39-7105. LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE AUTHORITIES — DESIGNATION. (1) It is the purpose of the provisions of this section to provide for the designation of local emergency response authorities for hazardous substance incidents.

(2) Cities and counties shall designate the local emergency response authorities for hazardous substance incidents that occur within their respective jurisdictions. Cities and counties are encouraged to appoint a response authority whose members will become trained in hazardous substance incident response.

(a) The governing body of every city shall designate by ordinance or resolution a local emergency response authority for hazardous substance incidents occurring within the corporate limits of such city. A city may designate the county as its emergency response authority and participate in the county plan for hazardous substance incident response, and shall notify the county of that designation in writing.

(b) The board of county commissioners of every county in the state shall designate by ordinance or resolution a local emergency response authority for hazardous substance incidents occurring within the unincorporated area of such county.

(c) The governing body of every city and every board of county commissioners shall notify the military division and Idaho emergency medical services communications center of its designated local emergency response authority. Such notification shall be in writing and shall occur as soon as practicable, and, in any event, no later than sixty (60) calendar days after this chapter becomes effective. Thereafter, any changes in such designations shall be communicated to the military division and Idaho emergency medical services communications center no later than ten (10) working days before such change becomes effective.

(d) If no local emergency response authority having the ability to respond to a hazardous substance incident exists within a city or county or if such a political subdivision is unable to obtain the services of an emergency response authority by way of a mutual aid agreement, contract or otherwise, such city or county may petition the military division to designate an emergency response authority to respond to hazardous substance incidents within the petitioning political subdivision’s jurisdiction. The military division, in consultation with such political subdivision, may thereafter designate appropriate local emergency response authorities.

(3) If a hazardous substance incident occurs in an area in which no local emergency response authority has been designated, or if the Idaho state police has been designated as the local emergency response authority, the Idaho state police shall be the local emergency response authority for such hazardous substance incident for the purposes of this section.

History:

[39-7105, added 1991, ch. 242, sec. 1, p. 586; am. 1995, ch. 116, sec. 24, p. 404; am. 1997, ch. 121, sec. 3, p. 360; am. 2000, ch. 469, sec. 101, p. 1554.]