Livestock companies would file yearly disaster plans with state health officials

Each industrial integrator must develop and send a disaster plan to Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services every year. An industrial integrator is a large company that owns and manages an entire livestock supply chain or animals, controls production, and contracts with growers who provide land, barns, and labor. A disaster event includes an infectious disease outbreak, a natural disaster, or another event that substantially disrupts normal operations and public health. The plan must be developed and submitted annually; the bill gives no start date.

The plan must name nearby contacts and describe how the company would notify and coordinate with them during a suspected or confirmed disaster event. The listed livestock facilities must be within five miles and may be affected by or involved in a coordinated outbreak response; mayors must be within five miles of the outbreak. Contacts include local health departments, hospitals, emergency responders, veterinary clinics, transportation companies, nearby livestock facilities involved in a coordinated outbreak response, and nearby mayors. The plan must cover exposure reports, monitoring exposed people, ongoing care, and emergency response when needed. These notification and coordination steps apply when a disaster event is suspected or confirmed.

The plan must describe how the company would obtain, store, and distribute protective gear and limit disease spread. The plan must address workers, contractors, and responders who may be exposed. Spread-control steps must limit unprotected contact with infected animals or contaminated materials, isolate affected animals while avoiding protected well areas and other local drinking water, and reduce spread within and between facilities.