[Ord. No. 92-29, § 1, 10-21-1992]
There is established within the municipal government of the Town a hazardous materials action committee consisting of 10 members as follows:
(1) 
The chiefs or their designees from each of the four fire districts.
(2) 
A representative of the Town rescue department.
(3) 
The Chief of Police or his designee.
(4) 
Superintendent of public works or his designee.
(5) 
Director of emergency management agency.
(6) 
The Mayor and a member of the Town Council shall serve on the committee as ex-officio members.
[Ord. No. 92-29, § 2, 10-21-1992]
(a) 
The hazardous materials action committee shall elect from among its membership a chairman and a secretary.
(b) 
The committee shall meet at the call of the chairman and upon notice of the secretary.
(c) 
Meetings of the committee shall be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order; provided, however, that the committee may establish any special rules it may design by majority vote of the entire committee membership.
[Ord. No. 92-29, § 3, 10-21-1992]
The goals of the hazardous materials action committee shall be as directed by the committee, and shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) 
Formulation of a hazardous materials action committee prepared to meet the needs of the community on a routine and emergency basis.
(2) 
Identification of those existing/proposed areas of facilities that present a potential hazard to sections of the general population.
(3) 
Identification of specific population groups, buildings, activities, etc., that may be at risk or subjected to hazards.
(4) 
Assessment of the capabilities of available resources to effectively deal with major incidents.
(5) 
Formulation of a plan that identifies the means under which the involved agencies shall operate.
(6) 
Ensure that Town and district operations interact with, and meet the requirements of, higher levels of government, such as state and federal agencies such as the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(7) 
Provide a simple and standardized organizational structure including: plans, charts, checklists, and agreements for executive staff use to manage a disaster situation.
(8) 
Create a public information system so that all citizens of the Town will be informed in the event of an emergency.
(9) 
Provide for an expedient return to normalcy after an incident occurs.
(10) 
Plans should be readily adaptable to use during other types of emergencies such as weather related or natural disasters.
[Ord. No. 92-29, § 4, 10-21-1992]
(a) 
The hazardous materials action committee shall be responsible for completing hazard analysis, including risk and vulnerability analysis, for the Town and its occupants, including those populations within the Town which may be affected by a chain of events that occur outside the Town's boundaries.
(b) 
The committee shall assess the current capabilities of the agencies that will be involved in any major incident and identify and secure the services of agencies other than municipal such as heavy equipment owners, shelter managers, cleanup agencies, etc.
(c) 
Through the identification of these agencies, the committee will be responsible for the formation of detailed emergency operations plans to be utilized in the event of any warranted emergency situation. Such plan shall attempt to minimize the threat of personnel harm or harm to property and the environment in the event of an incident and shall address all possible phases of an incident including: preincident planning, plan implementation and operation, and recovery/mitigation. The committee shall continually exercise, update and assess plans to ensure that they do not become outdated.