Programs and Partnerships

The Charlotte Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) provides grant opportunities to address unique planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas and assists them in building an enhanced and sustainable capacity to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from all acts of terrorism.

This initiative supports ten (10) counties in the region, including Cabarrus, Catawba, Gaston, Lancaster, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Stanly, Union and York. We are one (1) of thirty-one (31) urban areas that are currently funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the initiative. Since 2004, the region has received more than $70 million dollars to aid in the prevention of terrorism and other catastrophic events and to prepare the country for threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to the security of the United States.

All Hazards Advisory Council (AHAC)

• The purpose of our All-Hazards Advisory Council (AHAC) is to connect public and private partners in the community and exchange information, train together, support each other’s initiatives, etc. AHAC membership includes first responder agencies, public health, infrastructure partners, city and county department representatives, facility and security representatives from private industries, representatives from community groups, etc. Meetings are held quarterly.

Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

• Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), every county in the nation must establish a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) which must develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually, and provide information about chemicals in the community to citizens. The All-Hazards Advisory Council (AHAC) fulfills our county’s requirement under EPCRA and a formal LEPC subcommittee oversees such plans as they apply to chemical management and hazardous materials identification and includes partners such as Marathon Oil, Dow Chemical, Genpak, Coca Cola Bottling Company, Brenntag, Huntsman, etc. Meetings are held quarterly and take place immediately following AHAC meetings.

Shelter Task Force

• Mass care and human service efforts play a crucial role across all hazards and are a part of every disaster or emergency response, more so than any other Emergency Support Function (ESF) designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Such efforts support general population sheltering initiatives, overflow homeless shelter operations, reception centers, the reunification process coordination, family assistance centers (FAC) operations and long-term post disaster or emergency housing placement.

• As one can imagine, partnership efforts are crucial to a successful mass care operation, and it takes a literal “village” to provide seamless mass care services for the citizens in our communities. As such, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office (CMEMO) coordinates a Shelter Task Force, in partnership with more than fifty (50) public and private agencies, organizations and individuals, to further objectives related to disaster and emergency response sheltering in Mecklenburg County jurisdictional boundaries.

• The Shelter Task Force meets the third Thursday of each month from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) Headquarters, located at 500 Dalton Avenue, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28206. Meetings may be conducted virtually, based on Mecklenburg County conditions. Additional meetings, in person or virtually, may take place in preparation for or as part of an expected activation or in response to a disaster or emergency.

Cyber Task Force

• Cyber security has been identified through multiple avenues as an emerging threat to the United States and to our state and local governments. Local governments are increasingly finding themselves victims of ransomware attacks and infrastructure such as our electrical grids are constantly under attack from named and unnamed sources. Federal and state governments are aware and are ramping up defenses and plans for the ever-increasing threat.

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management recognizes the enormity of the threat against our community and our goal is to organize a framework that minimizes the threat and find ways to ensure resiliency in our community. This task force consists of representatives from all seven (7) municipalities and Mecklenburg County Government, as well as subject matter experts from the private sector. Our focus, as always, remains strong in support of prevention, mitigation, planning, response and recovery efforts.

• As the Cyber Task force is operating in its infancy, task force meetings fluctuate, but are announced to our partners through our office.

Having credentialed and qualified extra hands-on deck during an activation or a disaster, emergency or mutual aid response allows our team to focus on the immediate details of an incident. We’re fortunate in Mecklenburg County to manage and have direct access to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Incident Management Team (IMT), which is also a designated North Carolina Multi-Agency All-Hazards Type-III Incident Management Team (IMT) that includes members from our office, local fire departments, local law enforcement agencies, emergency medical service agencies, telecommunications staff and technical assistants.

Our office maintains the Fixed Nuclear Facility (FNF) Emergency Preparedness Program for the two (2) nuclear facilities in the vicinity of Mecklenburg County. Our office and all our emergency management planners work very closely with Duke Energy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to maintain the highest level of emergency preparedness for both the Catawba (located on Lake Wiley in South Carolina) and McGuire (located on Lake Norman in North Carolina) Nuclear Power Plants.

• Every year, through our relationship with Duke Energy and numerous community partnerships, we exercise our community’s ability to respond to a nuclear incident in our footprint. These full-scale drills are designed to test various scenarios and critical functions in relation to both Catawba and McGuire Nuclear Power Plants and may include mass care efforts such as reception center and shelter operations, waterway clearing and emergency worker decontamination.

• Duke Energy provides education materials and information particularly for residents within the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) which is the 10-mile radius surrounding each nuclear location, however, these resources are available to all residents. Preparedness information includes:
• • Duke Energy Nuclear Power Plant Safety and Security
  • Duke Energy Nuclear Power Plant Preparedness (Catawba)
  • Duke Energy Nuclear Power Plant Preparedness (McGuire)

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office (CMEMO) and the Charlotte-Fire Department Special Operations Division (CFD-SOC) collaborate to support the Mecklenburg County hazardous materials (HazMat) program.

• A designated Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) Battalion Chief serves as the Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Coordinator and works closely with the three (3) hazardous materials teams assigned to the Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) that operate out of Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) Stations 13, 32 and 34.

• These teams respond to all hazardous materials incidents in Charlotte. In addition to serving Charlotte, the HazMat teams support the surrounding region and are available for North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) assigned missions as North Carolina Regional Response Team Seven (NC-RRT7).

• The HazMat Coordinator also manages the Tier II program for Mecklenburg County. This federal program requires all businesses, including governmental and private sector facilities, to report their chemical inventories annually via the Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Form in accordance with the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). This form is received by our Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and local fire departments throughout the seven (7) jurisdictions in Mecklenburg County. Our office serves as the designated local reporting agency. To complete Tier II reporting, you may do so through the E-Plan portal.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management (CMEMO) has developed a registration opportunity for those who are homebound or have additional access or functional needs that require assistance for evacuation. Healthcare needs such as use of oxygen, respirator or ventilator, wheelchair functionality, animal assistance needs, visual, hearing or speech impairments and those with behavioral, mental or substance abuse needs meet these criteria.

• Registration is voluntary. During emergencies registrants will be prioritized for assistance according to the size and location of the emergency and potential limited resources available. Registering should be done along with preparedness measures. When you are registered through our Special Needs Registry, your specific needs will be available to first responders in the event of a disaster or emergency in and around your geographic location.

• To submit your special needs location, complete the included fillable form and your information and your location will be included in our secure database and shared with our team and applicable response partners. Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation message that confirms you’ve filed your special needs location with our office.

Since November 2017, all licensed care facilities that accept Medicare and/or Medicaid are required to comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Emergency Preparedness Rule. The mission of this rule is to enable federal, state, tribal, regional and local governmental agencies and health care providers to respond to every emergency in a timely, collaborative, organized and effective manner, which includes developing the following: 1) emergency plan(s) based on an “all hazards” approach, using the facility risk assessment 2) policies and procedures based on the emergency plan and facility risk assessments 3) communications plan that prepares for all hazards and complies with both federal and state law 4) a training and testing program, including initial training and annual trainings and the facilitation of drills and exercises (two are required per year). Each facility(s) is required to file emergency plans with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office (CMEMO) annually.

• Metrolina Healthcare Preparedness Coalition (MHPC) has a variety of resources available to assist you through this process.

• To submit your facility’s plan, complete the included fillable form and your information and your plan will be included in our secure database and shared with our team and applicable response partners. Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation message that confirms you’ve filed your plan with our office.