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5 <br />hazardous substances, as defined by the EPA, can pose as serious threat, whether by rail <br />or other ground transportation. <br />HAZMAT spills occur at fixed sites each year. Natural disasters, such as floods and <br />earthquakes can cause HAZMAT releases or disturb old HAZMAT release sites <br />(Superfund sites). These same disasters can make it difficult to contain these events once <br />they occur. Also, natural disasters can limit access to the spill, waterlines for fire <br />suppression maybe broken, and response personnel and resources maybe limited.. <br />Flooding and high winds can quickly spread the contaminant, threatening agriculture, <br />water supply and air, <br />HAZMAT releases pose short and long term tlueats to people, wildlife, vegetation, and <br />the environment. HAZMAT materials can be absorbed through inhalation, ingestion, or <br />direct contact with the skin. <br />Orange County Emergency Management maintains an inventory of chemical storage sites <br />within the county and has developed plans to rapidly notify the public of situations <br />involving those sites and have personnel and equipment to effectively respond to <br />incidents involving those sites. Orange County Emergency Management, and the fire <br />deparhnents that serve those sites maintain contact with the site owners and exchange <br />information as necessazy to provide for the safety of the public and those that may have <br />to respond to an incident at those locations. <br />River Basins Dam Failure <br />There are approximately 80,000 darns listed in the National Inventory of Dams. This <br />number includes impoundment structures greater than or equal to 25 feet in height or <br />impounding 50 acre-feet (an acre-foot equals water 1 foot deep across one acre of land) <br />or more of water, or structures above 6 feet in height whose failure would potentially <br />cause damage downstream. Nine thousand dams nationwide have been designated as high <br />hazard dams. For purposes of this report, dams meeting these criteria, shall be termed <br />regulated dams. <br />The high hazard designation does not indicate the inherent stability or instability of a dam <br />but instead measures the potential threat posed to downstream populations in the event of <br />a dam failure, <br />13ackgt•otttad htformation on I)ants <br />Dams provide alife-sustaining resource to people in all regions of the United States. <br />Unlike most infr'astr'ucture, dam owners are solely responsible for the safety and the <br />liability of the dam and for financing upkeep, upgrade and repair. While most <br />infrastructure facilities (roads, bridges, sewer systems, etc.) are owned by public entities, <br />the majority of dams in the United States are privately owned. Across the nation, about <br />15 <br />