(1) The chief elected official of the local emergency planning district shall appoint the local emergency planning committee.

(2) Cities and towns that do not have active emergency management organizations as required by chapter 38.52 RCW are considered part of the county planning district in which they are located for the purposes of EPCRA emergency response planning.

(3) Any town, city or political jurisdiction identified in RCW 38.52.070 may petition the state emergency response commission to be designated as a local emergency planning district. Prior to the approval of such designation the proposed local emergency planning district must have selected the membership of the proposed local emergency planning committee and be in full compliance with the requirements of EPCRA.

(4) Any local emergency planning district and the respective local emergency planning committee existing prior to the effective date of this rule change shall be recognized.

(5) An existing local emergency planning district may petition the state emergency response commission to dissolve its independent status and either join the jurisdiction of the county in which it is included or join with an adjacent local emergency planning committee.