A contingency plan must contain:
- A description of the actions facility personnel must take to comply with §§ 7-308(b)(14)(A) and 7-308(b)(14)(E) of the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (VHWMR) in response to fires, explosions or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents to air, soil, groundwater, or surface water at the facility.
- If the owner or operator has already prepared a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan, or some other emergency or contingency plan, the owner or operator need only amend that plan to incorporate hazardous waste management provisions that are sufficient to comply with the requirements in Subchapter 3 of the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations.
- Arrangements agreed to by local police departments, fire departments, hospitals, contractors and state and local emergency response teams to coordinate emergency services.
- An up-to-date list of names, addresses, and phone numbers (office, cellular and home) of all persons qualified to act as emergency coordinator. Where more than one person is listed, one must be named as primary emergency coordinator and others must be listed in the order in which they will assume responsibility as alternates.
- An up-to-date list of all emergency equipment at the facility, including location, physical description of each item listed and a brief outline of its capabilities.
- An evacuation plan including signals to be used to begin evacuation, evacuation routes and alternate evacuation routes.
Copies of the contingency plan and all revisions must be maintained at the facility and submitted to all local police and fire departments, hospitals, and state and local emergency response teams that may be called upon to provide emergency services. Documentation verifying that the most recent version of the contingency plan has been submitted to local emergency service providers must be maintained at the facility.
The contingency plan must be reviewed and immediately amended whenever:
- Applicable regulations are revised;
- The plan fails in an emergency;
- The facility changes in a way that materially increases the potential for fires, explosions, or releases of hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents, or changes the response necessary in an emergency;
- The list of emergency coordinators changes; or
- The list of emergency equipment changes.
At all times there must be at least one employee either at the facility, or available to respond to an emergency by reaching the facility within a short period of time, with the responsibility for coordinating all emergency response measures. This emergency coordinator must be familiar with all aspects of the facility's contingency plan, all operations and activities at the facility, the locations and characteristics of waste handled, the location of all records within the facility and the facility layout. This person must have the authority to commit the resources needed to carry out the contingency plan.