during the summer tourist season.  The Kenai Peninsula Borough's economy is diverse with fishing, tourism, government, transportation, retail and the petrochemical industry.  Major communities include Homer, Kachemak City, Kenai, Nikiski, Soldotna and Seward.  These communities are connected by a state-maintained, paved two-lane highway system leading to Anchorage.  There are numerous communities, such as Seldovia, that are located within the borough, but are not part of the road system.  These communities also fall under the borough's and LEPD's planning responsibility.

 

Hazard Analysis:  HIGH RISK

The borough has conducted a hazard vulnerability analysis that has identified the following hazards:  earthquake, volcano, energy shortage, tsunami, fire, weather extremes, hazmat, flood, transportation accident and terrorism.

The LEPD covers approximately 25,000 square miles, approximately the same size as Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire combined (about half the size of the state of Washington).  Much of the planning district is largely uninhabited.  Fjord-like estuaries characterize large stretches of shoreline and a large percentage of the coastal areas are highly mountainous.  Marshes are found in the northern portion of the planning district.  Though much of the district is relatively pristine, offshore platforms, shoreline refineries, and oil and hazardous substance transportation routes (by water, rail, highway and pipeline) serve to threaten the generally high environmental quality of the area.  The numerous industries make up a diverse economy that is particularly vulnerable to technological disaster.

The weather in Cook Inlet regularly generates storms with winds up to 100 knots and waves of 35 feet.  The tidal currents can exceed six knots.  There are ice flows in the winter that can completely close Upper Cook Inlet to vessel traffic.

Cook Inlet is dotted by 16 offshore oil/gas drilling platforms.  In addition there is an oil refinery, and the only LNG producing plant in the North American continent.  Also present are fish processing plants that can have present large quantities of ammonia, gasoline, diesel, and propane.  The Nikiski area receives and ships the largest quantities of petroleum products, and in fact the greatest tonnage of waterborne trade, in Southcentral Alaska.

 

Members

Ron Rogalsky, Chair Public At Large
Peter Micciche Elected Official, KPB Mayor
Michael Zweifel Law Enforcement, Alaska State Troopers
Roy Browning   First Aid/Fire, Central Emergency Services 
Edgar Rojas    Hospital, Central Peninsula Hospital
Jay Teague Community, City of Kenai Fire Department
Vacant Community, City of Soldotna Police Department
Clinton Crites Community, City of Seward Volunteer Fire Department
Steve Vinnie Catalano, Vice-Chair Public Environmental Response, Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council
Leonard Dickerson Operator of Facilities, Hilcorp Alaska LLC 
Jeff Bouschor Public Environmental, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
Mark Ball Tribal, Seldovia Village Tribe
Brenda Ahlberg Disaster Planning, KPB Office of Emergency Management
Matt Wilson  Media, KSRM
Sam Satathite Operator of Facilities, Marathon Refinery
Trent Burnett Fire/EMS, Nikiski Fire Department
Kathy Romain Public At Large
Greg Russell Public At Large
Eric Wilcox Public At Large
Eric Schultz Public At Large
Amanda McKinley Health, State of Alaska Public Health
Pam LaForest Community, Red Cross of Alaska
Brandon Kyle Community, The Salvation Army
Jon Marsh Public Fire/EMS, Western Emergency Services
Sean Montgomery Transportation, State of Alaska Department of Transportation

 

Meetings

The public is invited to attend all meetings.

2025 - Quarterly meetings generally held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.

January 15
April 16
July 16
October 15

The Local Emergency Planning Committee will hold it's next meeting on:
Wednesday, January 15, 2025 – 9 a.m.
KPB Admin Building, 144 N. Binkley St., Assembly Chambers, Soldotna

 

Zoom information:

Meeting ID: 878 4145 7197
Passcode: 243685

 

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Reporting & Other Resources

Public Records Request