With more traffic expected to be on the roadway in the coming weeks, you are being reminded of your role if you see hazardous waste get spilled. The Kewaunee County Local Emergency Planning Committee heard from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Spill Coordinator Cody Heinze as a part of its biannual meeting Wednesday morning in Luxemburg. Heinze shared that the northeast region, which includes Kewaunee County, accounts for 25 percent of all of the spills reported in the state. Close to half the spills reported are petroleum-related, a fact that Heinze contributes to gas or oil leaking onto the roadway after the crash. Heinze told the committee that it is important for people to call the DNR’s Emergency Spill Hotline to provide information as soon as they can.

Kewaunee County has had approximately 10 reported spill events between March and September of this year. The Kewaunee County Local Emergency Planning Committee also requested the state to provide them with an EPCRA Compliance Inspector effective October 8th since the county does not have one of their own. EPCRA stands for Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, a federal law passed in 1986 in response to concerns about the storage and handling of toxic chemicals.