CHAPTER 10 – HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS - sacog

All of these facilities are designed and equipped to handle multiple, simultaneous patients
during everyday activities and emergency situations. The MTP/SCS plan area is also served by a
number of long-term acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, convalescent homes, and
veteran’s hospitals. Many jurisdictions also provide emergency medical services through the fire
department. Figure 10.8 shows the location of hospitals and medical centers in the MTP/SCS
plan area.
Emergency Response and Evacuation Plans
The release of hazardous materials into the environment, or an accident resulting from a hazard,
could necessitate an emergency response managed through an emergency response or
evacuation plan. These plans coordinate the various emergency response agencies to provide a
central management to effectively handle an emergency situation. The various levels of
government are responsible for applying resources and emergency relief to those in the
emergency area to minimize the effects of hazards or hazardous materials. These incidents can
occur almost anywhere hazards or hazardous materials exist or are transported; however, certain
areas of the state are at higher risk due to their surroundings. The OES for each county in the
SACOG region designs emergency plans to coordinate the available resources and to effectively
respond to natural and other types of disasters. The essential factors important during an
emergency, including communications, transportation, a command station, control, and shelter,
are outlined in emergency plans.
Mutual Aid Agreements
California’s mutual aid system is designed to ensure that adequate resources, facilities, and other
support are provided to jurisdictions whenever their own resources prove to be inadequate to
cope with a given situation. Each jurisdiction retains control of its own personnel and facilities,
but can give and receive help whenever it is needed. State government, on the other hand, is
obligated to provide available resources to assist local jurisdictions in emergencies.
To facilitate the coordination and flow of mutual aid, the state has been divided into six OES
Mutual Aid Regions (and three administrative regions). Sutter and Yuba counties, and the
jurisdictions therein, are in Region III. El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties, and
the jurisdictions therein, are in Region IV. Through this mutual aid system, state OES can
receive a constant flow of information from every geographic and organizational area of the
state. This includes direct notification that a disaster exists or is imminent. In some cases, it also
includes information that makes it possible to anticipate an emergency and mitigate its effects
by accelerating preparations, or perhaps preventing a situation from developing to disaster
proportions (California Emergency Management Agency, 2011).
To further facilitate the mutual aid process, particularly during day-to-day emergencies
involving public safety agencies, Fire and Rescue Law Enforcement Coordinators have been
selected and function at the Operational Area (countywide), Mutual Aid Region (two or more
counties), and at the state (OES) level.
MTP/SCS 2035
Sacramento Area Council of Governments
Draft Environmental Impact Report Chapter 10 – Hazards and Hazardous Materials – Page 10-27