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COLUMBIA COUNTY LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE (LEPC) MEETING MINUTES February 14, 2024 Chair Margaret Doss called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. and welcomed all in attendance. A quorum was established with 14 members present. Members present at the meeting included Jim Adkins, Roy Clayton, Corbin Cooney, Shawn Granato, Brad Hartman, Suzie Hughes, Penny Jackson, Chief Wayne Kent, Chief Danny Kuhlmann, John Luton, Tom Schneider, Connie Smith and John Smith. Members absent were Linda Graves, Caroline Guay, Melanie Hale, Joe Hotchkiss, Mary Lawson, Chris Mace, Julia Quick, John Ryan, Capt. Andy Shedd, Will Vaultrin, Chief Jeremy Wallen, Ashley Campbell and Zach Williams. Guests present were Chris Goode (Climavision), Apporva Bajaj (Climavision), Ray Childress (CCSO), Octavius Beard (Harlem PW), Shanon Serigney (CSX), Peggy Smith (CSX), Byron Jones (CISA), John Hutcherson (CCFR), Frank Alsheimer(NWS), Stephanie Pilcher (CC 3-1-1), Josh Dearing (CSX), Rob James (CSX), Chuck Ray (GEMA/HS), Acey Miller (Doctors Hospital), Keith Stellman (NWS), Timothy DeLucia (Red Cross), John Quagliariello (NWS), Rich Okulski (NWS), Chris Landolfi (NWS), Susan Beckham (GDPH), Bryan McDonald (CISA), John Moore (Serenity BHS), Brandi Threat (DFACS), Emily Carpenter (NWS), Larry Hobbs (CCGIS), Julianne Hartman (CCGIS), Brandon Sullivan (Climavision), Deputy County Manager Glenn Kennedy (CCBOC), Commissioner Allison Couch (CCBOC), Grace Jansen (CCGIS) and Cassidy Harris (CCBOC). Jim Adkins made a motion to approve the November 8, 2023 meeting minutes as written. John Smith seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously. CSX Transportation – Shanon Serigney, District Manager with CSX Transportation provided an overview of the company’s response and community support during incident. A copy of the presentation is made a part of the meeting minutes. County departments and community partners will work with CSX Transportation on future training opportunities and potential exercises to prepare for a railroad incidents. National Weather Service – John Quagliariello, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Columbia, SC provided an overview of services provided to the Public Safety during an incident response and special events within their area. Climavision Update – Chris Goode, Climavision Co-Founder & CEO, Apoorva Bajaj, Government Business Development and Tara Good, VP, Strategic Partnerships presented an overview of the X-Band weather Radar and the proprietary weather radar network. During the last year, Climavision has been working with emergency management communities in expanding the X-Band radar network and onboarding federal partners to data access. Moving forward, Climavision will begin engaging with state agencies to provide data access. A copy of the presentation is made a part of the meeting minutes. Subcommittee Reports – None. Other Business / Comments / Announcements The annual Public Safety & Preparedness Fair is scheduled for April 20, 2024. If you would like to participate and have not already received and email for this event, please email Shawn Granato and Bill Botham at [EMAIL REDACTED]. There was no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 11:00 am. ---PAGE BREAK--- 2/14/2024 1 INCIDENT RESPONSE COMMUNITY SUPPORT Incident Occurs CSX STANDARD OF CARE EMERGENCY RESPONSE: CRITICAL TASKS While Responding Based on incident location & complexity dispatch: • CSX Risk Management Team • Railway Claims Services • Aviem International • Deploy Crisis Response Boxes from HQ • CSX Volunteer Managers Immediate Steps: • Gain all available information • Monitor Social Media • Determine how many homes, businesses, hospitals and schools are in the evacuation zone • Locate and reach out to hotels for availability • Coordinate with CSX Hazmat • Start searching for appropriate location and building for CSX Outreach Center • Touch base with Hospitals to set up direct billing • Activate toll free number (888)-828-3291 Share information with CSX Corporate Communications: • Provide Corp Comm information to post on our website/social media Communicate with local government and first responders: • Locate temporary community crisis response shelter location and report to that location with closest team member • Inform leaders and members of the community of the CSX Standard of Care to relocated displaced citizens to hotels Upon Arrival Make in person contact with incident commander Ensure CSX’s integration into Unified Command • Staff positions as needed Staffing • All command positions as needed • Staff hotels, Outreach Center, Hospitals, Initial Temporary Shelter location • Staff transportation needs Outreach • Assist evacuees to shelter locations • Provide gift cards for clothing and personal items • Address special needs (e.g. medications, pets) • Touch base with Red Cross • Continue monitoring social media • Coordinate with local restaurants to feed impacted community members Operations Support: • Assist securing property near incident site to begin recovery efforts Continued response for incident duration Maintain CSX Outreach Center • Set up CSX network/check writer • Open hours will change as incident stabilizes • Aviem Call Center will remain 24/7 Support various departments with resources and information • Corporate communications • Hazmat • Government Affairs • Commercial • CSX Police Working in concert with CSX Operations • Transportation: Securing property for use and storage at or near the incident site • Mechanical: Secure equipment subject to legal hold • Engineering: Secure track components subject to legal hold Continue to meet the needs of the community before they ask PAST EXPERIENCES Mt. Carbon – February 16, 2015 Derailment, broken rail, 27 cars, crude oil fire Only injury to Morris Bounds, house that burned to the ground Evacuated approximately 1,100 residents Most people were out of their homes for 5 days, except for Bounds Family COC open for 2 weeks, then mail-in forms Inconvenience payments, expenses, PD, Right of Entry, PI ---PAGE BREAK--- 2/14/2024 2 MR. BOUNDS MR. BOUNDS PAST EXPERIENCES Maryville – July 1, 2015 Derailment, tank car journal failure, acrylonitrile fire Evacuated approximately 5,000 residents Significant number of hotels & rooms Many people sent to hospital for decontamination, burning eyes and respiratory complaints Early contact with hospital, coordination & direct billing to CSX COC open for 10 days, then mail-in forms Inconvenience payments, expenses, PD, Right of Entry, PI PAST EXPERIENCES – August 2, 2017 • Derailment, flat spots/ build up on rail car from handbrake, 32 cars derailed, fire • Evacuated 1,000 for 3 days, 25 households for 10 days and 2 households for 3 months • Two homes destroyed and CSX purchased those properties • One legitimate PI, 4 claimed injuries, right of entry, PD, inconvenience • COC open for 2 weeks, then mail-in forms ---PAGE BREAK--- 2/16/2024 1 Supplementary Weather Radar Network in Georgia February 14, 2024 SEE WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MISSING 2 Climavision: Weather Intelligence & Analytics Of The Future Climavision is building next-gen weather solutions to fill long-standing gaps and address the challenges of a changing climate … to develop market leading analytics and forecasts … and a new AI Powered approach to NWP… Leading point-forecast solutions with #1 wind speed forecast and an asset-level database for hyper-tailored views of renewable generation New approach to Numerical Weather Prediction that forecast the growth of major storm systems and big atmospheric changes with precision & speed. Powered by in-house and cloud-based super-computing capabilities Building a national supplemental weather radar network… Filling low-level data voids in the U.S. network Solid-state, dual-pol, X-band weather radars at 10x the resolution of S-Band radars Leverage high-resolution observational data sets & AI climate tech to fill blind spots in existing forecasts. 1.5 billion global observational datasets captured daily Rapidly assimilate new and novel third-party datasets CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY Climavision Supplementary Radar Network 200+ RADARS OVER NEXT 4 YEARS! NEXRAD Network < 4,000 feet AGL The Earth is not flat – the planet’s curvature in tandem with radar beams that climb higher into the atmosphere the further you move away from each radar are the key factors Blockage can also be significant in mountainous regions or urban areas. Filling in these blind spots is critical for: • Flash floods • Low-level winds • Tornadoes • Improved forecast modeling which depend on measurements near the surface Why Do Coverage Gaps Exist? 4 Since we were here last year…. Visited 59 cities in 16 states Hosted 23 Training Sessions with Public Safety officials from over 40 counties Participated in 18 Emergency Management conferences Onboarded federal partners into data – NSSL, Storm Prediction Center, Radar Operations Center, and 20 WFO’s across network including Georgia! Installed 24 weather radars in 12 states Secured 30 radar partnerships Secured exciting partnership with Millersville University – a leader in Atmospheric Science and Emergency Management education – with others imminent We’ve been busy working with the emergency management community and federal partners ---PAGE BREAK--- 2/16/2024 2 As the 4th system in our network, Columbia County was a pioneer in our gap-filling efforts! Feedback from this group has helped us develop and improve our data access options, and we’re not finished. Expanded Viewing Options • Added GR Analyst integration as a viewer option for public safety leaders. If anyone wants an access token, reach out to Shawn Granato. • Columbia County was our first ESRI user and we’re now working on becoming an ESRI partner. • Investing additional integration opps and looking for feedback/suggestions Radius Improvements • New, improved products (reflectivity, velocity, and precip rate) w/ per sweep selecter • Increased speed – early platform had speed issues • Working on improved sign-in/setup process • Onboarded dedicated met support team • Some mobile/interface enhancements Expanding Access • Onboarded WFO’s in select areas – again, Columbia Co on leading edge • Working to expand access across EMA community through state EM conversations – in early stages, but have compelling model that can accelerate conversations • Gathered portfolio of case studies that show immediate impacts of filling low levels With Your Help, We’ve Made a Lot of Progress Blue circles show 60 miles coverage provided by planned Climavision radars. Georgia Plans • Four radars planned for Georgia at NO COST to community – an additional potential Alabama system may provide coverage to northwest Georgia. • Two operational already – Harlem and Americus • Working on siting in Lumpkin County and southeast coast • Company will enter into “radar-as-a-service” contracts with government agencies and other weather-sensitive industries. • Climavision owns, operates, and maintains radars. • Climavision continues work with NWS/NSSL for eval and integration into operations and is responsible for data delivery platforms, user training, and NWS engagement for CV data. We’re not done yet. Collaborations & Partnerships GOVERNMENT • CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement) with NOAA Research-NSSL • National Mesonet Program Contract • Local Public Safety Access • Millersville University ACADEMIA 9 Numerous Benefits For Rural Communities • Early Warning and Preparedness Improved Alerts Preparedness Planning • Enhanced Disaster Response Emergency Services Search and Rescue Operations • Infrastructure and Transportation Road Conditions Bridges and Infrastructure Damage Flood Prevention and Management 10 Numerous Benefits For Rural Communities • Energy Infrastructure Optimization and Reliability Power and Grid Management Outages • Improved Agricultural Practices Precision Farming Drought Monitoring • Insurance and Risk Mitigation Risk Assessment 11 McDuffie County, GA Tornado 2214Z On January 12th, a funnel cloud was reported at the Thomson McDuffie County Airport. With high resolution, low altitude observations, the Climavision radar located in neighboring Columbia County was able to clearly detect the tornadic signature as it moved from near the airport, towards the Georgia-South Carolina border. January 12th, 2023 The beam from Climavision’s Harlem radar detected the tornadic signature at ~900 feet AGL compared to KCAE's beam height of ~7,000 feet AGL. ---PAGE BREAK--- 2/16/2024 3 Texas County, OK Tornado June 17, 2023 A tornado near Climavision’s Guymon, Oklahoma radar was spotted by broadcast media on June 27th, per SPC reports, before becoming rain wrapped. Climavision radar was able to detect and track this specific tornado incidence with high resolution and clarity. The beam height from Climavision’s Guymon radar over Adam, OK is approx. 1,300 ft AGL whereas the beam from KDDC is approx. 8,600 ft AGL and KAMA 11,000 ft AGL. Hamilton, TX Wind Damage January 8, 2024 On January 8th, damage was sustained by the Hamilton Municipal Airport in Hamilton, Texas. No warnings were issued, and the SPC did not receive any wind or tornado reports, but damage at the airport is evidence of a strong storm. Climavision’s radar in Hamilton is in a prime location to detect weather phenomena just above ground level at the Hamilton Municipal Airport. Next nearest radar beam heights above Hamilton are: KFWS ~ 6,300 ft AGL KGRK ~ 6,800 ft AGL KDYX ~ 7,400 ft AGL Credit: City of Hamilton Administration, Ryan Polster 14 Hamilton, TX Wind Damage January 8, 2024 KGRK - Granger Climavision’s radar imagery (left) showcases wind speeds near 65 mph as the line of storms approached the airport. This can be seen by the values in purple on the popout image. KGRK shows lesser storm velocities that wouldn’t necessarily indicate wind speeds capable of damage, as well as the beginning of rotation on the leading edge of the storm. 15 Hamilton, TX Wind Damage January 8, 2024 KGRK - Granger Climavision’s reflectivity indicates front reflectivity notches (highlighted w/ navy boxes). Working in conjunction with the radial velocity from Granger, one would be able to determine the beginning stages of rotation in these locations. 16 Snow Squalls January 14, 2024 On January 14th, several warnings were issued for snow squalls across southeastern Climavision radars were able to clearly detect these events while the nearest NEXRAD radars overshot some of the snow bands that occurred. In the loop below, Climavision’s radar in Millersville shows continued tracking of the snow squalls as they continued eastward. The nearest NEXRAD radar to Millersville is KLWX in Sterling, VA which has a radar beam height of ~8,300 ft AGL followed by KCCX, ~9.8k ft AGL, and KDIX ~10k ft AGL. Climavision's radar can see from 150 ft AGL and up, better detecting weather phenomena near the surface. KCCX – State College, PA Snow Squalls January 14, 2024 The images above are timestamped at 15:07 UTC (10:07 AM EST). Climavision’s Millersville radar not only demonstrates tracking ability for the snow event over southeastern PA but showcases high resolution data quality as well. KLWX – Sterling, VA KDIX – Philadelphia, PA ---PAGE BREAK--- 2/16/2024 4 Working with State Agencies 01 Radar imagery for GEMA/HS officials in the State Emergency Operations Center Radar imagery for Georgia DOT in support of road, rail, waterways and aviation Radar imagery for Georgia Forestry Commission in support of Wildfire Monitoring Rainfall data for Georgia DNR Floodplain Management, Stormwater & Dam Safety Integration of weather data into Operational Dashboards 02 03 04 05 Beginning to work on ways we can engage with the State Thank you CLIMAVISION.COM SEE WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MISSING CONTACT Apoorva Bajaj, Government Business Development [EMAIL REDACTED] Tara Goode, VP, Strategic Partnerships, [EMAIL REDACTED]