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Board of Environmental Safety Meeting and Hazardous Waste Management Plan Hearing 3 - May 15, 2025 — Transcript

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0:01Okay, good afternoon everyone. Good
0:03afternoon. Thank you all for joining us
0:05for today's Board of Environmental
0:07Safety meeting. I'm Courtney Bailey, the
0:10board specialist and today's board
0:12clerk. Today we are joined by the
0:14following board of environmental safety
0:16staff persons both in person and
0:19remotely on Zoom. Swapy Chararma, our
0:22executive officer. Shaina Abila, staff
0:25engineer. Sheena Brooks, operations and
0:28outreach manager. Lauren Chandler,
0:31OMBbuds. Greg Forest, board counsel.
0:35Evelyn Nuno, board specialist. Linda
0:39Okampo, senior staff engineer. Ferdos
0:42Primea, environmental program manager,
0:46and Marcus Raymond, our senior
0:47environmental scientist. This meeting is
0:50being livereamed and recorded. Your
0:53continued participation is
0:54acknowledgment that you are being
0:56recorded. Today is May 15, 2025 at 12:01
1:01p.m. and the meeting is now called to
1:02order. Thank you very much. Courtney,
1:04please call the role. Thank you, Chair
1:07Rickstra. Member Batia here. Member
1:10Brostrom here. Member Gomez here. Vice
1:13Chair Stress Hacker and Chair Rickstra
1:16here. Wonderful. We have a full forum
1:19with all members present.
1:21We are now going to go ahead and review
1:23some logistical items for the meeting.
1:26So, we'll move to slide two, language
1:29selection. Today's hybrid meeting is
1:31being held both in person and remotely
1:34via phone and Zoom. For those joining us
1:37on Zoom, please select either English or
1:39Spanish as your preferred language
1:41option by clicking the interpretation
1:44icon located at the bottom of your Zoom
1:46toolbar. If you don't see the icon, you
1:50may need to update your Zoom
1:51application. Next
1:54slide. If anyone experiences
1:56connectivity issues with Zoom, you can
1:59call in for either English or Spanish.
2:02The phone numbers are provided to you
2:03now on the slide and they will also be
2:06provided to you in the Zoom chat. The
2:09information including the call-in
2:10numbers are also posted to our website.
2:14Next slide.
2:16Agenda times may fluctuate to
2:18accommodate agenda items. Meeting
2:21materials are available on the
2:23registration table at the entrance of
2:25the room. They can also be found on our
2:28website at
2:35bees.dtsc.ca.gov/nextnext meeting. To
2:37protect everyone's virtual space and
2:40networks, the Q&A function will serve as
2:43our chat feature. It will be used for
2:45individuals that are experiencing
2:47technical difficulties or unable to make
2:50verbal comments. Please begin your
2:52comment with please read aloud if you
2:55wish to have your comment read out loud
2:57during a public comment session to
3:00ensure that all board members are fully
3:02present and focused on today's
3:04presentations and discussions. They are
3:07not reading or following along in the
3:09chat or the Q&A.
3:11All participants will remain muted until
3:14a Zoom host unmutes them once
3:17recognized. Only presenters videos and
3:20screens will be shared during this
3:22meeting. For agenda item number nine,
3:25the hazardous waste management plan
3:27hearing number three, which is scheduled
3:29to begin at approximately 4:45 p.m., we
3:33will be utilizing a numbered card system
3:35to facilitate the public comment period
3:38for our in-person commenters.
3:41At this time, I would like to just take
3:43a quick poll of all of our participants
3:45to get an idea of how many folks plan to
3:48comment for agenda item number nine, the
3:50hazardous waste management plan hearing.
3:53So, if you are in person and you do plan
3:56on commenting, can you please raise your
3:58hand? Wonderful. So, it looks like five
4:01so
4:02far. Great. And for those uh in person,
4:05did you receive a numbered card? No.
4:08Okay, great. We'll make sure to get
4:09those numbered cards out to you here
4:12shortly. Uh if you could go and keep
4:14your hands raised, we'll go ahead and
4:15pass them out. Thank you so
4:18much. Oh, sorry. Six. Sorry, I missed
4:21you before. Okay, six for in person.
4:23Thank you very much. We of course will
4:25check in later today, but we're just
4:27getting preliminary numbers right now
4:29just to get an idea for timing
4:31purposes. For those joining on Zoom over
4:34the phone, if you plan to comment on
4:37agenda item number nine, the hazardous
4:39waste management plan hearing, please
4:41raise your virtual hand or press star 9
4:44on your phone just so we can get an
4:47estimate of how many people plan to talk
4:49via
4:50Zoom. Okay, so just one right now and
4:53that's okay.
4:54two. Thank you. And we'll definitely
4:57come back and uh uh check in on you at
5:00uh we'll do it at break and then again
5:02before the actual agenda item starts.
5:05Thank you very much for giving us that
5:07preliminary
5:08information. Our public forum for items
5:12not on the agenda, which will be agenda
5:14item number six, will be held at
5:16approximately 2:55 p.m. If you would
5:20like to express your comments in
5:21writing, you may submit your comment via
5:24email to bees info at
5:32bees.dtsc.ca.gov. And that concludes the
5:34introductory review for today's meeting.
5:36I will now hand it over to Chair
5:37Rickstra for agenda item number two.
5:39Thank you very much, Courtney. Uh, good
5:41afternoon and welcome to the Board of
5:43Environmental Safety meeting. Um, as
5:45this is only my second board meeting,
5:47I'd like to begin by thanking many of
5:50you and the public and our stakeholders,
5:52my fellow board members and DTSC and the
5:55Cal EPA family for the very warm
5:57welcome. I'd like to particularly
5:59highlight and thank the board's staff
6:02and really highlight for those in this
6:03room all of the excellent work that goes
6:05on behind the scenes and all the work
6:07that they do organizing and preparing
6:09for these meetings and other board
6:11engagements. I'm I'm really struck by
6:13how exceptional the uh bees team is. So
6:16uh thank you. I also want to emphasize
6:19to all in this room and online that I'm
6:21open to meeting with you as board chair.
6:23I'm most effective if I truly understand
6:26your concerns and why each of you are
6:29here with us today. Our team will
6:31provide to you in the chat the best way
6:32to reach out and contact me and how to
6:34request a meeting. Uh and before I get
6:36into the agenda, I also would like to
6:39congratulate Director Katie Butler on
6:41the unanimous Senate rules committee
6:43vote that advances her nomination to the
6:45full Senate. So for today's agenda, um
6:49we'll begin this afternoon uh with a
6:51report from from our executive officer
6:54Swathy Chararma, including a
6:56presentation from BES staff on Senate
6:58Bill 158's mandates for our board. We
7:02will then hear from DTSC Director Katie
7:05Butler as she provides us with her
7:07leadership report and department news.
7:10After that, the board will receive an
7:12update on the proposed metrics for
7:14DTSC's hazardous waste management
7:17program. We'll then take a short break
7:19and after we reconvene, we'll open with
7:21public forum at around 2:55 p.m.
7:25followed by board member reports and
7:26then review and consideration of
7:29approval of our April 24th meeting
7:31minutes. We'll then take a break at
7:33around uh 3:45 p.m. and reconvene at
7:364:45 p.m. to begin agenda item 9, our
7:40third hearing on DTSC's hazardous waste
7:43management plan. Um on this third
7:47hearing, um we'll begin with a
7:49presentation uh we'll begin with
7:51comments from DTSC. We'll then have
7:54board discussion and direction on uh
7:57goal seven. Specifically, DTSC will
8:00provide a presentation then on goals one
8:04through five. The reason I'm previewing
8:06this right now is just um I would
8:08encourage the public um in thinking
8:10through your comments to in particular
8:12focus on goals one through five or at
8:14least in addition to what we were saying
8:15to think through um the specific uh uh
8:20guidance and comments that you all would
8:21have on goals one through five as well.
8:25Um, so we'll then close out the day with
8:28uh, Vice Chair Hacker reviewing today's
8:30action
8:31items. So, moving right into agenda item
8:34number three, I'd like to introduce our
8:36executive officer, Swathy Chararma, who
8:38will provide us with her EO report,
8:40which will include an update on both the
8:42boards and DTSC's action items from our
8:46April board meeting. We'll then hear
8:48from Lauren Chandler, our buds person,
8:51and Shaina Aila, staff engineer, as they
8:55present an overview as of SB 158, the
8:58focus on the board's mandates. I will
9:01now hand it over to executive officer
9:03Chararma for her report. Great. Thank
9:05you so much. Next slide, please.
9:10Thank you. So, as Vice Chair Hacker
9:12mentioned, actually, let me go through
9:14the EO report. We'll first cover an
9:16update on permit appeals, action items
9:18from the previous board meeting, a fees
9:20update, the 2025 board meeting dates,
9:24and then I'll hand it over to Lauren
9:27Chandler and Shaina Aila to give a
9:29presentation on the board's mandates.
9:31So, in terms of permit appeals, as Vice
9:34Chair Hacker mentioned at the last
9:35meeting, we have received two appeals of
9:38the Fibroch permit renewal decision. We
9:41have now received petitions to support
9:44those appeals which are on our website
9:46and which our technical team is
9:48currently reviewing. Board staff will be
9:50in touch with the appeal parties to keep
9:53the process moving
9:56forward. Next slide
10:00please. for the bees action item
10:03followup from the March and April board
10:05meeting. OMBbuds Lauren is to set to
10:08capture all SEPs related public comments
10:11and questions and share them with the
10:13DTSC enforcement program. That item is
10:16complete. She captured all of the
10:17comments and questions and has shared
10:20those with DTSC enforcement program who
10:23then are following up with the uh
10:25individuals that had the questions. The
10:28second follow-up item is board member
10:30Brastrom requested for more information
10:32about contaminated sites from previous
10:34dry cleaning facilities and asked that
10:36this be added to an upcoming agenda
10:38item. We are in the progress of trying
10:41to establish which board meeting. Um
10:43we'll have an update but that stay tuned
10:46for a presentation and update on dry
10:48cleaning sites and contaminated sites.
10:51Now I will hand it off to our bbuds
10:53Lauren Chandler to cover the DTSC action
10:56items.
10:59Good afternoon everybody. Next slide
11:01please.
11:04Uh there were three follow-up questions
11:06from D for DTSC from the April 24th
11:09board meeting in Berkeley. All of which
11:11are from our executive officer Chararma
11:14uh regarding the hazardous waste
11:15management plan. Officer has met with
11:18DTSC. These items are considered to
11:20still be in progress and will be
11:22discussed during today's meeting. Back
11:24to you Kathy.
11:29Next slide,
11:36please. Sorry, something wrong with it.
11:39Okay, great. Okay, so now let's talk
11:41about the fees timeline. So, starting in
11:45June, this kicks off our engagement
11:48process as it relates to the fee rate
11:51setting process. We will have a workshop
11:54in June um where we will share the
11:58updated information that we have about
12:00the various fee scenarios um how DTSC's
12:03budget currently is and how fee rates
12:06plays into that. At the July board
12:08meeting, the fees subcommittee will give
12:11a presentation to the full board on the
12:14various fee scenarios. Through August,
12:17we will continue stakeholder engagement
12:19and at the August board meeting, the
12:22board will adopt the fee rate which
12:25after the fee rates will go through an
12:28emergency rule making process and then
12:30the fee rates are set on October 1st.
12:34Next slide,
12:38please. We have our next fees workshop.
12:41It'll be an upcoming virtual only
12:43workshop on the fee rate setting
12:45process. And right now it is scheduled
12:47on Tuesday, June 17th from 10:00 a.m. to
12:5012:00 pm. And stay tuned. Um, and check
12:53our website for more information about
12:55presentation material and exact timing
12:58for that
13:00workshop. All right, next slide,
13:04please. This is our upcoming 2025 board
13:08meeting schedule. So, we're here today
13:10in Cyprus um and we will, as Chair
13:13Rickstra mentioned, have our third
13:14hearing on the hazardous waste
13:16management plan. We have added a fourth
13:19hearing um at upon the request from the
13:21public. So, we'll have our fourth
13:23hearing on July 15th at HQ in
13:26Sacramento. After that, we will have our
13:28next board meeting on August 27th and
13:3128th in the Bay Area. and then we'll end
13:35the year um on November 5th and 6th and
13:38have our last board meeting at
13:42HQ. All
13:44right. And next up, next slide, please,
13:48we have our OMBbuds, Lauren Chandler and
13:51board engineer Shaina Aila, who will
13:53present on the board mandates, what our
13:56responsibilities are, what our roles
13:58are, especially as it pertains to SB158.
14:02All right, hand it to you Shaina.
14:08I think that would be me.
14:12Good afternoon everyone. My name is
14:14Lauren Chandler. I'm the onbuds person
14:16with the board of environmental safety.
14:18And today along with our board engineer
14:20Shaina Aila, I'll be telling you about
14:22how the board came into existence, some
14:25of the things that we do, and how we
14:27connect with the work of the Department
14:28of Toxic Substances Control, hosting
14:31public meetings, setting fee rates,
14:33deciding permit appeals, and issuing
14:35reports. Next
14:39slide. We're going to be talking about
14:42some of the statutory requirements that
14:44govern how the board fulfills its
14:45mandates. You'll how we engage with the
14:48public and other stakeholders in our
14:50meetings, including the role of our
14:51various subcommittees and working
14:53groups. What we report to the state
14:55legislature and to the CLIPA secretary,
14:58the involved in the permit appeals
15:01process approving the hazardous waste
15:03management plan and setting fee rates
15:06and the board's key roles in guiding,
15:08advising, and overseeing PTSC's efforts
15:10to manage and regulate toxic substances
15:13and hazardous waste in California. As a
15:16side note, we know that the government
15:17loves its acronyms, so I will be
15:19referring to our members as dees or more
15:22simply the board. Next slide,
15:28please. Our enacting legislation makes
15:31it clear that our board members
15:33represent the general public interest
15:36and act to public health and reduce
15:39risks of toxic exposure with a
15:41particular focus on disproportionately
15:43burdened and vulnerable communities.
15:46With concerns from the public and other
15:47stakeholders about the transparency,
15:49accountability, and fiscal
15:51responsibility of DTSD, SB 158 was
15:54signed into law by Governor Gavin
15:56Newsome on July 13,
15:592020. Several policy reforms to the
16:02programs overseen by DPS and stabilized
16:05the department's funding. These changes
16:08resulted in improved transparency and a
16:10stronger commitment to environmental
16:12protection. Most importantly, SB 158
16:15established the Board of Environmental
16:17Safety. Next
16:22slide. The board is required to conduct
16:25no fewer than six public meetings per
16:27year at various sites and communities
16:29throughout the state and at least three
16:31of those meetings must be held in areas
16:33outside of the greater Sacramento area.
16:36The board is also mandated to hold
16:38regular meetings to discuss issues
16:40related to hazardous waste, its
16:42management, and other environmental
16:44health concerns. This ensures that the
16:46board can meet as needed to make
16:48decisions, review policies, and address
16:50matters of public safety and
16:52environmental protection. The board is
16:54further mandated to provide
16:56opportunities for public hearings on
16:58individual permitted or remediation
17:00sites. This has previously involved
17:03cleanup sites such as the Santa Susanna
17:05Field Lab in Southern California and
17:07Brookside in Richmond, the facility
17:09closure at Exite in Vernon, and the
17:11metal shredding facility at Radius
17:13Recycling in West Oakland. Next slide,
17:16please.
17:20Board meetings are governed by the
17:22Begley Keen Open Meeting Act, which
17:23applies the principle of open government
17:25meetings to state level agencies and
17:28commissions, mirroring the Brown Acts
17:30application and ensuring that the public
17:32has access to the decision-making
17:34process at both the local and state
17:36levels in California with a wider range
17:39of government entities. Under Bagley
17:41Keen, no more than two board members can
17:44meet to discuss daily business outside
17:46of a public setting. In order to comply
17:48with Bagley Keen, the board utilizes
17:51subcommittees to meet and discuss the
17:52topics within its purview. We'll be
17:55talking a little more about these
17:56subcommittees later in the in the
17:58presentation. Next slide, please.
18:03The DTSC director and the board peer
18:05person are required to appear before the
18:07appropriate legislative policy
18:09committees to provide an update on the
18:11department's performance when requested
18:13annually. These appearances are utilized
18:16to provide updates on DTSC's
18:18performance, to provide a report on the
18:20cleanups in vulnerable communities
18:22initiative or CBCI, and to give an
18:25update on DTSC's implementation of
18:27various reform measures. Next slide,
18:30please.
18:34In addition to bees reporting out to the
18:36legislature, the board is mandated to
18:38evaluate and report DTSC's performance
18:41to
18:42CALIPA. This process begins when DTSC's
18:45director first sets the department's
18:47priorities. The board then adopts those
18:49priorities and evaluates the
18:51department's overall performance
18:53compared to its objective, including the
18:55performance of its director. That
18:57evaluation is then sent to CalPA
19:00Secretary Jana Garcia. Next slide,
19:05please. Moving on to the board's role in
19:07permitting and permit appeals. The board
19:10receives a report from DTSC's permitting
19:12division regarding a schedule of certain
19:15continued permit decisions, which is
19:17adopted by the board at a public
19:18meeting. After DTSC makes hazard
19:21hazardous waste facility permitting
19:23decisions, those decisions can be
19:25appealed to the board. This includes
19:28decisions to grant, issue, modify, or
19:30deny a hazardous waste facility permit.
19:33The board took over this responsibility
19:35from a permit appeals officer and
19:38adopted regulations with procedures and
19:40standards for the permit appeal process
19:42in 2023. Next slide, please.
19:48Going from our public facing operations
19:50to inside bees, subcommittees allow our
19:53staff and board members to work together
19:55on specific areas of concern while still
19:57respecting the limitations of Bagley
19:59Keane. Subcommittees are typically
20:01headed by only two board members who
20:03work with select staff members to
20:05research and analyze detailed
20:07information before presenting
20:09recommendations to the full board for
20:11its consideration. Next slide.
20:16These subcommittees play a critical role
20:18in supporting the board's
20:20responsibilities by focusing on specific
20:22areas in greater depth. Our
20:25subcommittees are categorized by board
20:27mandates and statute and each one is
20:29headed by board members with relevant
20:31expertise. The subcommittees meet
20:33regularly to review key issues and make
20:36recommendations to the full board
20:38allowing for more informed and efficient
20:40decision-making.
20:42Working groups are sites and initiatives
20:44the board has decided to to address
20:46concerns raised by members of the public
20:48and other stakeholders. Next
20:54slide. The board was mandated to appoint
20:57an onbuds person to serve as a resource
20:59to the public. My job is to remain an
21:02impartial channel for the public to
21:04communicate with DTSC. I'm here to
21:06receive and research inquiries, provide
21:09information and assistance as
21:10appropriate, and then report my findings
21:13to both the board and DTSC's director.
21:16I'm hoping this will be everyone's
21:17favorite program as we continue to build
21:19on our public engagement. Next
21:24slide. The OMBbud subcommittee works
21:26directly with me to make recommendations
21:28to the full board as it relates to the
21:30OMBbuds program. This can include
21:33anything from input on what the board
21:35would like to see in the reports to
21:37information that I can utilize to
21:38respond to the public when an inquiry is
21:40particularly complex. Board member GM
21:44Gomez, our executive offici and our
21:47board council Greg Forest meet regularly
21:49with me for that. This concludes my
21:52portion of the presentation. I'll hand
21:53it off to our board engineer Sha Avula.
21:57Thank you. Thank you Lauren. I am Shane
22:00Avula, the board staff engineer, and I
22:02will be continuing with the second half
22:04of this presentation. Next, we're going
22:06to talk about the board's role with the
22:08hazardous waste management report and
22:10plan. DTSC prepares a hazardous waste
22:14management report every 3 years, and
22:16DTSC also prepares a hazardous waste
22:19management plan every three years with
22:21the first draft released earlier this
22:23year.
22:29The third hazardous waste management
22:31plan hearing will be held today with the
22:33fourth being held in July. The board and
22:36DTSC shall consider public comments and
22:39revise the draft as they deem
22:41appropriate prior to the board vote.
22:48The hazardous waste management plan
22:49subcommittee meets regularly with the
22:51DTSC staff responsible for preparing the
22:54hazardous waste management plan. The
22:56first iteration of the plan will be
22:58approved by the board this year and
23:00future iterations will be prepared in an
23:02iterative manner with updates every
23:04three years.
23:10The board collaborates with the director
23:12and takes addition takes available
23:14resources into account to create a
23:16multi-year plan for discussing long-term
23:19goals. The board also shapes and
23:21evaluates performance metrics for each
23:24of the department's programs. The board
23:26reviews, approves, and adopts the
23:29director's annual priorities for each
23:31departmental program.
23:37The board is responsible for approving
23:39the priorities of the department and
23:40performing an annual evaluation of the
23:43department's performance compared to
23:45those priorities. The performance
23:47metrics and reporting subcommittee works
23:49with the director and the department
23:51leadership to establish metrics for the
23:53performance of the programs within DTSC.
24:01The board is required to set fees each
24:03year for generation and handling
24:05facility and environmental fees. The
24:08board is mandated to ensure sufficient
24:10funding to allow both DTSC and the board
24:12to fulfill their duties and
24:15responsibilities. In September, the
24:17Office of Administrative Law approves
24:19fee rate schedules by an emergency fee
24:21emergency rule making process. By
24:24October 1st, fee caps and fee rates are
24:27set by the
24:30board. The board conducts an analysis
24:33and develops recommendations to the fee
24:35structure that supports the department's
24:37activities that are outlined in statute.
24:43As a recap, the fee rate and analysis
24:46subcommittee is responsible for
24:47analyzing fee rate scenarios and
24:50analyzing the fee structure supporting
24:52DTSC activities.
24:59The cleanup and vulnerable communities
25:01initiative CBCI subcommittee is
25:03responsible for conducting on an annual
25:05basis an analysis of the expenditure of
25:08CBCI funds including the completed
25:11projects in order to make
25:13recommendations to the legislature for
25:15future expenditures of state funds for
25:17cleanups. DTSC's objectives for CBCI
25:21focus on identifying and cleaning up
25:23contaminated sites in environmentally
25:25vulnerable communities. The board in its
25:28annual report evaluates the expenditures
25:30associated with the
25:35objectives. The environmental justice
25:37subcommittee maintains engagement with
25:39nonprofit organizations throughout the
25:42state, ensuring that stakeholders stay
25:44informed about the board's work and
25:46receiving inquiries from the public.
25:50And that brings us to the end of our
25:52presentation. Thank you for your time
25:54and we'd be happy to answer any
25:55questions that you might have.
26:05U thank you very much to our executive
26:07officer uh Swathy, Lauren and Shaina um
26:09for the updates and and presentation. Um
26:12board members, does uh anyone have any
26:15comments or questions?
26:18a moment.
26:20I have one question. We previously had a
26:24few of us working on Exile and I I don't
26:26think that was a um formal subcommittee
26:29construct but do we how do we handle any
26:33sides specific work that comes up it's a
26:37working group which is listed it's
26:39listed in a working group. Oh,
26:45what's a working? That's right. Not a
26:47sub. And the difference is is the
26:50subcommittees um have a statutory
26:52requirement in
26:54SB158 while working groups are specific
26:57initiatives and sites that the board has
26:59decided to dedicate its time on. Thank
27:02you. And working group still exists. I
27:05know you're not part of it anymore, but
27:07member Gomez as well as um Shaina and um
27:12Evelyn are part of that working group.
27:17Thanks. Any other questions or comments
27:19from the board?
27:26Um
27:28Yep. Well, now so we're now going to
27:30turn to public comment uh on this item
27:32as uh as as well. Um so Courtney, will
27:37you please open the floor for public
27:39comments on this agenda item? Thank you,
27:42Chair Raikstra. We're going to open the
27:44floor for public comments regarding
27:45agenda item number three, the executive
27:48officer report and the SB 158 board
27:52requirements presentation. I'll start
27:54with our in room participants first. So
27:57those that would like to make a public
27:59comment uh please feel free to come up
28:00to the
28:03podium you want podium big
28:07time please come on up. No I just have
28:10one question and it's regarding the DTSC
28:13fees. So the uh local uh jurisdictions
28:18uh certified unified program agencies
28:20they already charge uh and submit to
28:23CaliBA searchcharge monies on a
28:26quarterly basis. Are those monies
28:29separate from the DTSC fees that are
28:32going to be implemented by the board?
28:37So this is probably a an individual
28:40sightspecific situation. And so I'm
28:43happy to look into your specific
28:44scenario to see if it's separate or not,
28:47but generally the fees for DTSC are
28:51different than the Koopa fees. Um, so if
28:54Well, I'm I'm referring to the search
28:56charge that the Koopas uh sent to the
29:00state, not the permits uh charges that
29:05they issue to their uh regulated
29:07community. I believe do you recall? I
29:10believe it's a separate issue, but we're
29:12going to have to check in with the DTSC
29:14finance team. Um, who will be here later
29:16today and I'm happy to get an answer for
29:18that question.
29:21Yeah, I'll get your contact information.
29:23Oh, okay. Um, but I believe it is a
29:25separate Okay. Thanks. Thank you so
29:27much. Thank you. Is there is there
29:29anyone else in the room that'd like to
29:30make a public comment? If you want to go
29:32ahead and come up to the podium. If you
29:34would like to be identified for the
29:36record, please state your name and
29:37affiliation. You'll have uh three
29:40minutes to make your comment. My name is
29:42Jenny Knack. I'm with Parents Against
29:44the Sanders Susanna Field Lab. And I
29:46don't have a three-minute comment, but I
29:47have a question specific to um the
29:50presentation that was just made. Um
29:52there was a bullet point about reporting
29:54to Cali PA and the legislature about the
29:57subcommittees. And I would like to know
29:59if the work groups if information on
30:01what happens in the work groups, the
30:03expectations of the participants of the
30:04work groups or our complaints or
30:07recommendations if those are also in the
30:10plans to be communicated to Cal EPA and
30:12the legislature and if not can we set up
30:16some kind of system or metrics so that
30:18we can make sure that those meetings
30:21aren't just simply used as a way to
30:23check the box, but that our concerns are
30:26forwarded to those bodies as
30:30So the um the report to the secretary
30:33those are specifically based on DTSC's
30:36objectives and an evaluation of if DTSC
30:41has met those objectives. So if let's
30:45say um one of the working groups, one of
30:47those items is part of DTSC's objectives
30:50that are part of DTSC's larger
30:52priorities, then yes, it would be part
30:54of that evaluation. And I believe um
30:58during last year and the previous year's
31:01um oversight hearing to the legislature,
31:05I do believe that um Chair Rizzo did
31:08cover like an encompassing, you know,
31:10all the subcommittee and workg groups
31:12what's being done. But in terms of your
31:16um question about the evaluation, it all
31:19depends on if it's under the priorities
31:21that are adopted.
31:24I I agree with you. we should have some
31:25sort of mechanism to make sure it's
31:27included and not a check the box. To add
31:30context to my statement and request, I
31:33guess what I'm wanting as someone who is
31:35participating in one of those groups is
31:38to make sure that both the successes and
31:41the challenges of those meetings are
31:44communicated because it seems that the
31:47the goal for DTSC is to just have had it
31:51that it had that it happened. And I'm
31:53hoping that we can add context of how
31:56what um came out of those meetings on
31:59both sides because I think that's
32:02important in terms of
32:04evaluating the overall process.
32:09Vice wanted to respond. A couple of
32:12suggestions for us as a team to consider
32:15based on what you said. Um, if we
32:18separate out the evaluation of BTSC that
32:20we tend to compose in the middle of the
32:22summer, if there are things that you
32:24want the board to consider, I suggest
32:27sending it to our executive officer and
32:30chair so that as we work with our staff
32:32to write that evaluation. As Swati
32:35noted, it's based on the director's
32:39priorities. And so if you were to go to
32:41the website and look at what director
32:43Butler has there, you can, you know,
32:46find the right place to nest those
32:48comments, right? And then secondly, and
32:51that's more of a July time frame. Okay.
32:55In August, the chair and the
32:58director are typically invited to appear
33:01before um the Senate and Assembly
33:04committees that oversee our work. I
33:06don't know the timing of that always
33:08seems to come irregularly sometime in
33:11August, but that's a great opportunity
33:13for anybody to speak um after you make
33:17your comments and director Butler makes
33:18your comments, there's plenty of
33:20opportunity then um to speak as as you
33:23some of you have in the past. So, it is
33:25my um I might be remembering it
33:28incorrectly, but if my memory serves me
33:32correct, we get one minute and I'm
33:33wondering would going be going through
33:35the board be a appropriate way to ask
33:37for more time for communities staff who
33:40who organize it. In you have insider
33:44knowledge more than I, but I think that
33:46um it depends on whether they decide to
33:49have that as is called for in our um
33:52statute. They might decide not to do
33:54that this year, but whatever they do,
33:56what advice would you give? Um,
33:58generally with the legislative hearings,
33:59it will be determined by the committee
34:02committees and the committee staff and
34:03the committee chair. Okay. Usually
34:05depends on how many people are there.
34:06So, I've seen it range from one minute,
34:08two minutes or three minutes. I don't
34:10think that we have too much control over
34:13that. I mean, can suggest things, but
34:15it's not really up to the board. It
34:17would be up to the committees. But, you
34:19know, members of the public can reach
34:21out to the committee. Um,
34:24okay. Request. And I'm sorry, the last
34:26thing I'll ask, I'm hoping this isn't
34:27going over, is the last time you were
34:30the rep for the EJ communities as a
34:32whole, and I don't know if each
34:34community felt like they had an ability
34:38to have their concerns represented. And
34:41I'm wondering is does this board have
34:43any um
34:45decision-m ability over maybe adding an
34:48additional EJ representative? Can we
34:50make it not just one person
34:54with Do you mean board members or No,
34:56this was before I was on the board. Yes,
34:59I was invited I think to be one of the
35:02witnesses at a previous before I sat on
35:05the board and again that is up to the
35:08committee staff and so again reaching
35:10out to the committee um staff or chair
35:15um to request you know.
35:19Thank you.
35:23Thank Thank you for your comment. Uh,
35:25next in person commenter, uh, go ahead
35:27and come up. You're going to have three
35:28minutes to make your public comment. If
35:30you would like to be identified for the
35:32record, please state your name and
35:33affiliation. Thank you. I'm Angela
35:36Johnson from Earth Justice. Um, I've got
35:39a couple of comments and a couple of
35:42questions as is my way. So, first
35:47um I wondered in the executive officer's
35:51report you noted that the comments on
35:54the steps have from the public have been
35:56collected and provided to DTSC and I
35:58wondered if you would be able to share a
36:00copy of whatever was collected and
36:02shared the compilation of those
36:04questions. Yeah, we usually post them on
36:06our website um after every board meeting
36:09all of the public comments. We have a
36:11document where we capture all of that.
36:13Are those there now? Um I believe I'll
36:17check Lauren is shaking her head saying
36:18no, they're not right now. She still
36:20comes. So, but typically we do them all.
36:23But yes, thank you. Um you also noted in
36:27your um report that you're adding an
36:30extra public hearing in July. Thank you
36:32for that. But you didn't note, at least
36:34I didn't hear you note when the board
36:36vote would happen. Are you anticipating
36:38voting at that meeting? No, not at the
36:41July. It all depends on what comments
36:44and how many comments we get and how
36:46much time um DTSC's team needs to
36:48reflect and incorporate those comments.
36:51So, it's uh we haven't decided the board
36:54hasn't decided on a date yet to vote.
36:56So, is it your
36:58um is is your process that you'll stop
37:01taking comments on the plan for
37:03incorporation and feedback from the
37:05staff in July? You just don't know when
37:08you're going to vote. But is that going
37:09to be the cut off for receiving
37:10comments? I think we would I we will
37:14clearly communicate when the cuto off
37:16will be, but in July the the plan is to
37:20cover goals 6 through 10 and dedicate
37:23time um so that DTSC can present on
37:26goals 6 through 10. So I imagine the
37:28cutoff would be after that um so that
37:32the public has time to reflect and and
37:34provide more comments. So, um, we
37:37haven't set that, but we'll clearly
37:40communicate when that cut off is, but I
37:42I don't anticipate it being right at the
37:44July 4th meeting. Okay. Well, as as
37:47always, I will request that we have
37:49sufficient time to take in the
37:51information, contemplate the
37:52information, talk with our clients and
37:54communities about the information,
37:55especially if we're anticipating
37:58um submitting written comments. It just
38:00takes time to do, right? So, 30 days is
38:03not enough.
38:04120 days is probably too long, but you
38:06can comfortably fix something in there.
38:09Um, the third thing is I will note that
38:12you called out working groups um and in
38:16the um in the description of the board's
38:19responsibilities and I believe that you
38:21listed SB 673 as a working group. You
38:24may recall that you probably won't
38:28recall but certainly uh there are other
38:29members who recall at the very first
38:31board meeting I was there talking about
38:34SB673 and I will tell you that I've
38:37never participated in a board working
38:39group for SB 673. I don't know what it
38:42is or what its status is, but um we
38:45would very much love to meet with the
38:47board to talk about the the the working
38:49group um in general, but we would also
38:53love to be able to have a conversation
38:54with each of the board members because
38:57SB673 is one of the very urgent issues
39:00that's facing DTSC and its continuing
39:02lack of completing those regulations
39:05continues to be problematic. So, we
39:07would I don't know how to officially
39:08request a meeting. If this counts,
39:11awesome. If I need to do something else,
39:13please let me
39:14know. Um, and then, um, the last thing
39:18that I will, um, Oh, no. And I wanted to
39:23I wanted to comment quickly on this the
39:26notion that um if the if DTSC puts an in
39:31its objectives reporting back about um
39:34reporting back about what happened at
39:36these meetings then the board would
39:38incorporate that in its review of the
39:40director. And I would request that DTSC
39:43not to not be allowed to have such a
39:45loophole or that we be careful about
39:48such uh discrepancies that some of the
39:52spirit of collecting information and
39:54engaging around information be lost. So
39:56if DTSC decides it wants to be judged on
39:59people's satisfaction with the working
40:00groups then they get to put it as an
40:02objective. But if they don't then it's
40:04not an objective and therefore the board
40:06it sounds like would be silent about
40:08that in his report back. So I think that
40:10the working group and the satisfaction
40:12of communities who are participating in
40:14that group should definitely be included
40:16in our oversight of the um of the
40:19director and the the three minutes is
40:21complete. So thank you for your
40:23comments. My three minutes includes the
40:26compon we actually stopped the clock
40:28during the response time. It all goes by
40:30so fast. I know. Well, if you have
40:32additional comments, you can email us.
40:34We also have our outreach and operations
40:36manager here as well to follow up on
40:38additional requests. Okay. So, I will
40:41thank you for your time and note that we
40:42would love to have a panel happen at the
40:45oversight committee. The community
40:46should have an ability to participate
40:48not just in public comments but to give
40:50full comments about the director and
40:52DTSC's responses. Thank you. Thank you
40:55so much. And we do also have another
40:57opportunity later today for comments not
41:00on the agenda for anything else that
41:02might come up. Thank you so much. Are
41:04there any other inperson commenters for
41:06this item, the executive officer report
41:08and the SP158
41:10presentation? Thank you. If you'd like
41:12to be identified for the record, please
41:14state your name and affiliation and
41:15you'll have three minutes. Sure. Hi
41:17everyone, I'm Alia Gretcher. I'm with
41:18Communities for a Better Environment. Um
41:21I came here today to ask some questions
41:23about budget. Um mainly uh we work with
41:26communities around the Exite facility.
41:28I'm part of the working group. Something
41:29that we hear a lot is that there's not
41:31enough money to complete the cleanup.
41:33And so a lot of our members um ask us
41:35like what do we do about it? So I've
41:37been doing a lot of research into what
41:38are more ways that we can generate money
41:40um in order to do this. Um I know from
41:42that presentation that there's an
41:43ability to set fees. I also know there
41:45is legislation that's seeking to cap
41:47those fees. So I just wanted to get
41:48insight from this board. Um, are there
41:50creative ways that you all are thinking
41:52about how can we raise the money in
41:54order to, you know, give the clean up
41:56and the justice that our community
41:57members deserve around the
41:59site? That was a question.
42:02So, as you noted, it is very narrow in
42:04terms of what the window is of where the
42:08board can adjust the fees. And so, some
42:11of the suggestions that you have, I
42:12think it's a and it's a board and DTSC
42:16and legislative fix. So it's um I would
42:19welcome a more robust discussion around
42:22this. Um perhaps we can meet with if
42:25this is specifically about Xside perhaps
42:27you know our um board member Gomez who
42:30is um on the working group we can have a
42:32meeting with you um and with DTSC to
42:35understand a little bit more about what
42:37some of the challenges are, what the
42:39possibilities are and and go from there.
42:41That would be great. Yeah. I would also
42:42urge if if you can any like proactive um
42:47energy on your behalf just because it
42:48feels like the onus has been sort of on
42:51the community and our community groups
42:53to figure out like how can we get this
42:54funding and I would just love a little
42:56bit more proactivity some collaboration
42:58would be great. So thank you. Thank you
43:01very much for your comments. Uh any
43:03other inerson commenters?
43:07Okay, seeing none, we're going to go
43:08ahead and move to Zoom. Uh, for our Zoom
43:12commenters, I see Miguel has his hand
43:15raised. So, Miguel, we're going to ask
43:17you to unmute. Uh, please accept our
43:20invitation and if you'd like to be
43:21identified for the record, please state
43:23your name and affiliation and you'll
43:25have three minutes. Hello, my name is
43:27Miguela Lator Jr. from Kettleman City.
43:30I'm the executive director of the Unidos
43:32network, Inc. here. Um, and I just
43:34wanted to thank um, the board a lot for
43:37this information. I think it was really
43:38helpful. But I think my comment is um,
43:41if you look at what time it is today,
43:43it's 12:44 in the middle of the day, I
43:45don't think many of our actual community
43:47members that struggle from a lot of the
43:49the things that are going on in the
43:50environment can actually attend these
43:52meetings. And I think um, one of my
43:55colleagues made a great comment that 3
43:57minutes is definitely not enough. And so
43:59I would suggest if I could um it'd be
44:02great to host the bees in the central
44:04valley so we can have an open community
44:06forum and have a dialogue where we're
44:08not limited uh by time constraints where
44:11we can really hash it out and and come
44:13to an agreement on the next steps in our
44:16communities. And I would say having this
44:18presentation where you guys walk through
44:20uh the bees board in its uh powers, why
44:24it was created, some of its limitations,
44:26and um some of the other I'm sorry, some
44:28of the other organizations it works with
44:30and through. I think that would be
44:32really great to present to community
44:33members in a format that they can
44:35understand where we even have um
44:37examples of maybe some of the things
44:39that have came out of the bees's work
44:41like some positive changes or maybe some
44:44uh more negative changes right where we
44:46didn't reach um a goal or a metric that
44:48we were looking for. So, I'd be really
44:50helpful if in the future we can have
44:53this again one day and we can host you
44:55guys within Kettleman City or one of the
44:57communities in the Central Valley and of
44:59course invite the public and have it be
45:01a really big public forum where we could
45:03do at least 2 hours um and host people
45:06for dinner and really give the community
45:08members a chance to dialogue and meet um
45:11the the people that are protecting their
45:12health. And so um that's my piece. Thank
45:15you so much for your time. I really
45:17appreciate it.
45:19Thank you for your comments. Uh any
45:21other commenters that would like to
45:23speak on the executive officer report or
45:25presentation? Uh please raise your
45:28virtual hand or press star 9. And if our
45:31interpreters can check if there are any
45:34Spanish comments that uh would like to
45:36be made as well. We'll just give that a
45:39moment to
45:42verify. There are none. Thank you very
45:44much Aldo and Leticia for your services
45:47today. And thank you for those who
45:48commented on this item. That concludes
45:51the public comment period for agenda
45:53item number three, the executive officer
45:55report and SB 158 presentation. Chair
45:59Raikstra, back to you.
46:23with you an update uh at a high level
46:27progress we're making on the director
46:29priorities since this is the last board
46:32meeting of the fiscal year. Uh and thank
46:35you to the community members who took
46:37the time to come today in person and to
46:40those who are tuning in online.
46:47Do I have slide control? Yes, I do. All
46:51right. So, I'll cover some departmental
46:54news since we met last time in March.
46:57What's been going on and enforcement
47:01update, uh, other program updates, uh,
47:04director's priorities as I mentioned,
47:06and the board has requested a standing
47:09item for visibility on any permits in
47:12the pipeline for the following month.
47:14So, I'll cover that as well as a budget
47:16update which is timely with the
47:18governor's uh May revised budget being
47:21released
47:25yesterday. Okay. We have some coming and
47:29going with our leadership team, our
47:32deputy director of communications who
47:34was with DTSC for five years through the
47:38thick of reform efforts and contributed
47:42so much to our organization. Ally
47:43Wescott has moved on to another career
47:46opportunity uh and she will be serving
47:49as a comm's director uh for or she is
47:52now for Senator Reyes. And I would love
47:55to give a warm welcome. Please join me
47:58in welcoming Charla Holmes who is our
48:01new deputy director of administrative
48:04services. And Charla comes to us from
48:08the waterboard. So, she's uh very
48:11familiar with Cali PA and our work and
48:14she uh shares our values when it comes
48:18to diversity, equity, inclusion uh and a
48:21commitment to our work protecting
48:24environment and and public health. So,
48:26she's an excellent addition to our team.
48:28very fortunate to have her and her
48:31leadership. Um especially as we um have
48:36many challenges to navigate with our
48:38return to office uh mandate and
48:40implementing that and so being uh a
48:44force of support for our staff during
48:46that transition period. Very um very
48:48lucky to have
48:51her. an exciting uh announcement that
48:55recognizes and lifts up our staff. Uh
48:58our 2023 2024 state achievement awards
49:03were announced and distributed. Uh we
49:05presented them to staff in person at our
49:09Cal Center office uh just a couple weeks
49:11ago. Um these
49:14uh state merit awards are highly coveted
49:17in state government. Uh it was a program
49:20established back in the 50s through
49:21state legislation and under this program
49:25our department has the ability to honor
49:27staff who have demonstrated exemplary
49:30contributions to state government. And
49:32so here is the list of the uh awardees
49:36and each awardee received a certificate,
49:39a plaque and a monetary award.
49:41And uh there is a sustained s superior
49:45accomplishment award and we gave that
49:48award to Carlos Padilla in hazardous
49:51waste management program. This is
49:53reserved for individuals uh who sustain
49:57superior job performance over a 24-month
49:59period. Um it's exceptionally difficult
50:02to meet the criteria for this award. Uh
50:05so congratulations to Carlos Padilla.
50:11We held an awards ceremony. Here's some
50:13photos from
50:14it. It was really nice to get together,
50:18take a moment to reflect and appreciate
50:20our staff. So, I wanted to share that
50:22with
50:26you. Okay, switching to an enforcement
50:31update. May marks the anniversary, the
50:34one-year anniversary of the launch of
50:36our enforcement strategic plan.
50:40And as a reminder, this strategic uh
50:43governance committee that we established
50:45across our department
50:48uh is marching forward with the goal of
50:53bringing consistent timely enforcement
50:57to all of the programs at DTSC, not just
51:01our hazardous waste management program.
51:03Uh the overarching goals uh are to
51:06strengthen the enforcement in these
51:08programs. Um particularly safer consumer
51:12products, one of our younger programs
51:13that's just now moving into uh how to do
51:17compliance and enforcement, develop
51:19those policies and they're well on their
51:21way. Uh they've made excellent progress
51:23just over this past year. And so our
51:26staff were really breaking down our
51:28silos with this initiative, learning
51:30from each other, uh developing new
51:33trainings and policies, uh so that we
51:36can have more consistent, timely uh
51:40efficient
51:44enforcement. Uh let's see before I go to
51:47the next slide,
51:49um I did want to give one example in
51:53safer consumer products. uh and in the
51:56implementation of Senate Bill 502 uh we
51:59received authority to formally request
52:01information from product manufacturers
52:04and their respective supply chains. So
52:06we can ask manufacturers for in
52:09information on chemical identity, the
52:12concentration, the functional use of
52:15consumer products and any existing
52:19information they may have on the use of
52:21those products and impacts to children,
52:24pregnant women or other sensitive
52:26populations. uh for example. So any
52:29manufacturer who fails to provide the
52:31requested information can face penalties
52:34up to 50,000 for each of those
52:36violations. So our safer consumer
52:39products program created an online
52:41module to implement this new statutory
52:44authority and we'll be launching this
52:46module in June.
52:49Staff will use the module to issue
52:51formal information requests and then
52:54manufacturers and suppliers will be
52:56required to use that module and they can
52:59easily upload their responses using that
53:01online
53:05database.
53:10Okay, moving into a specific enforcement
53:13action I wanted to highlight uh between
53:17March and now uh April 1st, we issued an
53:20imminent and substantial endangerment
53:22order to Chaita Canyon landfill uh in re
53:26response to the ongoing incident there
53:29that has been impacting the community
53:32nearby with noxious odors and as a
53:35result the community's continues to
53:37experience symptoms and health
53:40problems. Our order focuses on uh
53:45relocating several requirements. One is
53:48to relocate the tank farm uh
53:52and the the current that's because the
53:54current location is in a place um that
53:57poses issues uh when it comes to
54:00stability of the landfill itself. Uh
54:03second, expand the geocynthetic cover to
54:06encompass the entire main canyon. And
54:09then third, install a vertical reaction
54:12barrier. So a way to block off where the
54:15reaction is occurring from the part of
54:17the landfill that is not yet impacted as
54:20a mechanism to control the reaction from
54:23expanding further.
54:25Um, so this was an important step in our
54:29enforcement activities that continue on
54:31Chikina Canyon and uh it was issued
54:36along with another summary of violations
54:40that requires the landfill to take
54:42corrective act corrective action or face
54:45penalties up to
54:46$70,000 per day. on a couple key
54:50violations I'll highlight. Failure to
54:52minimize the possibility of release of
54:54hazardous waste and failure to comply
54:56with land disposal restriction
55:04requirements. Switching gears to a new
55:07topic for us. Uh this is sort of an
55:09emerging problem that I'd like to bring
55:13more awareness to. Uh, rage rooms, also
55:16referred to as smash rooms, are
55:19recreational businesses where folks go
55:23to these storefronts and smash old
55:28appliances, other materials that contain
55:31heavy metals, harmful chemicals, and
55:34they're advertised as a place to vent,
55:36get out energy. They're growing in
55:39popularity, but of course they pose a
55:42huge public health risk uh and uh result
55:47in mismanagement, illegal disposal of
55:50hazardous
55:53waste.
55:55Um our office of criminal
55:57investigations, they've been
55:58investigating these rage rooms uh
56:00because of those hazards that I
56:03mentioned. Uh for example, lead levels
56:06in dust at these facilities can be found
56:08at astronomical levels up to 30,000
56:11parts per million. So there is a serious
56:14risk of inhaling, ingesting metals and
56:17other chemicals when engaging in these
56:20activities. Um as far as the illegal
56:23disposal goes, the e-waste here um is a
56:28hazardous waste and destruction of this
56:30e-waste is considered illegal. Uh so we
56:33have been giving notice to these
56:35operators and we will continue engaging
56:38in enforcement activities and bringing
56:40awareness to this issue uh to prevent
56:46eliminate these harmful
56:53exposures. Okay. and other program
56:56updates. Senate Bill 673
57:01implementation has been a personal goal
57:04of mine since I have come to DCSC two
57:08years ago. Uh implementing this
57:12uh bill
57:13673 uh that is well overdue in its
57:16implementation. Uh we have been making
57:19significant progress. uh when it comes
57:22to track one which is the violation
57:25scoring procedure. This is the procedure
57:28that we use in enforcement and
57:31permitting to score facilities
57:34compliance history.
57:36Um we proposed earlier this year and
57:41released publicly and presented here at
57:44the board uh a changes to this scoring
57:47procedure uh that would make the
57:50procedure instead of uh averaged over
57:53the number of inspections it would be a
57:55straight
57:57addition and we continue to move forward
57:59in the rulem process uh with an
58:03anticipated
58:05uh submittal date later this month to um
58:08the office of administrative law to
58:11formally start this rulemaking process.
58:14Over the past few months, we have been
58:16receiving feedback from the public uh
58:21both through this board venue, through
58:24individual meetings, uh through emails.
58:28and we received feedback requesting
58:32clarity on like the types of inspections
58:34that would be included in the scoring.
58:36Uh we received a request for an official
58:3990-day public comment period. Uh which
58:42is that's possible through the
58:44rulemaking process itself. Uh we
58:47received questions about how the new
58:50scoring thresholds relate directly to
58:52environmental protection. Uh and we've
58:54been modifying and making changes to the
58:57regulations in response to this
59:00feedback. Um we we will be making
59:04changes as well to the initial statement
59:06of reason uh to better explain some of
59:09the thresholds that we chose
59:11justification for those thresholds
59:13better explanation for the inspections
59:15uh and how we got to this point of
59:18making the revisions that we are
59:20proposing. And in the end, this uh these
59:24changes to the regulations will just
59:27strengthen our VSSP, the compliance
59:29history evaluation even further for our
59:33permitting
59:37decisions. Track two, what we sometimes
59:40refer to as the community vulnerability
59:42track. Uh this is the track that um
59:48includes three different goals. And the
59:51first one is an effort to provide
59:53earlier, more frequent opportunities for
59:56public input on our permitting process.
59:59So on new permit applications or permit
1:00:01renewals, we released theformational
1:00:04sheet for this last fall along with
1:00:06theformational sheet for goal two that
1:00:10considers community vulnerabilities and
1:00:11permit decisions. So, we're at the
1:00:14lastformational sheet uh and that's go
1:00:17for goal three to propose uh an approach
1:00:21that considers science-based setback
1:00:24distances for community protection at
1:00:26our permitted facilities. and uh we
1:00:31shared uh the the draft of that sheet
1:00:34with the with the subcommittee uh the
1:00:36board subcommittee and we're ready to
1:00:38release that last of the
1:00:41threeformational sheet this month.
1:00:45So um we are making progress. It we we
1:00:50are looking at ways um that we
1:00:53can uh
1:00:55accomplish the actual regulation
1:00:58development and complete that um by the
1:01:02end of this year. Um, you know, I'm
1:01:04learning in state government how long
1:01:06this regulation process really does take
1:01:09and it can be it can be frustrating uh
1:01:13even to us in the department as we are
1:01:16um leading the process. Um, so this is
1:01:19and continues to be a priority that um,
1:01:22you know, we will divert more resources
1:01:24to if needed to get these rags done
1:01:27because I know they are of utmost
1:01:29importance to the board and to many of
1:01:32the community leaders some of who
1:01:35commented earlier on frustration with
1:01:37these getting
1:01:40done. Uh the green ribbon science panel
1:01:44is a safer consumer product program uh
1:01:49event coming up later at this month May
1:01:5229th in person at Cali PA headquarters
1:01:55and there will be a virtual audience for
1:01:57the attendees. Uh, one of the focuses at
1:02:01this panel and worth mentioning here at
1:02:04the board will be metrics because I know
1:02:06we've spent a lot of time talking about
1:02:07metrics, the importance of them in
1:02:10evaluating the department's progress.
1:02:12And so this is a unique opportunity
1:02:14where we can leverage the experts at the
1:02:16green ribbon science panel to contribute
1:02:20their thoughts, ideas, um, you know,
1:02:23advice in what metrics would make sense
1:02:25for our safer consumer product program.
1:02:28uh and I know we've been coordinating
1:02:29with you all on uh coordin you know
1:02:34collaborating with the green ribbon
1:02:35science panel in this
1:02:41way.
1:02:43Okay. So transitioning to the director's
1:02:47priorities for the fiscal year that
1:02:50we're rounding out right now. Uh I want
1:02:53to give an update on some of the work
1:02:55we've accomplished. some of those things
1:02:58that we are falling short on and will
1:03:01need to double down on in the coming
1:03:03year. Uh and
1:03:07uh reasons or you know explanations why
1:03:10some of these are taking a bit longer.
1:03:13Um but they are not leaving the director
1:03:17priority deck in any means. So we will
1:03:19continue marching on on on
1:03:23those. Um, here's a visual. Doesn't
1:03:26really
1:03:27do justice to the details of each
1:03:30deliverable, but you can see at a glance
1:03:33the five priorities. Uh, enforcement,
1:03:36community engagement, promoting equity,
1:03:39driving sustainability, and attaining
1:03:41fiscal stability. Uh I did receive
1:03:45feedback from a member of the public
1:03:47last meeting uh that the color coding uh
1:03:52you know kind of provides
1:03:54that very first glance but doesn't have
1:03:56the narrative detail. Uh so I'm going to
1:03:59narrate as we move along in shading in
1:04:02the colors as far as you know where we
1:04:05can make more progress and and where we
1:04:07have made significant accomplishments.
1:04:11So the first
1:04:13priority strengthening
1:04:15enforcement. As many of you are aware, I
1:04:18have a strong commitment to building a
1:04:20culture of enforcement at DTSC and our
1:04:23staff are striving for consistent,
1:04:26timely, equitable enforcement that is
1:04:29protective of communities.
1:04:31A couple recent developments that are
1:04:33notable is our team has been in the
1:04:36process of re-evaluating the lean6 sigma
1:04:39process
1:04:40uh to reduce the time it takes for us to
1:04:44conduct
1:04:46enforcement. Um it's been a number of
1:04:48years since we conducted a lean six
1:04:51sigma in this program. Uh and so we are
1:04:55seeing opportunities to have uh process
1:04:59improvements essentially for more timely
1:05:04enforcement. Second, for metal shredder
1:05:07inspections, we committed to conducting
1:05:10six metal shredder inspections this
1:05:11fiscal year, and we've met that goal. Uh
1:05:14we conducted six compliance evaluation
1:05:16inspections so far. Uh and we responded
1:05:19to one complaint at Metal Shredders. uh
1:05:22metal shredders continues to be a
1:05:25priority uh to have clear rules and
1:05:29regulations in place. Uh we still need
1:05:33to have a clear permitting regime for
1:05:36metal shredders so that we can have
1:05:39proper oversight over their activities
1:05:42and that's something we'll continue to
1:05:43work towards as well.
1:05:48The second priority is
1:05:51institutionalizing community engagement.
1:05:54Uh we are constantly looking for ways to
1:05:56improve our engagement activities and I
1:06:00set a very ambitious goal of updating
1:06:03and having a new public participation
1:06:06manual for the department. Uh we have
1:06:09not revised this public participation
1:06:11manual since the early 2000s. And so
1:06:14we've started the process, but it is
1:06:16taking longer than expected. Uh, and so,
1:06:20you know, this one will roll over into
1:06:22the next fiscal year. I don't anticipate
1:06:25we're going to accomplish it this fiscal
1:06:27year, but I am happy with the pro the
1:06:29progress that the team has made on it,
1:06:32and it's something that would benefit
1:06:35from more public engagement. And so I
1:06:38want to make sure we allow time for that
1:06:40as well because this is such an
1:06:42important manual and the way of doing
1:06:46business when it comes to community
1:06:47engagement. Um I think it would be um
1:06:52you know completely uh backwards if we
1:06:55finalized the public participation
1:06:56manual without having the public
1:06:58participate. So we do want to allow time
1:07:00for that.
1:07:02uh trainings for staff is another uh I
1:07:06think evolution that we are uh close to
1:07:11accomplishing but won't be finalized by
1:07:14the end of this fiscal year. Uh our
1:07:16office of environmental equity has
1:07:18developed a new training module on
1:07:20public outreach and they're in the
1:07:23process of rolling that out across the
1:07:25department uh to include training on
1:07:28environmental justice. Uh and so
1:07:32sounds like we
1:07:33may roll some of it out by the end of
1:07:36the fiscal year, but this is one where
1:07:38um we'll see exactly where we land. Um
1:07:40but it's something that will continue
1:07:41beyond the end of the fiscal year as
1:07:43well to make sure all of our staff are
1:07:45receiving the benefits of that
1:07:50training. Um for priority three, I want
1:07:55to focus on the Xside cleanup updates.
1:07:58Um, I did cover the 673 updates earlier
1:08:00that also fall under this priority. We
1:08:03are on track to completing the cleanup
1:08:05of
1:08:065,940 properties by the end of the
1:08:08fiscal year. Uh, we are continuing to
1:08:12work very closely with our US EPA
1:08:14partners to position the Xside facility
1:08:18to be listed on the national priorities
1:08:20list. uh and we have already begun
1:08:22working on the remedial investigation
1:08:24for the site and we will be completing
1:08:27that by the end of
1:08:29August. Uh we anticipate the NPL listing
1:08:33decision to be made around October
1:08:362025. Uh so we're looking forward to
1:08:39that and
1:08:42um we just held the public meeting last
1:08:45night. Uh and our working group on XI
1:08:48continues to meet as well.
1:08:52Priority four and five driving
1:08:55sustainability and climate
1:08:57resilience. U this was a newer area uh
1:09:02for the director's priorities. It's an
1:09:04area uh of continued development. We
1:09:07made some progress such as our hazardous
1:09:09waste management plan that does touch on
1:09:13the need for more sustainable practices
1:09:16uh and proposes specific goals and
1:09:19recommendations to do that. Uh we also
1:09:21made progress on our sea level rise
1:09:23mapping
1:09:25tool.
1:09:26Um priority five attaining fiscal
1:09:30stability. This is one where we have
1:09:33completed all of the deliverables and
1:09:38uh I'm really proud of our uh
1:09:41administrative services fiscal and
1:09:44programs all of the cross department
1:09:46collaboration that went into uh the
1:09:50generation and handling fee emergency
1:09:52regs. There was a lot of hard work this
1:09:55last fiscal year that got us to the
1:09:57finish line on all of these deliverables
1:10:00for priority
1:10:035. So next year
1:10:07uh I am envisioning that my priorities
1:10:11will focus thematically on many of these
1:10:15same
1:10:16uh priorities. enforcement,
1:10:20um we have, you know, community
1:10:22engagement and,
1:10:26uh, equity. Those are all going to keep
1:10:29being priorities of mine moving forward.
1:10:32It's just the deliverables that I
1:10:34envision will change and evolve as we
1:10:37move forward. Uh, so we are still
1:10:40developing those. Now is a great time
1:10:43for the public to weigh in on what the
1:10:45director priorities for the next fiscal
1:10:47year could be, should be, for the board
1:10:50of course to weigh in on what priorities
1:10:53we should have in mind. And I welcome
1:10:57welcome that
1:11:02feedback. So if you want to pause here
1:11:05or should I keep going?
1:11:11questions.
1:11:19Okay, let's keep going.
1:11:21Yes, it's just a couple more short
1:11:24updates. So,
1:11:26permitting, we have two draft permits
1:11:30that we anticipate announcing next
1:11:32month. We have the agratech clean techch
1:11:37environmental facility in Los Angeles
1:11:39County. Uh this facility treats, stores
1:11:42and transfers used oil anifreeze uh
1:11:45non-cRA was wastewater
1:11:48uh and universal waste like aerosol
1:11:51cans. So this is one of the two
1:11:53facilities with a stateonly permit for
1:11:55used oil treatment.
1:11:58And uh this is the first renewal of
1:12:02clean text stateonly permit. So the
1:12:04first permit was issued back in 2015 uh
1:12:08with a fixed term that ended in February
1:12:112025. I believe this was one of the
1:12:13permits that we reported to you in the
1:12:15continued permit report. Um but it is on
1:12:17schedule to be completed prior to the
1:12:19permit being continued one year.
1:12:23The other permit that we anticipate a
1:12:25draft permit announcement for is the
1:12:28Heritage Crystal Clean facility in Kern
1:12:31County. And this facility uh collects,
1:12:35stores, transfers used oil, used
1:12:38anifreeze. So this is the second
1:12:41facility that's the state only permit
1:12:42for the used oil. Um and this
1:12:46application is proposing two additional
1:12:48units for storing oily water and
1:12:50recycled oils.
1:12:52And um this will be the second renewal
1:12:56of the permit for this facility. Uh so
1:12:58the first permit was issued on 2000 in
1:13:022008 and the second permit was issued on
1:13:05in
1:13:072015 which will expire later this
1:13:12summer. And we have uh two open comment
1:13:15periods as well. the Chevron chemical
1:13:18facility and the Clean Harbors West
1:13:20Morland
1:13:25facility.
1:13:27Okay, so the budget update uh Governor's
1:13:31Governor Nuome's administration just
1:13:33released the May revision and this
1:13:35release of new budget proposals is one
1:13:37of the final steps in developing the
1:13:39state budget for the next fiscal year.
1:13:42Um, so we just have a few adjustments
1:13:44that I'd like to cover relevant to our
1:13:47department and the May revise the
1:13:49generation and handling fee
1:13:52um effort for this uh to implement the
1:13:55emergency rags and to continue to move
1:13:57that uh project forward. We request we
1:14:01are requesting 2.6 6 million for nine
1:14:03positions to continue uh the
1:14:06administration's efforts to ensure that
1:14:08generators are in compliance with our
1:14:12generation and handling
1:14:13fee. And this will allow us to implement
1:14:17a lot of those provisions um that we set
1:14:20forth in the priority five I just spoke
1:14:22about and um new regulations we
1:14:26adopted. Um this will really help us
1:14:30ensure more consistent compliance across
1:14:32generators. Um there's some complexities
1:14:35when it comes to requesting exemptions
1:14:37um that we need to develop processes for
1:14:39as well. Um so this additional staff
1:14:42will help us be successful in doing
1:14:45that. Um, for Exide, we are requesting
1:14:49to continue a total of 75 million that
1:14:52was previously budgeted for work at the
1:14:55former Exide plant and to expand the use
1:14:59of that funding so it's more flexible uh
1:15:02can prevent interruption of residential
1:15:04cleanup um that is currently ongoing.
1:15:08So, previously this was $75 million
1:15:12allocated for the facility cleanup and
1:15:15this allows us to extend the use of
1:15:20that. Uh for Santa Susanna Field
1:15:24Laboratory Cleanup, we're proposing $2
1:15:26million to support ongoing litigation
1:15:29around the Santa Susanna Field Lab
1:15:33site. the Imperial County Koopa. Uh
1:15:38that's our Koopa that DTSC actually runs
1:15:44the county unified program in Imperial
1:15:46County. Um we're in the process of
1:15:48transitioning it over to the county. Uh
1:15:50but we're requesting 475,000 to address
1:15:53increased costs with our work uh as the
1:15:56Koopa for Imperial
1:15:58County. and the next steps for the
1:16:00budget. Uh once the legislature budget
1:16:03committees have a chance to re review
1:16:05the May revised proposals over the next
1:16:08coming weeks, uh the goal is to
1:16:10negotiate a final budget with the
1:16:11governor in June so that this is in
1:16:14place for the beginning of the new
1:16:16fiscal year, July
1:16:191st. Uh and then I will note as well,
1:16:23this gives us more clarity on
1:16:25information needed to begin
1:16:29thinking about fees for the next year.
1:16:32Uh you know coupled with updated revenue
1:16:35statements that we are developing now
1:16:38our department can provide your fees
1:16:40subcommittee with additional information
1:16:43uh the preliminary data that you know
1:16:45you you all will benefit from to begin
1:16:48that process. So looking forward to
1:16:51doing that with you all
1:16:53and the the public as well.
1:16:58Uh thank you very much Director Butler
1:17:00for the the leadership report. Um so
1:17:02we'll now turn it um open for a board
1:17:05discussion uh and comments uh and then
1:17:08we will after that have public um
1:17:10comments um on the leadership report. So
1:17:14um Sushma would you like to kick us off?
1:17:18Thank you for this. Um I have three
1:17:20questions and one comment. First is you
1:17:23talked about the enforcement strategic
1:17:25plan. Should we expect that all programs
1:17:27in the DTSC will come up with their own
1:17:29individual strategic plans?
1:17:32No. The you mean to support the
1:17:33enforcement strategic plan or or do you
1:17:36expect to use that model across all the
1:17:39programs for permitting strategic plan
1:17:42and the SMRP strategic plan and so on. I
1:17:45see. No, enforcement is a little bit
1:17:48unique because it's a strategic plan
1:17:50that's governing crossdep
1:17:53department actions and some of our
1:17:57programs will be developing more of an
1:18:01action plan to support the department
1:18:04strategic plan. um which we didn't have
1:18:07time to touch on today and will be a
1:18:10topic of future discussion is the
1:18:12department's strategic plan because the
1:18:15last five the last strategic plan uh is
1:18:18has come to a close and we have a
1:18:20closeout report for that. So that will
1:18:22start the next strategic planning
1:18:24discussions. Yeah. But the enforcement
1:18:26strategic plan is pretty unique in that
1:18:28it governs across the department. It's
1:18:30not specific to the enforcement program.
1:18:35Please go ahead. So my second question
1:18:36is you talked about um a module uh I
1:18:41think this is part you'll have a module
1:18:44where manufacturers will be able to
1:18:45upload information. Uh I wonder if
1:18:48you've thought about any synergy with
1:18:50the hand waste management program as in
1:18:53identifying what materials might be
1:18:56ending up in the waste stream in the
1:18:58future and developing some sort of
1:19:00source reduction thinking around it.
1:19:04Yeah, that's a good idea and I don't
1:19:06know if our teams have started to think
1:19:08about that nexus so I can take it back
1:19:10to them. I know um our hazardous waste
1:19:12management plan
1:19:14team is meeting across the department
1:19:17with the different programs to look at
1:19:19things like that. So yeah, that's a good
1:19:21suggestion. My last question before I
1:19:24get to the comment is about SP 673. I've
1:19:27heard you say that there's some
1:19:29frustration around traction but then
1:19:31progress is being made. I think what's
1:19:33been really challenging for me
1:19:34personally is how to even uh evaluate
1:19:37that progress and have some degree of
1:19:39confidence they're actually moving
1:19:40because there isn't like a road map that
1:19:42says we are now in step seven or step 10
1:19:45and we've now progressed to step eight
1:19:46or step 10. Do you have something like
1:19:48that that we're just not seeing that you
1:19:51could maybe surface to build confidence
1:19:52in the progress that I'm making? Yeah,
1:19:55our website actually does a really good
1:19:57job of doing this. this SB673 website,
1:20:01it has check marks for which criteria
1:20:03have been implemented and then which
1:20:05criteria we're still needing to
1:20:07implement.
1:20:09And when it comes to the track 2 itself,
1:20:13uh we clearly laid out, okay, here's our
1:20:16three sections that we're tackling for
1:20:20implementation. And we're already at a
1:20:24point where we've rolled out two of the
1:20:26three. Um but again, those are
1:20:29frameworks, not the actual regulations.
1:20:31And I think the feedback we're getting
1:20:34now uh as we've been rolling these out
1:20:37is people are ready for the actual
1:20:39regulations and the actual
1:20:41text and and that's where we're going
1:20:44now um now that we've completed those
1:20:47frameworks. Yeah. So the regulations
1:20:49come right after frameworks and you've
1:20:51done two or three frameworks and that's
1:20:53the way you think about the Yeah. And
1:20:55the other way to think about it is as
1:20:57we've been rolling out these frameworks,
1:20:59our team has been developing draft
1:21:01regulations but careful not to finalize
1:21:04them or you know move. Yeah. So that
1:21:09essentially we could report the progress
1:21:12in real time through theseformational
1:21:14sheets to get real- time feedback as
1:21:16we're working on the regulations. And so
1:21:19by doing that in parallel parallel we
1:21:23were working to actually expedite the
1:21:25entire process even though it doesn't
1:21:27feel like that.
1:21:29My my comment is going to be about
1:21:32metrics which is in priority one you
1:21:35talked about um a green six sigma study
1:21:39to expedite process improvements around
1:21:42enforcement.
1:21:44Thinking back to the work we did around
1:21:47metrics and based on the different mean
1:21:51sigma six sigma study um we we
1:21:55collectively with DTSC crafted a metric
1:21:57around 140 4 days of evaluation that
1:22:03144 days of time within which DTSC would
1:22:06complete the administrative review um
1:22:10process. I wonder if there's an
1:22:11opportunity now once you complete the
1:22:13six sigma studial enforcement if there's
1:22:15a metric that we can create around it to
1:22:18kind of evaluate DTSC's pro progress
1:22:22and that's also similar to the community
1:22:24engagement piece through the metrics
1:22:26conversations we've got so much feedback
1:22:28on the qualitative aspects of DTSC
1:22:30engagement so once this manual does come
1:22:33out um it might address some portions of
1:22:37the engagement concern that we ask
1:22:42permission. That's my comment. Okay,
1:22:44great. Yeah, thank you for that comment.
1:22:48Thank you,
1:22:50member Gomez. Yeah, thank you for the
1:22:53report and
1:22:55uh maybe I'll start with the comment in
1:22:58relation to
1:23:00SB673 as well. And I think you mentioned
1:23:04you you allowed an opening and one the
1:23:08reference to saying that um a
1:23:11possibility of putting more resources
1:23:15um if it's needed I would highly suggest
1:23:20to look at putting more resources
1:23:21because I think there is a frustration
1:23:25um and and read the light right um and I
1:23:28think there's an expectation so I think
1:23:31that he can move um for implementation
1:23:34and I'll say it in relation to as we are
1:23:38as the department is reviewing
1:23:40repermitting major entities that are you
1:23:43know that have concerns concerns and
1:23:46this process is not done but yet you're
1:23:50we're looking at permitting certain
1:23:52entities I think there's a major concern
1:23:55so I think it's time with more resources
1:23:58to move faster so
1:24:00please thank Thank you. I Yeah, thank
1:24:03you. Um then in relation to um the
1:24:09priority number two you mentioned about
1:24:11a training I would love to see if maybe
1:24:14for me um but I would love to see if
1:24:16that can be shared. I would love to
1:24:19review it just see
1:24:22what's what staff is going to be trained
1:24:24on. Okay, great. Yeah, we yeah we can do
1:24:26that. That's
1:24:29important as well. um XI um and funding
1:24:34obviously that's a major topic right now
1:24:36in the committee in the community I know
1:24:39that you're thinking about it and you
1:24:41mentioned about the $75 million so I
1:24:43just want to get clarity that $75
1:24:45million that have been already
1:24:47earmarked dedicated for certain certain
1:24:50expenditure related to X side and the
1:24:54request is is just to have the
1:24:56flexibility to move that money that has
1:24:58been already allocated so it was
1:25:00appropriated for the site cleanup
1:25:03at the site footprint itself. Yes. And
1:25:06it was going to expire at the end of
1:25:07this fiscal year. Okay. So, two things.
1:25:11We now have the ability to spend that
1:25:14money beyond this fiscal year if it's
1:25:16approved in the budget as it's proposed
1:25:19and uh it can be used on excide cleanup
1:25:24more broadly site or andor residential
1:25:28uh which is critical for us to be able
1:25:31to keep making progress
1:25:33uh in light of you know all of the other
1:25:38moving parts on the federal partnerships
1:25:40and timelines.
1:25:41So, we're we're hoping we get that extra
1:25:45flexibility to keep the project moving.
1:25:47Okay. Um, thank you for that. I think
1:25:50that would be I know that there's a
1:25:52working group meeting tomorrow. Okay.
1:25:55Tomorrow, Friday. Yes. Yes. Um it would
1:25:58be good to
1:26:00get whomever is um able to speak on this
1:26:05because I know the working group has
1:26:06been asked um so it would be good to get
1:26:09a better
1:26:10understanding. So that would be
1:26:13great. Awesome. Okay, my other
1:26:19one that's it. Thank you so much. Yep.
1:26:21Thank you. And I credit the working
1:26:23group and the community for asking
1:26:24questions about the funding. We heard it
1:26:27again today even you know at the
1:26:29beginning of this year to prompt these
1:26:31internal discussions that really drive
1:26:33these kinds of actions. So yeah
1:26:36thank you very much member Gomez. We'll
1:26:38now go to member brastrom. Just a couple
1:26:40of questions and I'm going to start
1:26:41where a lot of other folks have started
1:26:43which is on SB673.
1:26:46Um so um I wanted to ask
1:26:51about rule making timeline. I know you
1:26:54said for the VSSP for track one that
1:26:58that'll start later this month and I'm
1:27:00wondering um if you have any um timeline
1:27:05anticipated timeline for formal reg like
1:27:08regulatory processes for track two and
1:27:11and one reason why you know I think
1:27:13we've struggled the public struggled is
1:27:16you know given that the deadline was
1:27:182018 you know
1:27:21we and I think it's had been mentioned
1:27:24before is, you know, how do we make sure
1:27:26that you're on track in addition to, you
1:27:29know, the the worksheets coming out. Um,
1:27:33you know, if you can give us some more
1:27:34specific timelines,
1:27:36um, so that we can even keep track that
1:27:39we are making progress even more than
1:27:42kind of the checklist. um if if you
1:27:45could give us some actually hard dates
1:27:47in terms of when you anticipate both the
1:27:48rule making starting and ending, I think
1:27:50that would help us, you know, promote
1:27:52that transparency and accountability
1:27:54that we're really seeking. Okay. Yeah.
1:27:56And I'd like um you know, board member
1:27:59Batia, your suggestion to have a more uh
1:28:03transparent checklist that's specific to
1:28:05the regulations themselves. Um because
1:28:08the checklist we do have on the website
1:28:09is more bigger picture of the whole 673
1:28:14um effort and so that doesn't give us
1:28:16the granularity I think that everyone's
1:28:18looking for to be able to track the
1:28:21regulation development and
1:28:24implementation like we want. So I will
1:28:26ask our team if there's a way on our
1:28:29website we can improve that sort of
1:28:32tracking mechanism. Yeah.
1:28:36And you know the rule making process my
1:28:38understanding is you know generally can
1:28:40take about a year and so kind of just
1:28:43having that expectation that we are
1:28:46still a year out more than a year out
1:28:49final regulation here. I think we just
1:28:51need to be transparent. Yep.
1:28:54Um the second question I have is on the
1:29:00um public participation manual under
1:29:02priority two and um I know you had
1:29:05mentioned that there is going to be a
1:29:06process for engagement with the public
1:29:08and how important that is um
1:29:10particularly in this topic area and I
1:29:12was wondering if you had any more
1:29:14information on what you think that looks
1:29:15like whether there's um possibilities of
1:29:19incorporating the board board members
1:29:21into you into this process. But yeah,
1:29:25just a little bit more on how do how are
1:29:28you planning on engaging the public in
1:29:30developing a publication?
1:29:32Yeah, I think we're still early in the
1:29:34process of developing what that looks
1:29:36like. So, I don't have an answer today.
1:29:38Uh but we can get back to you on that
1:29:40and once we get closer
1:29:43to knowing how that will look and yeah,
1:29:46welcome your feedback on that. Um and
1:29:48then my last questions are around the
1:29:50funding. Um so I I I see that for
1:29:53priority five you're meeting objectives
1:29:55in terms of fiscal health which is
1:29:57great. Um it does occur to me
1:29:59particularly around that like a
1:30:00hazardous management plan that there are
1:30:03a lot of like forwardlooking things P2
1:30:06prevention source reduction all these
1:30:09activities and so I'm just wondering how
1:30:11that's factoring in in terms of the
1:30:13longer term view on really the funding
1:30:17needs for the department. I'm not on the
1:30:19fees committee so that's where this
1:30:20conversation is happening but it's
1:30:22certainly on top of my mind is you know
1:30:24we've dealt with maybe the deficits of
1:30:26the past but how do we you know make
1:30:28sure that the department is funded you
1:30:30know if we're really where we want to
1:30:31go.
1:30:33Yeah that's an excellent question. We're
1:30:35having internal discussions right now
1:30:37about what those future priorities
1:30:39should be. Um how to, you know, make
1:30:42sure we either allocate existing
1:30:44resources or request resources if
1:30:46needed. Um for some of those priority
1:30:48items like those in the plan. Um so
1:30:51we're having those internal discussions
1:30:52now. Um but we can continue to provide
1:30:55updates as we move along in that. Um but
1:30:58yeah, I don't have specifics on it
1:30:59today. Yeah. And then the last thing is
1:31:01on the budget um which is last year we
1:31:04had lots and lots of conversations
1:31:06around
1:31:06CBCI and you know kind of the the
1:31:09heartache of just the difficult budget
1:31:12year last year and see seeing those
1:31:13funds cut and frankly in the middle of
1:31:16you know a lot of work that had been
1:31:17done and so um I didn't hear I haven't
1:31:20heard about it this year. I know I've
1:31:22heard from advocates that there's still
1:31:24a lot of interest um in CBCCI and kind
1:31:27of again like how do we you know make up
1:31:29for that program? How do we continue
1:31:30that program? It's in the resource
1:31:32management plan. So um wondering if
1:31:35there's been any conversations on how do
1:31:37we
1:31:39uh you know figure out funding for
1:31:42CBCI program and whether it's been any
1:31:44part of the conversations. Mhm. Yeah.
1:31:48The CBCI as you know is one of the more
1:31:51popular programs and I um I have heard
1:31:54from others there's a desire to uh you
1:31:57know be able to have resources to do
1:31:59more CBCI type projects in the future.
1:32:03Uh and so um it's something that uh did
1:32:08not you know I think when when there's a
1:32:10budget climate that's more favorable to
1:32:12those discussions like we're ready to
1:32:14have them. Um but we have not had
1:32:17discussions recently on that. Yeah.
1:32:23Thank you very much. Member Boston now
1:32:24I'll turn to Vice Chair Hacker. Thanks
1:32:26for the presentation and for um very
1:32:30eventful state to school year. I
1:32:33remember last year the efforts to look
1:32:35at how to um regulate metal shredders
1:32:40and I note that there's new legislation
1:32:42proposed. I don't from where I sit have
1:32:45a sense of whether that's likely to go
1:32:47forward this year and I'm interested
1:32:49just in if you could forecast what the
1:32:52the main scheme there would be. Would
1:32:54there be a permit like scheme and if so
1:32:57um what would the appelllet body be?
1:33:01Yeah. Um I mean there is uh proposal uh
1:33:06in legislation right now that I can't
1:33:08comment on here. Uh
1:33:12but you know we are focused on really
1:33:16two priority issues at the metal
1:33:18shredders and it's preventing fires and
1:33:20it's preventing illegal releases of
1:33:23hazardous waste into the communities. Uh
1:33:26and
1:33:28those two priorities
1:33:31um we firmly believe have to be
1:33:34addressed uh in a permit vehicle. And
1:33:39the current vehicle we have right now is
1:33:41a hazardous waste management permit.
1:33:44and uh you know that's the current
1:33:49approach essentially to together with
1:33:52enforcement activities when there are
1:33:55fires or releases um then we'll take
1:33:58action. So we're continuing to take that
1:34:02approach until there's another
1:34:06um you know law law or rule out there.
1:34:10Yep.
1:34:12Thanks. Um I'll now turn to myself and
1:34:14ask a couple questions. Um so the the
1:34:18first is I guess just to reiterate the
1:34:19request from member um Brostrom about
1:34:21the public participation manual. I think
1:34:23there is quite a lot of interest well
1:34:25certainly from the public but also
1:34:26amongst the board uh in having a um
1:34:28input uh into that. Um the the second
1:34:32issue is on um rage rooms which you had
1:34:35um raised as as an enforcement priority.
1:34:38Um, I was curious kind of what what um
1:34:40whether there have been any fines
1:34:42issued, whether there has been any
1:34:43criminal prosecution, and then what um
1:34:46DTSC is doing through its public
1:34:48communication tools to raise public
1:34:50awareness about some of the risks
1:34:51associated with um these these
1:34:55facilities or these these rage rooms.
1:34:57Um, and the the final question I had uh
1:34:59was given we're that we're um so close
1:35:02to Los Angeles um what is DTSC uh
1:35:06engagement in the ongoing cleanup
1:35:08efforts uh if if any um at this stage?
1:35:12Yes. Um so when it comes to the rage
1:35:15rooms uh well first question was public
1:35:19participation. So the public
1:35:21participation manual just thank you for
1:35:24yeah advocating for public engagement
1:35:26through that process. Uh I don't know if
1:35:28Serene Grant is on our deputy director
1:35:31of the office of environmental equity.
1:35:33If she is feel free to chime in on any
1:35:35additional details
1:35:38as far as it does appear that Serene
1:35:41Grant is on. Uh,
1:35:45Serene, we're going to ask you to unmute
1:35:47if you want to add uh anything
1:35:52additional. Oh, thank you. CSUS just
1:35:54made her a co-host. Okay. Yes, Serene,
1:35:57we can hear you. Thank you. Hi,
1:35:59everyone. Uh, thank you, Director
1:36:01Butler. It's funny. I was just writing a
1:36:03note of something I wanted to tell you
1:36:05about the plan so that we could have
1:36:08everybody on the same page. First of
1:36:10all, I want everyone to understand that
1:36:12the OEE uh the DTSC public participation
1:36:16manual
1:36:17is hundreds of pages about 20 chapters
1:36:21that explains all the different codes uh
1:36:25state regulations and um rules and
1:36:29regulations for which we are required to
1:36:32do outreach and public
1:36:34participation as well as incorporate
1:36:38what 20 years ago was the best practices
1:36:42and the norms of the time. So we are
1:36:45undertaking a re of this document number
1:36:47one because laws have changed. Um even
1:36:50as you stand here now and talk about
1:36:52such things as SB 673 laws have
1:36:55changed as have the methods by which we
1:36:59do public outreach and public
1:37:01participation. Uh when this document was
1:37:03first created Zoom did not exist. uh the
1:37:06organizational structure that we uh
1:37:09operate under did not exist. So at a
1:37:12very basic level before we even bring it
1:37:15to um public light so to speak we are
1:37:19going through it to just highlight and
1:37:23and call out the parts that need to be
1:37:26changed and then some components we
1:37:28legally have to or we are required to
1:37:32get legal advice on how to change it
1:37:34again because some of this was brought
1:37:36about by legislation. So, as soon as we
1:37:40get it to a a base uh basic level
1:37:44of of being appropriate for 2025, we
1:37:48will roll it out. I can anticipate that
1:37:51we will have uh a road show. Uh a chance
1:37:54for bees to hear the public who
1:37:57participate in bees to hear and read
1:38:00about it and participate in it. Uh we
1:38:03will have the ejac standing at that
1:38:04time. We will have the ejac uh probably
1:38:07have a couple of meetings about it if
1:38:09they wish, but I would imagine this is
1:38:11the kind of thing they would want to
1:38:12participate in. So, we
1:38:15are doing a lot of behind the-scenes
1:38:18work right now. We're not trying to do
1:38:20it in secret. We're just trying to get
1:38:22it in order to go public. Um and so
1:38:26that's why the director doesn't have a
1:38:27lot of answers for you. Um but that's
1:38:30that's what it's taking. the the
1:38:32existing plan is available on the DTSC
1:38:35website and so you can see just how
1:38:37complex it is and how extensive it is.
1:38:41Thank you.
1:38:46Thank you, Deputy Director Grant. Okay,
1:38:48so it's in the works. um and uh rage
1:38:54rooms. Uh I am communicating early about
1:38:57our enforcement actions on this front
1:38:59because it is an emerging issue. So I
1:39:01don't believe we've issued any penalties
1:39:03yet. Uh I know our uh manager in OCI,
1:39:09Dylan Clark, is probably on the line. He
1:39:11may have more information to add. Uh but
1:39:14as far as the outreach materials go um
1:39:18right now we're just discussing that
1:39:19internally on how we can build awareness
1:39:22and this is the first step here today.
1:39:24So uh Dylan is there anything you'd like
1:39:26to add?
1:39:29Yeah. Um we actually have administered
1:39:31an administrative settlement in one
1:39:33case. So um one of the first ones we did
1:39:37was you know up here. So, we've we've
1:39:39settled on that case and then we have
1:39:42actually done a criminal search warrant
1:39:43on a facility as well. So, um you know,
1:39:46we're kickstarting that. Um one thing
1:39:48we're working on is outreach to all the
1:39:51rage rooms in California right now.
1:39:53We've got a list of 30 to 35 I think
1:39:56going that we're going to basically send
1:39:59them a fact sheet that says, "Hey, you
1:40:00guys can't be smashing hazardous waste,
1:40:03electronic waste to give them a
1:40:05warning." And this also helps set up
1:40:07enforcement better in the future. Um,
1:40:10district attorneys, you know, more
1:40:11likely to take our cases criminally if
1:40:14these places have been warned about, you
1:40:16know, the um dangers and hazards of
1:40:19their illegal activity. So, that's uh
1:40:21the update for me.
1:40:25Thanks, Dylan. And the first point on
1:40:26how, you know, they got to uh fine
1:40:30sooner is reflective of that
1:40:31administrative action, which is
1:40:33something that we're trying to do more
1:40:34of as a department to decrease the time
1:40:36to
1:40:37enforcement. Um, third question, you'll
1:40:39have to remind me what it was, was about
1:40:40the um DTSC's engagement in the ongoing
1:40:43cleanup for Los Angeles, the the fires.
1:40:46Yes, thank you. So, our toxicologists
1:40:50uh from our hero team and scientists are
1:40:54continuing to participate and provide
1:40:56technical assistance to the LA County
1:40:59Consortium of experts working on the
1:41:02recovery efforts. Uh so, our role uh
1:41:05continues to be technical assistance at
1:41:08this time now that the hazardous
1:41:10material removal phase has been
1:41:11completed.
1:41:15Um thank you very much Director Butler.
1:41:17Are there any more board comments or
1:41:18questions? Um, so we'll now turn it open
1:41:20to public comment. Um, Courtney, over to
1:41:24you to administer public comment on this
1:41:26item. Thank you, Chair Raikstra. Uh,
1:41:28we're going to go ahead and open the
1:41:30floor for public comment regarding
1:41:32agenda item number four, the DTSC
1:41:35leadership report. I'm going to start
1:41:37with our in-person participants first.
1:41:39Uh, if there's anyone that would like to
1:41:41comment on this item, uh, please raise
1:41:43your hand. Okay. Uh, I think your hand
1:41:46was up first if you wouldn't mind going
1:41:48uh coming up to the podium. Um, and if
1:41:52uh if you'd like to be identified for
1:41:54the record, please state your name and
1:41:56affiliation. Sure. And you'll have three
1:41:58minutes. Okay. Oh, also uh just a
1:42:01reminder for everyone in the room, uh to
1:42:03make sure we can all hear, uh please use
1:42:06your presentation voice, your do our
1:42:08projections. Yes. Okay. Uh good
1:42:11afternoon. Hi everybody. Uh my name is
1:42:14Rebecca Overbermyer Velasquez and I am
1:42:16the coordinator of the Clean Air
1:42:18Coalition of North Whittier and Avocado
1:42:20Heights. I have a question um this this
1:42:24afternoon about your recent confirmation
1:42:26hearing, Katie. Um was the Environmental
1:42:30Justice Advisory Council consulted about
1:42:34your Senate confirmation hearing? Uh,
1:42:37did the Environmental Justice Advisory
1:42:39Council um get input at least on your
1:42:43confirmation from communities? Um,
1:42:48evidently no environmental justice
1:42:51organizations were advised nor were we
1:42:54invited to speak on your confirmation.
1:42:58So I want to take u some time today to
1:43:02provide some comments on behalf of the
1:43:04clean air coalition on your assuming
1:43:06this leadership position. You have been
1:43:08selected to lead an agency that is at
1:43:10odds with itself and at odds with the
1:43:12communities that DTSC is supposed to
1:43:14serve and protect. To us, DTSC's
1:43:17apparent number one job is to keep
1:43:19polluters in business.
1:43:22But we need a DTSC leader who champions
1:43:25our communities and who has a clear and
1:43:28unambiguous vision for a California
1:43:30where all of us live in a clean and
1:43:32healthy environment. For us communities,
1:43:35an early test of your leadership was the
1:43:37Firotech permit
1:43:39renewal. You are well aware of how
1:43:42dangerous and lawless the Firotech
1:43:44facility in Santa Fe Springs has been
1:43:47and continues to be. It is so dangerous
1:43:49that LA County Supervisor Dennis Han
1:43:52came out very publicly calling for the
1:43:53facility to be shut down. In our eyes,
1:43:57you failed this first test when you
1:43:59approved Firoex permit, much to the
1:44:02great disappointment of the folks who
1:44:04now are forced to continue to live with
1:44:06this egregious poller in their
1:44:08community. Your next test will be the
1:44:11permit renewal for Queco Ecoat, which is
1:44:13coming up soon for a decision by DTSC
1:44:16staff. The Queco Ecobat facility is also
1:44:19dangerous and lawless, an EPA designated
1:44:22significant non-complier that has
1:44:24polluted our communities for decades
1:44:26with tons of lead and many other toxics.
1:44:29By the way, did you know that the
1:44:31bagouses that process lead bearing waste
1:44:33at EcoBat are so corroded that EcoBat
1:44:36has covered entire buildings in
1:44:39plastic? Did your inspectors report this
1:44:42issue?
1:44:43How does plastic sheeting protect us
1:44:45from the escape of corrosive toxics? How
1:44:48do rage rooms merit more attention from
1:44:51all of you than this contamination that
1:44:54has plagued us for decades? 15 seconds.
1:44:56Enough is enough. We want Ecobat shut
1:44:59down. Katie, we strongly urge you to
1:45:02stand up for communities and against
1:45:04polluters and deny Queco's permit. Doing
1:45:08so will go a long way towards building
1:45:11trust in your leadership and in the
1:45:14agency. Thank you. Thank you for your
1:45:16comments. A next commenter uh please go
1:45:20ahead and stand up uh to the podium and
1:45:22if you'd like to be identified for the
1:45:24record, please state your name and
1:45:25affiliation and you'll have three
1:45:27minutes.
1:45:28I'm not quite sure where to look, so
1:45:30forgive me. Um uh my name is Melissa
1:45:34Bumstead. I'm with the organization
1:45:35Parents Against Santa Susanna Field Lab.
1:45:37I live about less than four miles from
1:45:40the field lab. Um I was very excited to
1:45:42hear that the DTSC was uh going to fund
1:45:45$2 million more dollars towards our
1:45:47site. However, I believe the only
1:45:50lawsuit that currently exists against
1:45:51the Santa Susanna Field Lab is from my
1:45:53group. Um and that money is being
1:45:55directed to the litigation only. Uh, I
1:45:58see this as a a huge failure where that
1:46:00money could have been used to bring in
1:46:02more staff and more help to actually
1:46:05push forward the cleanup instead of
1:46:07fight the community um to actually get
1:46:09that cleanup. Currently, we are suing
1:46:12the department of toxic substance
1:46:14control because, as we mentioned to our
1:46:15the board many times, our frustration,
1:46:17we have no other recourse when we
1:46:19disagree with the science of DTSC and um
1:46:23the well the department um we we have no
1:46:27options. The the board of supervisor,
1:46:29we're very I mean sorry board of
1:46:30supervisor, I'm used to doing the that
1:46:32board. Uh the board today uh has been
1:46:35very helpful by um assigning us a
1:46:38subcommittee and we've been very
1:46:39grateful for Ingrid's ear, I'm sorry,
1:46:41Miss Buster's ear and um that has been
1:46:45productive. However, there is no
1:46:46enforcement from the bees to take our
1:46:49complaints against the DTSC. So
1:46:51communities like mine, we don't have a
1:46:53lot of money, we don't have a lot of
1:46:55time, we actually have to pull together
1:46:57the funds to have a lawsuit in order to
1:47:00have our our side heard. I see that as a
1:47:02huge waste of all of our time. And um S
1:47:05I really appreciate that she has met
1:47:07with us as well as K. I'm sorry I'm
1:47:08using first names, you guys, so please
1:47:10forgive me. Um
1:47:12uh my I don't mean to be informal, but I
1:47:14also didn't plan to speak.
1:47:17Um I appreciate the hearing, but again,
1:47:20there's nothing to put tools in the
1:47:22public's hand to make sure that there's
1:47:24actual actionable items made besides
1:47:27just taking the time to be heard again
1:47:29and again and again. And for the
1:47:31community that is again a huge burden um
1:47:34but not necessarily any guarantee of
1:47:35results. So we have this lawsuit. It is
1:47:38against the DTSC. It is a SQL lawsuit
1:47:41because the um consent agreement that
1:47:44was entered into with Boeing took a
1:47:46longstanding very progressive cleanup
1:47:48agreement and stripped it bare. So now
1:47:51Boeing may potentially be able to leave
1:47:52up to 90% of the contamination on site
1:47:55before turning it into a public park
1:47:57which they've been very vocal about
1:47:59their plans to do. Uh we saw that as a
1:48:01huge uh problem because it was not given
1:48:04um it was done behind closed doors. It
1:48:06was not given uh public comment period.
1:48:08It was not given environmental review.
1:48:10It was a massive change from the draft E
1:48:14I'm sorry the draft EIR that had already
1:48:16in motion. Um, and so yes, we are suing
1:48:19and and I feel sad about that to be
1:48:21quite honest as a leader of our
1:48:22community group that we had to take that
1:48:24action to be able to get results. So I
1:48:26would just like to voice that I think
1:48:27that $2 million could be better spent.
1:48:30Um, maybe getting the bees board a
1:48:32scientific panel that can go through our
1:48:34complaints and your time is complete.
1:48:36Please wrap up your comments. Thank you
1:48:37very much. Thank you so much.
1:48:40Thank you. Is there another inerson
1:48:42commenter? Please step up to the podium
1:48:45if you you'd like to be identified for
1:48:47the record. Please state your name and
1:48:48affiliation and you'll have three
1:48:50minutes. Thank you. I'm Jenny Knack with
1:48:52Parents Against Susanna Susanna Field
1:48:55Lab and I don't know what I'm more
1:48:56excited to discuss the public
1:48:58participation
1:49:00manual. I'm terrified of the idea of 20
1:49:03chapters and hundreds of pages when
1:49:06really what we need is for our comments
1:49:09in the public participation manual. I
1:49:11don't care if we have to yell it. I
1:49:12don't just don't mute us and make sure
1:49:15our input is somehow applied because
1:49:18what I'm looking at as a bureaucratic
1:49:20nightmare of hundreds of pages.
1:49:24It I'm concerned and I understand
1:49:28that Serene said that it wasn't being
1:49:31done but behind closed doors, but this
1:49:33is the first time I'm hearing about it.
1:49:35Maybe I'm not reading everything that's
1:49:37coming through the emails because there
1:49:39are a lot of them,
1:49:41but I think that the public should
1:49:43be taking part now. Not later, but now
1:49:47because if we take part later, we're
1:49:49probably never going to see the
1:49:50revisions to it and it's going to be
1:49:52rolled out and it's going to be more
1:49:54homework for all of us and it might not
1:49:55be what the public actually needs or
1:49:57wants and it might not be beneficial. I
1:49:59could be wrong, but I have an inkling.
1:50:01The other thing I wanted to touch on
1:50:05is climate resilience. Yes, priority
1:50:10four. I love it.
1:50:13I know it's a goal for all of us, but I
1:50:17think any community could probably bring
1:50:20you into the weeds of the science that
1:50:23is being rolled out and implemented at
1:50:25every site and we can show you how
1:50:27climate resilience is actually not a
1:50:29priority and it's not connecting the
1:50:32dots with cleanups, at least in our
1:50:34regard. So, we just came off this week a
1:50:36two-hour public meeting with NASA where
1:50:39the DTSC rolled out that meeting. DTSC
1:50:41is supposed to be the regulator of
1:50:44NASA's cleanup at our parcel. It was
1:50:47presented by DTSC. They gave information
1:50:49about how their main action for our
1:50:53groundwater is natural monitored
1:50:56attenuation. And if you don't know, that
1:50:58means watching while not doing anything.
1:51:01And I understand that that is
1:51:03cost-effective, but they admit in their
1:51:05own documents probably, you know,
1:51:07however many appendices in that that
1:51:09will take over 400 years, just under 500
1:51:12years. And if we're really looking at
1:51:14climate resiliency, we know that we are
1:51:16probably going to need that groundwater
1:51:18way before then. So somehow we need to
1:51:20start connecting these dots if we really
1:51:22want to be prepared to live in the world
1:51:24that we are inevitably walking into.
1:51:27Those decisions are being made in the
1:51:30site remediations or lack thereof. So I
1:51:34think all communities could give you
1:51:36examples of how climate resiliency could
1:51:3815 seconds not be sorry could be better
1:51:41achieved through the decisions that are
1:51:42being made by DTSC staff. Um and we'd
1:51:46love to probably roll them all out for
1:51:47you and have you take action.
1:51:50Thank you for your
1:51:51comments. Are is there anyone else in
1:51:53person that Oh, great. Go ahead and
1:51:55please come up to the podium. If you'd
1:51:57like to be identified for the record,
1:51:59please state your name and affiliation
1:52:01and you'll have three minutes. Sure. Uh
1:52:04my name's Duncan McKe. I'm a community
1:52:07member. Um I'd like to start with that
1:52:11673. I was I believe it was this
1:52:13building must been at least 10 years ago
1:52:17when they were developing the original
1:52:20regulations and put in my two cents.
1:52:25uh the last one if they had have been
1:52:29doing
1:52:30the inspection
1:52:32seriously
1:52:35and as vigorously as I believe they
1:52:38should have been could have potentially
1:52:41worked. I started looking at this
1:52:44revisions and I'm completely bamboozled.
1:52:47It is so
1:52:49convoluted that I can't make heads or
1:52:52tails of it. I would like to see a
1:52:54clear-cut pathway. If somebody's
1:52:57committing egregious violations and
1:52:59putting people in danger, there should
1:53:01be a clearcut pathway to denying their
1:53:05permit, making them clean up their act,
1:53:08and either relocate their facility or
1:53:10come into compliance. Simple as that. It
1:53:13should be simplified to to just that.
1:53:17As far as permitting
1:53:20updates, QucoCco, Ecobat, RSR, whatever
1:53:25you want to call them are conspicuously
1:53:27absent. That's very
1:53:29important to Avocado Heights, Basset,
1:53:32North Whittier, La Puenni, City of
1:53:34Industry, Hosianda Heights, and all the
1:53:36communities beyond that. We need an
1:53:40update on what's going on
1:53:42there. that permit. And I encourage
1:53:45Katie, I have confidence that she is
1:53:48going to do the right thing. I really
1:53:49have a lot of confidence in you, uh,
1:53:51Director Butler, and you too, Wayne, to
1:53:55do the right thing here and make these
1:53:59guys, clean up their act, diversify that
1:54:03facility. There is no way that's safe
1:54:05for all the batteries this side of the
1:54:08Mississippi and coming from all over the
1:54:10world material to be processed right in
1:54:12the middle of our community. I
1:54:14personally have grown up with the kids
1:54:17and the children of the kids that I grew
1:54:20up with that are adversely impacted by
1:54:22this place. You need to you need to make
1:54:25these guys clean up their act. You need
1:54:27to deny that permit. Okay? And then
1:54:30whatever goes on from there, they need
1:54:33to not bring everything to our community
1:54:36and be and and process it there. Katie,
1:54:39I I really implore you to do the right
1:54:42thing here and you too, Wayne. I know
1:54:44you have the power to do it. Do do the
1:54:46right thing, please.
1:54:4815 seconds. Okay, I'll leave it at that.
1:54:51Thank you for your
1:54:53comments. Any other comments in person
1:54:56on the DTSC leadership report?
1:54:59Please come up to the
1:55:01podium. If you'd like to be identified,
1:55:03please state your name and affiliation
1:55:05and you'll have three minutes. Thank
1:55:07you. Hello, I'm Angela Johnson justice.
1:55:12Um, just really quickly, I would really
1:55:14like also to see the environmental
1:55:16justice training manual. So, if that's
1:55:18something that can be made public, I
1:55:20think that that would be really awesome.
1:55:22Um, secondly, on the public
1:55:25participation manual, I heard the
1:55:27conversation about that, but I don't
1:55:29think I captured what the timeline is
1:55:31for its delivery. And I think that
1:55:34that's important because um I know in my
1:55:37own life having a deadline is helpful
1:55:39and sometimes telling your deadlines to
1:55:41people publicly helps you to stay on
1:55:42track. So, I would encourage this board
1:55:44to work hard with DTSSE to get timelines
1:55:48for that um manual and to make sure we
1:55:50have a mechanism for sticking to those.
1:55:53Same thing with
1:55:54SB673. Um thinking about how do we make
1:55:58sure you're on track is almost a
1:56:00misnomer given that the deadline was
1:56:022018. So, they're already off track,
1:56:04right? So the question is now that we
1:56:07are here, how are we going to return to
1:56:09some semblance of what was required by
1:56:11the legislature
1:56:13um on the enforcement plan um this the
1:56:17enforcement strategic plan um I would
1:56:20encourage all of you to click on it.
1:56:21It's a very quick read. Uh and I'm
1:56:24wondering two things about it. First,
1:56:26I'm wondering there are lots of
1:56:27objectives that were listed and I wonder
1:56:30how how people fared on that. like how
1:56:33did the organization fare in terms of
1:56:35meeting those objectives and so I'm
1:56:37wondering if there's going to be some
1:56:38report out about the strategic plan and
1:56:40how close we got and what remains to be
1:56:43done um and I would be interested to
1:56:45know a time frame for that and I would
1:56:48also be um I I have to note that in that
1:56:52strategic plan they had a bunch of KPIs
1:56:54in there so I I think that there is
1:56:57still work to be done obviously there
1:56:59will be another time for a conversation
1:57:00on that and on the public participation
1:57:03plan. Just to wrap up my comments
1:57:05because I really want to note this. We
1:57:08cannot wait until DTSC has spent however
1:57:11long working very hard and they give us
1:57:13their 100 pages and 20 chapters and then
1:57:15it's like here it is. What do you think?
1:57:17And then get feedback then because that
1:57:20cycle that we've been repeating here at
1:57:22DTSC is deeply and fundamentally flawed.
1:57:26The notion that we have to get it to a
1:57:28place where it's
1:57:30presentable misses the point that while
1:57:33you're doing all that work internally
1:57:35amongst yourselves about what it is you
1:57:37think is awesome, it is not being
1:57:39informed by what other people think is
1:57:41awesome. And it's not that there's not
1:57:44there's a range of awesome and we would
1:57:46like to be on the you know like 100%
1:57:48side of awesome at least somewhere
1:57:50around there. Um and I think taking into
1:57:53account what communities have to say the
1:57:55beginning is the way that you maximize
1:57:58the chance that that will be what
1:58:00happens.
1:58:01Awesome. Thank you for your comments.
1:58:04All right. Any other uh inerson
1:58:06commenters? Did you sir? Yeah. Go ahead.
1:58:09Super quick. Okay. So, um you mentioned
1:58:12your uh priority number one was
1:58:15strengthening enforcement. Uh my
1:58:17question is if there is any provision or
1:58:20mandate for DTSC to collaborate with
1:58:23local KUBA agencies when it comes to
1:58:26enforcement and provide support.
1:58:30That's basically it.
1:58:33Thank you. Thank thank you for your
1:58:34comments. Appreciate it. Any other
1:58:38please uh come on up and if you'd like
1:58:40to be identified for the record, please
1:58:41state your name and affiliation and
1:58:43you'll have three minutes. Thank you.
1:58:45Hi, I'm Elana Castanos with Positions
1:58:47for Social Responsibility Los Angeles.
1:58:50Um, I have a few comments and questions.
1:58:53I don't know how many of each, but um,
1:58:56first uh, looking at Chaita Canyon, I
1:58:59know that the incident began in May of
1:59:012022 and the multi- agency response
1:59:04didn't start until I think it was
1:59:05November of 23. And so I was just
1:59:08wondering if there are plans to review
1:59:10the incident and its response and do an
1:59:13evaluation to learn from this experience
1:59:15and identify any gaps and missed
1:59:17opportunities. Um and then I think
1:59:20regarding 673 track 2 the information
1:59:23sheets they are at a very high level so
1:59:27high that it lacks I think a lot of key
1:59:28details and it can be difficult to
1:59:30understand how these information sheets
1:59:33intersect with each other and with the
1:59:36full permitting process and the full
1:59:38permitting renewal process. And so I
1:59:40would consider that for any future
1:59:42materials. um and they also lack
1:59:45specificity in how the considerations
1:59:47laid out um and the factors laid out
1:59:49will be operationalized in actual
1:59:52decision- making. So really thinking
1:59:54about how you know how you do you decide
1:59:58yes the permit can move forward yes the
2:00:00permit can move forward with these
2:00:01conditions or no the permit cannot like
2:00:04be provided. Um so I would like more
2:00:07specificity in that and so we are eager
2:00:08for the draft regulations and hope that
2:00:12um that will answer some of the
2:00:13questions that we have. Um third around
2:00:17um I'm very curious to hear about
2:00:19progress and details related to how
2:00:22DTSSE plans to meaningfully engage with
2:00:24the EJAC and any um you know objectives
2:00:28and metrics it can provide around that
2:00:30in the future. And then lastly, um I'll
2:00:33just echo regarding the public
2:00:34participation manual that I really would
2:00:36encourage early engagement and
2:00:38particularly with communities who and
2:00:41advocates who um already engage with um
2:00:46DTS's public participation practices and
2:00:47probably have a lot to say about it. So,
2:00:50thank you. Thank you for your comments.
2:00:52Last call for uh in room comment. Oh,
2:00:56okay. We got two more. Okay, go. Please
2:00:58come up to the podium.
2:01:02You'll have three minutes. Okay. I just
2:01:04have a comment, quick comment. My name
2:01:06is Vivian Zamarano. I'm a member of the
2:01:07Clean Air Coalition. And I just wanted
2:01:10to tell you that uh the irony isn't lost
2:01:14in the fact that you're creating a
2:01:16document for public engagement for the
2:01:19public is not engaged. We're not part of
2:01:21this process. And as others have said,
2:01:23we need to be part of the process in the
2:01:25beginning, not at the end. And it's just
2:01:27ironic that we have this tremendous
2:01:30document that's probably going to be too
2:01:32much for anyone to learn and want to
2:01:34know and we're not involved in it. I I
2:01:38it's just mindboggling to me that that
2:01:41you don't understand
2:01:42that. Thank you. Thank you for your
2:01:45comments. Uh yes. Uh please come up to
2:01:47the podium. If you'd like to be
2:01:50identified for the record, please state
2:01:51your name and affiliation and you'll
2:01:52have three minutes. I have a question.
2:01:55Uh is this a space for public forum? I
2:01:58was just answering this is just yeah
2:02:00these are comments directed specifically
2:02:03to agenda item number four the DTSC
2:02:05leadership report and what was presented
2:02:07during that report.
2:02:10To clarify, we will have public forum
2:02:12later in the agenda today at 255.
2:02:19Not much of a public speaker, so um be
2:02:23kind. Inspector Jave, doggedly pursuing
2:02:26environmental
2:02:28justice. Good afternoon, board members,
2:02:31department members, and the public. The
2:02:34title I gave my talk today is toxicity
2:02:36in the city with a subtitle of under the
2:02:40cover of darkness protecting people.
2:02:44The online urban dictionary defines
2:02:47subtitles as a subtitle clarifies the
2:02:50focus of your work, which is useful if
2:02:53your title is vague. System,
2:02:56anyone? The big catchphrase making the
2:02:59rounds in cable news and new media these
2:03:02days is courage is contagious.
2:03:06I'm here to encourage the decision
2:03:08makers in front of us today that this
2:03:11contagion is when we are asking you
2:03:14don't be afraid to purposely expose
2:03:17yourself to this fever of
2:03:19courage and do the right thing.
2:03:23Let me remind you that in the uh epic
2:03:26and hard one Baya de Bo Heights, the
2:03:31pueblo, the people of East Galet closed
2:03:34down that gross poller. So you already
2:03:37have a uh that should give you enough
2:03:40courage to go and said, "Hey, I'm not
2:03:42the I'm not going to put myself out
2:03:44there as the first one to do it.
2:03:45Somebody has already laid the groundwork
2:03:47for me."
2:03:51Courage. So you can take heart that some
2:03:53courageous courageous regulators have
2:03:56gone before you. They uphold their
2:03:58mission to protect Californians health
2:04:01and environment from hazardous waste.
2:04:04That's right in your description. They
2:04:07did the right thing. They stand on the
2:04:09right side of history. That's big.
2:04:12Standing on the right side of history.
2:04:15All it took was some
2:04:17courage.
2:04:18Anyway, you know as well as we do that
2:04:21Kameco, also known as Ecoabat, also
2:04:25known as Exide 2.0, are gross
2:04:29polluters. And because the management
2:04:32class to this gross poller lives out of
2:04:35state, they don't give a
2:04:37darn. They sent their flying monkeys to
2:04:40muddy up the waters and claim their
2:04:43incompliance. Tell a lie often enough
2:04:45and it becomes the truth. Let's not fall
2:04:48to
2:04:50that. If that were if they were to do if
2:04:54if that were so, they would not run
2:04:57their furnaces at night under the cover
2:05:00of
2:05:01darkness. As a realtor, I can tell you
2:05:04that Kametco has followed the developers
2:05:09playbook and and going to neighborhoods
2:05:12that are hardworking, bluecollar
2:05:15neighbors that are less likely to object
2:05:17because the simple fact they're too busy
2:05:18scratching out a living. Well, I live in
2:05:21Laente. I live down one from these
2:05:24horrible neighbors and I object. All
2:05:27we're seeking is for the powers that be
2:05:29to side with the people with the PBLO
2:05:32and exact some environmental justice.
2:05:34Thank you for your comments. Thank you.
2:05:39Okay. Not seeing any other in-person
2:05:42commenters at this time. We're going to
2:05:44move to Zoom. And if we can also check
2:05:47uh with our interpreters to see if there
2:05:48are any Spanish
2:05:50commenters. Uh, please raise your
2:05:52virtual hand if you would like to
2:05:54comment on this item or press star 9 on
2:05:56your
2:06:00phone. I'm not seeing any. And just
2:06:03making a confirmation with our
2:06:05interpreters whether or not there's any
2:06:07Spanish
2:06:14comments. Okay. No comments at this
2:06:17time. So, Chair Raikstra, that concludes
2:06:19the public comment portion for agenda
2:06:21item number four, the DTSC leadership
2:06:24report. Thank you very much, uh,
2:06:26Courtney. Um, Director Butler or the
2:06:28board, was any would anyone like to
2:06:29respond to any of the public comments at
2:06:31this time?
2:06:37Yeah, I'd like to suggest that for the
2:06:38public participation plan, weize that if
2:06:42you would like uh at a future meeting.
2:06:44Oh,
2:06:47thanks. Um, just a a proposal that we
2:06:50agendaize the public participation plan
2:06:53topic for July or August board meeting.
2:06:55Um, however you'd like to agendaize that
2:06:57so the department can provide a
2:06:59comprehensive, you know, presentation on
2:07:02um what's all involved, where we're at,
2:07:04how how we can involve the public and
2:07:06provide some more clarity on that. Um,
2:07:08it's still very early in the process. So
2:07:10I think now is a good time to start that
2:07:13that development of that that
2:07:15conversation.
2:07:18I just wanted to share I know that there
2:07:19were many requests from the board and so
2:07:23um and many questions from the public.
2:07:24So our ombbuds is tracking all of the
2:07:28requests and questions and inquiries
2:07:30that have come in.
2:07:37Okay. Um, seeing no other uh requests
2:07:39from from the board, why don't we go
2:07:41ahead and use this time? We'll take a a
2:07:4215 minute break. Um, and we can uh come
2:07:46back at uh 25 after the hour. At that
2:07:49point, we'll then move into the the
2:07:51metrics discussion uh followed by public
2:07:55forum. Great. Thank you all so much.
2:07:58Thank you, Chair Rickstra. Uh we're
2:08:00going to take a break and return at 2:25
2:08:03with agenda item number five. Thank you.
2:08:10Welcome back everyone. It is 2:25 and we
2:08:14maintain a quorum by having all members
2:08:17present. So, Chair Raikstra, over to you
2:08:19to continue with today's meeting.
2:08:24Uh thank you very much Courtney. Um so
2:08:26we will now move to agenda item number
2:08:28five um which are the board's proposed
2:08:31metrics for the hazardous waste
2:08:32management program. Um so bees metric
2:08:35subcommittee members Batia and Brstrom
2:08:38will provide an update on the progress
2:08:40of the proposed metrics uh with an
2:08:42opportunity for board discussion. We
2:08:44will then open up the floor for public
2:08:45comments. So I will now turn it over to
2:08:48members Batia and Rostrom.
2:08:51Okay. So for this update uh in I going
2:08:55to tag team. I'm going to kick off by
2:08:57sharing the highle themes.
2:09:01I'm going to kick off by sharing the
2:09:02high level themes from the feedback
2:09:04received so far and then hand it over to
2:09:07Ingred to speak about what next. So one
2:09:11of the key pieces of feedback we
2:09:13received was about actually documenting
2:09:16the feedback and sharing the treatment
2:09:18um as in how we are responding to each
2:09:21piece of feedback. So before the next
2:09:23meeting we're going to tabulate
2:09:24everything and have a more uh structured
2:09:27view of that feedback. For now I'm just
2:09:29only summarizing the themes that came
2:09:31up. So the first theme was around
2:09:35process. The stakeholders want more
2:09:38transparency from the start of the
2:09:41process and going forward when we tackle
2:09:44the next program within DTSC. We've
2:09:46actually talked about doing a collective
2:09:49onboarding um and then deep diving on
2:09:52that specific uh program metrics with
2:09:55DTSC. So that's one. But there was also
2:09:57feedback around goals versus targets. If
2:10:01we simply include uh metrics that
2:10:05doesn't in itself drive the behav
2:10:07intended behavior. So there was uh some
2:10:10need for us to introduce process that
2:10:12would
2:10:13also use the metrics process to drive
2:10:16the right behaviors and progress. The
2:10:19second set of comments was around the
2:10:21lived exper having the metrics reflect
2:10:23the lived experience of community
2:10:25members. Specifically, there were
2:10:27community members uh from the Kettleman
2:10:30community that talked about cumulative
2:10:32impacts and how the current version of
2:10:36the metrics don't fully reflect those.
2:10:38They all we also heard about
2:10:40responsiveness being a key metric that
2:10:43is not covered uh in the current
2:10:45proposed metrics. Also we talked um we
2:10:49heard about introducing additional
2:10:51programs like sampling outside some
2:10:54facilities uh as a way to kind of
2:10:56improve the lived experience. So I'm
2:10:58holistically talking about that theme of
2:11:00lived experience is again not exhaustive
2:11:02but giving you examples of what falls
2:11:04under this theme of lived
2:11:06experience. The third theme we heard
2:11:08about was qualitative metrics. There was
2:11:12a lot of discussion from multiple
2:11:13community members that alluded to like
2:11:16we are measuring what is what are able
2:11:18to be what is able to be measured
2:11:20through the proposed metrics but they
2:11:22don't get to the essence of the quality
2:11:24of the work being delivered by DTSC
2:11:26through their programs for example how
2:11:29thorough or effective are the infections
2:11:32being completed by DTSC for example so
2:11:34that is the third theme is around
2:11:36qualitative metrics
2:11:38uh the fourth were a set of comments
2:11:41that for more directly actionable and
2:11:43perhaps tied to some of the metrics
2:11:45we've already proposed. For example, um
2:11:49measuring systemic non-compliance data
2:11:54uh essentially surfacing data for serial
2:11:56violators. So those were I'm going to
2:11:59call them theme number four more
2:12:00directly actionable and tied to what was
2:12:02already out there. Uh number five is I'm
2:12:06just going to call it ambition which is
2:12:08have a higher ambition. For example, is
2:12:11there a way to establish a baseline uh
2:12:14which is to identify and characterize
2:12:16all of the toxics across urban and rural
2:12:19communities and sort of much more
2:12:21expansive take a much more expansive
2:12:22view and set the ambition around
2:12:25metrics. So clearly there's a huge
2:12:28spectrum of the kinds of feedback we
2:12:30received. great that we received
2:12:32feedback because the last time we uh had
2:12:34a board meeting, we were getting ready
2:12:37to vote on the metrics but we hadn't
2:12:39received a lot of feedback and of course
2:12:42a lot of community members asked for
2:12:43more time to engage and it turns out
2:12:46that there was more engagement both in
2:12:47writing and also a at least two meetings
2:12:51that we had with multiple community
2:12:52members where the multiple community
2:12:54groups came together to give us
2:12:55feedback. So with that I'm going to hand
2:12:58it over to Ingred to talk about what
2:12:59happens next.
2:13:01Great. Yes. And I want to
2:13:03um you know thank the stakeholders and
2:13:07and uh members of community
2:13:08organizations that took the time to meet
2:13:11with us. We did get a chance to um meet
2:13:14with uh several groups, some of whom are
2:13:16in the room today. Um so really
2:13:18appreciate the feedback. You know, there
2:13:20were several letters that come in with
2:13:23um many new proposed metrics. Um, and so
2:13:27I think one of the tensions, you know,
2:13:29that that we've been struggling with,
2:13:32you know, is this idea of, you know,
2:13:35there's a lot of different programs and,
2:13:38you know, there's this kind of time.
2:13:40Time is of the essence. We want to start
2:13:43being able to collect data that will
2:13:45able to set us up for, you know,
2:13:48continued measurement and evaluation.
2:13:50And the longer we go without that, are
2:13:52we missing, you know, opportunities
2:13:55versus, you know, the need for strong
2:13:58community engagement, you know, making
2:14:00sure that we're capturing the right
2:14:02things, the things that community cares
2:14:03about. Um, and so, you know, this this
2:14:06tension between like time and making
2:14:08sure that we get it right. And that's
2:14:09what we've been struggling with. We have
2:14:11all these other programs that we want to
2:14:12get to, including safer consumer
2:14:14products, which is the next on our list.
2:14:16So, you know, at the one of our last
2:14:19board meetings, you know, we heard that
2:14:21people uh the request was that we not
2:14:24adopt the metrics. Um, you know, in
2:14:26order to give stakeholders more time,
2:14:28you know, we thought perhaps we'd be
2:14:30able to come back this meeting and adopt
2:14:32them, you know, after considering any
2:14:33new metrics, having further conversation
2:14:35with DTSC and adopt them here. Um given
2:14:39the latest round, the latest iteration
2:14:41of feedback we received um we are
2:14:44recommending that we again hold off on
2:14:46taking any vote on the metrics. So
2:14:50that's number one is we still don't
2:14:53think it's time um and kind of that that
2:14:55tension. We think it weighing in terms
2:14:57of making sure that we get it right that
2:14:59we review thoroughly this latest round
2:15:01of of proposed metrics that we got from
2:15:04the public. We want to make sure that we
2:15:06have time to review those you know both
2:15:07internally and with DTSC more
2:15:09thoroughly. So we are recommending again
2:15:11to not vote. However
2:15:15um we are recommending that we request
2:15:18that
2:15:20DTSC collect the data from the existing
2:15:23set of metrics so that we're not missing
2:15:25that opportunity. You know if we decide
2:15:27to move forward with any you know with
2:15:29with those metrics or a subset of them
2:15:30that we will have the data. So it is our
2:15:33recommendation today that we request
2:15:35from DTSC to begin collecting and
2:15:38tracking the data in the existing set of
2:15:41metrics without before there's a final
2:15:45adoption. Um in order to kind of balance
2:15:49this need of of really trying to get to
2:15:51the other program areas you might have
2:15:53seen it on our slides earlier today. We
2:15:55are proposing to split the subcommittee.
2:15:58So I will continue to um work on the
2:16:01hazardous waste management program
2:16:03subcommittee along with staff who've
2:16:06been working on uh with us on that and
2:16:09Shushma will join chair Rick Rickstra on
2:16:13the safer consumer products subcommittee
2:16:16so that we can begin that work. The
2:16:18green chemistry um the the green ribbon
2:16:22science panel science panel is coming up
2:16:24um so we don't necessarily have to wait.
2:16:26So we're going to twotrack it. So that's
2:16:28another recommendation that we're moving
2:16:30I think we're moving forward with that
2:16:31one. Um we want to continue to meet with
2:16:34the stakeholders by holding the process
2:16:36open. You know particularly those groups
2:16:38that have given us very concrete um
2:16:41metrics. We want to continue to meet
2:16:43with them so we have a really good
2:16:44understanding of the proposal. And then
2:16:47finally, we have a second we're
2:16:49recommending a second request of
2:16:51DTSC. Um, which is, you know, a big part
2:16:55of of our board is is to increase
2:16:57transparency and accountability. And I I
2:17:00think some of the stakeholders correctly
2:17:02assumed that what you're hearing from
2:17:05the board, you know, some of it has been
2:17:07filtered is being filtered through us
2:17:11based on information we are getting from
2:17:13DTSC. And so we are being kind of the
2:17:16middleman of, you know, we're receiving,
2:17:19you know, uh, constraints and
2:17:21considerations from DTSC staff that are
2:17:24influencing our decisions. Um, and then
2:17:27but we're not really best equipped to be
2:17:30the middleman to transmit the
2:17:31communication to the public. And so we
2:17:33would like DTSC to come um to the next
2:17:36boarding or the next time this is on the
2:17:38agenda so that both the subcommittee and
2:17:42DTSC staff is prepared to share the
2:17:45considerations that went into some of
2:17:47the decisions around proposed metrics.
2:17:50So that is our that is the
2:17:52subcommittee's uh
2:17:54recommendation today.
2:17:57Thank you very much members. Uh Batian
2:17:59Brostrom um member Vice Chair Hacker
2:18:04Rick Gomez any comments? Comments? I
2:18:06support the proposal that you have. Um I
2:18:10think it's really important that we try
2:18:11and
2:18:13um bring to uh some form of temporary
2:18:16finality the metrics for the hazous
2:18:19waste management program, namely um
2:18:22permitting, compliance, and enforcement.
2:18:25when we're ready to do that. Um knowing
2:18:27that there are many things piling in on
2:18:29the um July and August meetings, it
2:18:32would be great if we could just have a
2:18:34shopping list of what the hazardous
2:18:36waste management program metrics are
2:18:38either existing or proposed so that we
2:18:41can have a a simpler conversation
2:18:44because I I just get myself all stitched
2:18:46up over where we are on that. And I
2:18:49thank you for um Chair Rickstra and
2:18:52Sushma for taking on safer consumer
2:18:55products. I'm hopeful we can find based
2:18:57on the last year's worth of investment
2:18:59that all of you and and our executive
2:19:01officer made, I'm hopeful we can find a
2:19:04simpler path forward um and get early
2:19:07public recommendations on our way to
2:19:10where we're going.
2:19:13Yeah, that was going to be my main
2:19:15comment as well is ensuring that we take
2:19:17into account the lessons learned from
2:19:19the hazardous waste management program,
2:19:21particular earlier engagement um of the
2:19:23public and and really encouraging the
2:19:25public to come to us early on that. Um
2:19:28so I think we have two um specific
2:19:30requests for DTSC that have been made. I
2:19:32don't think that um either of these
2:19:34requires a motion uh as as such. Um but
2:19:38would like to to thank members um Batia
2:19:40and Brostrom for all their work and
2:19:42providing these
2:19:43recommendations. Um and I will turn it
2:19:46to SW. I just wanted to clarify in terms
2:19:48of timing, one thing we have heard from
2:19:50the public is anytime there is a
2:19:53proposed set of metrics that there's
2:19:54enough time for the public to reflect on
2:19:57it. So the only request that I would
2:19:59make is that we incorporate that
2:20:01timeline. So maybe it's presented in
2:20:03July but not voted until August or after
2:20:06that way enough stakeholders have enough
2:20:08time to reflect and we have enough
2:20:11meetings because this may conjure up
2:20:13more engagement with additional
2:20:15stakeholders. So just that we're
2:20:16allowing enough time for reflection.
2:20:22Okay. Um so um thank you both so much.
2:20:25Um, so kind of with that proposal um
2:20:28that's been that's been made and that's
2:20:29on the table, we'll now open up uh for
2:20:31public comment on this agenda item. Um,
2:20:34Courtney, will you help facilitate that?
2:20:36Thank you, Chair Rickstra. We're going
2:20:38to go ahead and open the floor for
2:20:40public comments regarding agenda item
2:20:43number five, the bees proposed metrics
2:20:45for the hazardous waste management
2:20:47program. And this will be specific to
2:20:50this agenda item with the proposed
2:20:52evaluation metrics. So, if anyone in
2:20:55person would like to make a comment,
2:20:57please raise your
2:21:01hand. Avana, go ahead and uh come up to
2:21:04the podium. If you'd like to be
2:21:06identified for the record, please state
2:21:08your name and affiliation, and you'll
2:21:10have three minutes to make your comment.
2:21:11Sure. Thank you. Hi, I'm Ivana Castanos
2:21:13with Physicians for Social
2:21:14Responsibility Los Angeles.
2:21:17Um uh I do look forward to continuing to
2:21:20engage on these metrics and in the
2:21:22future metrics that are to come and I do
2:21:25agree with um the comment made about the
2:21:28time. I think that especially when the
2:21:32document is released right before that
2:21:34workshop or hearing that you're really
2:21:36just getting that very initial response
2:21:38and I think a lot of us want more time
2:21:39to digest that. So if possible to
2:21:42release the document with some more time
2:21:44and then um you know I think we like to
2:21:47kind of sit with it talk with each other
2:21:49and then um might have more concrete uh
2:21:53feedback for you all. So thank you.
2:21:56Thank you for your comments. Any other
2:21:59please go ahead and uh step up to the
2:22:01podium and if you'd like to be
2:22:02identified for the record please state
2:22:04your name and affiliation and you'll
2:22:05have three minutes. Jenny Narren against
2:22:07SSFL I have a question.
2:22:10Well, first I want to thank you because
2:22:12it seems like it's going in the right
2:22:13direction and I'm happy which I never
2:22:17say. But um my
2:22:21my I guess the only thing I want to
2:22:23clarify my clarify for myself is the
2:22:26second thing that you're asking of DTSC
2:22:28which sounds like you want them to come
2:22:30and help deliver. Do they get to decide
2:22:34whether or not a metric that you think
2:22:37should be implemented is
2:22:40approved? Do they get to decide how
2:22:42they're evaluated ultimately?
2:22:45So if you read the way the statute is is
2:22:48it's in consultation. So it's in
2:22:50collaboration. So it's both bees and
2:22:53DTSC working together. And I think for
2:22:55us there's certain things that we may
2:22:58have these ideas of certain metrics and
2:23:00this this came up but right now maybe
2:23:03DTSC hasn't been tracking it. So there's
2:23:05not a way to maybe deliver it right now
2:23:07but it might be something in the future
2:23:09where it's a future metric because that
2:23:11mechanism to collect that data just
2:23:14doesn't exist. So we have kind of this
2:23:16running document of like a wish list of
2:23:19okay maybe right now you don't have the
2:23:20data you're not collecting it but maybe
2:23:22in the future we can develop something.
2:23:24So that's why it's it's a kind of in
2:23:27collaboration but ultimately the board
2:23:29is who adopts the metrics but the the
2:23:33technical like can this even be
2:23:35measured? What's the possibilities? It's
2:23:37it's a collaborative effort.
2:23:40I guess this sounds like an emotional
2:23:42appeal but I'm going to make it. It
2:23:44seems like this is where we are actually
2:23:46getting into the room where the
2:23:48decisions are being made.
2:23:50And I implore you to not let DTS DTSC
2:23:54off the hook with a metric that you
2:23:56think is going to provide information,
2:23:58especially if that information um leads
2:24:02to data that DTSC may not want to be
2:24:06tracked because we're tracking them. And
2:24:10I understand that this has to be done in
2:24:12collaboration, but we don't get to vote
2:24:15on it and it's affecting us. And for
2:24:18those of us
2:24:20who experience on the ground
2:24:24um regulatory capture
2:24:28or the dynamics surrounding that issue
2:24:31being implemented at our sites and then
2:24:34decision-m
2:24:35um
2:24:37concerning our site, uh I think this is
2:24:41an important place to stop and make sure
2:24:42that we're paying attention to the
2:24:45reasons and if those reasons are
2:24:47legitimate.
2:24:48And I hope, like the gentleman from CAC
2:24:51said, I hope you guys have courage
2:24:53during this process because I think
2:24:54you're going to need it. I think there
2:24:55will probably be push back against
2:24:57things that are going to
2:25:00be tracked and that we should track.
2:25:04Just respond to this. Thank you for your
2:25:06comments.
2:25:09So um so one quick response to your
2:25:12comment Jenny which is that in the last
2:25:15year that has been the process
2:25:16essentially is us working with DTSC to
2:25:19understand the rationale and then have a
2:25:22layer of what is our point of view it
2:25:24where it's really helpful to surface
2:25:26that for you all is DTSC is better
2:25:28positioned to give you the rationale
2:25:30directly without us like diluting or
2:25:33having not as deep of an understanding
2:25:35what I see will come at the next board
2:25:37meeting is the feedback from the from
2:25:40the stakeholders DTSC's rational for
2:25:42what is tracked and its recommendation
2:25:44but also the board's treatment of it so
2:25:46that you see the both the rational and
2:25:48the outcome of that rationale and where
2:25:50we landed so that is our hope of what we
2:25:52want to bring together at the next board
2:25:53meeting I just don't want to create the
2:25:55illusion that this has not already
2:25:56happened we've already had a lot of back
2:25:57and forth very deeply understanding
2:26:00every metric and sort of having this
2:26:01back and forth on what is trackable what
2:26:03is not and why not it's just that it's
2:26:05helpful for you to hear directly versus
2:26:06us trying to translate.
2:26:13Okay. Uh any other inerson commenters?
2:26:16Go ahead and please step up to the
2:26:17podium and you'll have three minutes to
2:26:19make your comment. Thank you.
2:26:24I'm Angela Johnson justice. Um just in
2:26:28terms of this conversation, three quick
2:26:30thoughts. First, um I appreciate that
2:26:34we're going to take more time and move
2:26:36forward on the other things that needs
2:26:38to happen. And I wonder if there is a
2:26:41way that we
2:26:43can in this moment reflect on the
2:26:46process, right? And sort of maybe it it
2:26:49won't be perfect, but start to write
2:26:51down what is our process and then we can
2:26:53track where things are successful or not
2:26:55successful in the notion that this is an
2:26:57iterative project. a metrics one might
2:27:00say for how we might think about this
2:27:02and going forward. The second thing that
2:27:04I will note is
2:27:07um at the it would be
2:27:09helpful if
2:27:12um so it's I think it's a good step for
2:27:16y'all not to be the facilitator of
2:27:19indirect conversation because we're all
2:27:20grown people. We can just talk together,
2:27:22right? And in that sense, trying to do
2:27:24that in the constraints of these of the
2:27:27board meeting setup may be complicated.
2:27:29And so, um, and so the metrics are
2:27:33important, and we'll talk more about
2:27:35this in the hazardous waste plan.
2:27:36They're important because they set
2:27:37forward a they set out a forward-looking
2:27:40vision. And so being able to be
2:27:43collaborative about how we're building a
2:27:45shared forward looking vision I think
2:27:48will save us untold efforts and personal
2:27:51heartache going forward. The third thing
2:27:54that I'll just note
2:27:55is as we think about the development of
2:27:59the metrics and the process, I think it
2:28:03would be um important that we are
2:28:08grounding what we want to see in the
2:28:10future. So what does that look like?
2:28:12They don't collect data on things now,
2:28:14but included as a metric to be reported
2:28:16in
2:28:162027. Right? That way it doesn't get
2:28:19lost because we are trying to build this
2:28:22forward momentum. And so write it out
2:28:24formally. These are the metrics that
2:28:26we're going to want to see in the future
2:28:27and they should you should be collecting
2:28:29this data and tell us about how you're
2:28:31going to get there. So then we can start
2:28:33to build a process. It doesn't have to
2:28:36be zero or 100, but it can be a pathway
2:28:39that let people see what comes next. And
2:28:42then staff isn't scrambling. We're not
2:28:44disappointed. You're not, you know,
2:28:46asking the questions. when we talk a
2:28:48little bit more about how we get back on
2:28:49track. So, three points. Thank you.
2:28:52Yeah, I really appreciate um especially
2:28:54the meeting that we had with many of the
2:28:56stakeholders about the process because
2:28:59this is the first time we're doing this
2:29:00and we have to do this with many other
2:29:02programs within DTSC. So, you know,
2:29:05trying to uh one of the things that we
2:29:07were, you know, it made sense that while
2:29:09we are having this journey of learning
2:29:11about DTSC's programs or why they are
2:29:14the way they are, what mandates do they
2:29:16follow, that information isn't
2:29:19necessarily shared with the public. So
2:29:21that's something that we're figuring
2:29:23out, well next time around maybe we do a
2:29:25series of um workshops where the program
2:29:29is presenting about well these are our
2:29:31goals, these are objectives, this is why
2:29:32we're doing what we're doing and so that
2:29:34way it helps shape the metrics
2:29:37thereafter. So thank you for the
2:29:39feedback that you've provided. It's
2:29:40really helped us shape what this process
2:29:42is going to look like going forward.
2:29:46Thank you. Uh any other in-person
2:29:48commenters on this item?
2:29:52Seeing none, we're going to go ahead and
2:29:54move to our Zoom. And I do see one hand
2:29:57raised for this agenda item. So, Miguel
2:30:01Elator, I'm going to go ahead and uh
2:30:04request that you unmute. Once you
2:30:07unmute, you'll have three minutes to
2:30:08make your comment. Hello, this is Miguel
2:30:11Lator, executive director of the Unidos
2:30:13network um in Kettleman City. And I just
2:30:16wanted to thank you guys for um bringing
2:30:18up the cumulative health impacts
2:30:20criteria. I think it's something that's
2:30:22really really important and near and
2:30:24dear to all our hearts. But I think also
2:30:26some of the metrics that we include in
2:30:29that data is maybe thinking about the
2:30:32funding or investments that have
2:30:33happened in that community and
2:30:35specifically the dollars that have been
2:30:37spent on health studies, error monitor,
2:30:40mitigation measures. Um I think um
2:30:43getting a gauge of the emergency
2:30:45preparedness resources would be really
2:30:47great to see in there. Like uh do we
2:30:50have any community members that are
2:30:51trained directly in emergency response
2:30:54for the different incidents that may
2:30:56arise as it pertains to hazardous waste
2:31:00or any of the stuff that's under the
2:31:01department's control. I think um we
2:31:04should also take into account how long
2:31:06does it take to get someone from the air
2:31:08district out um into these areas is
2:31:11sometimes we as residents feel like
2:31:13we're uh speaking in vain or we're
2:31:16calling in vain because we call um on
2:31:18these people from the local air
2:31:19districts to come and verify these uh
2:31:22nuisances or odors or whatever we think
2:31:24is coming from these hazardous waste
2:31:26sources and it's too little too late uh
2:31:29by the time that they come in from their
2:31:31Fresno office which is pretty far away
2:31:33from Kettleman City. Um, and maybe like
2:31:36another comment or question is I'd be
2:31:38curious as to how we can further involve
2:31:42frontline community members like people
2:31:43from Kettleman City, Avenel, Button,
2:31:46Willow, Los Hills. I think it'd be
2:31:48really great to have them be able to
2:31:50participate in these working groups. And
2:31:52I know that might be like a little
2:31:54controversial here, but um it'd be great
2:31:57to see how we could get them more
2:32:00involved in this process so that they
2:32:01can see
2:32:02how the decisions are being made and why
2:32:05they're being made and present it to
2:32:07them very very clearly. So um that's my
2:32:10two cents on this. Thank you guys.
2:32:14Thank you for your comments. Our next
2:32:16commenter, we have a hand raised as
2:32:18Cheryl's iPad. We're going to ask you to
2:32:21unmute. Please accept our invitation and
2:32:23you'll have three minutes to make your
2:32:25comment.
2:32:28Thank you um board for meeting today. Uh
2:32:32president from Moss Landing,
2:32:35California. And as everyone knows, we
2:32:38had one of the biggest best battery
2:32:40fires ever with a 100,000 of these. And
2:32:44January 80% of these caught on fire as
2:32:48you were aware. And I'm reading a few
2:32:51things that we've talked about on
2:32:53Facebook. Um, some of the things that
2:32:56concern us are how we were failed by
2:32:59these safety things. Um, EPA air quality
2:33:03data was provided for the morning of
2:33:05January 18th. No EPA air quality. I mean
2:33:10EPA air monitoring stations were not
2:33:13collecting hydrochloric acid samples
2:33:16over 40% of the time. This was plotted
2:33:19along the
2:33:21HYSPIT models and a correlation shows
2:33:25that the stations within the plume were
2:33:27not operational. The air monitoring
2:33:31stations were not placed at the
2:33:33appropriate elevations. According to the
2:33:35emergency plan plume model provided by
2:33:39Vistra, the HF plume would be
2:33:42predominantly been concentrated between
2:33:44100 and a,000 ft. This scenario assumed
2:33:48that only one stack burned for 30
2:33:50minutes. However, due to the size of the
2:33:53battery fire, the HF plume extended much
2:33:56further and higher than what was modeled
2:33:59and tested. The highest monitoring
2:34:01station was only 12 m above the burning
2:34:04battery plant.
2:34:06The OHIA
2:34:08OAA 1-hour exposure standard was le
2:34:12negligent to apply especially since this
2:34:15fire burned for several days. The
2:34:17Monterey Bay Air Resource District had
2:34:20station stated on 117 that the minimal
2:34:24risk level MRL for acute duration
2:34:27inhalation of HF was 0.02 ppm.
2:34:32Why was this known as standard not
2:34:35utilized? The
2:34:37TDTSC testing the soil at a depth of 1/4
2:34:41inch, but the data from
2:34:43SJSU shows that the fallout was
2:34:46concentrated in the top couple of
2:34:48millimeters. Additionally, no soil
2:34:50samples were taken from site one because
2:34:52according to the DTSC, there were
2:34:55distance there were distance from the
2:34:57fire, lack of visual indicators of fire
2:35:00impacts and time constraints. The
2:35:02reasons are not reasonable excuses. Some
2:35:05sites may not have visible ash but did
2:35:11have this neither the P
2:35:1615 seconds
2:35:17remaining. on fire. There's additional
2:35:20analysis needed
2:35:22to we feel we were failed and then we
2:35:25need to be more safety put in to protect
2:35:27people. Thank you. Thank you for your
2:35:31comments. Uh next commenter for agenda
2:35:34item number five, the bees performance
2:35:37metrics evaluations for the hazardous
2:35:40waste management program. We have a hand
2:35:42raised uh therma runaway. I'm going to
2:35:45request uh send you an invitation to
2:35:47unmute. Please accept our invitation and
2:35:50you'll have three minutes to make your
2:35:51comment.
2:35:53Thank you. Um on the same topic, Moss
2:35:55Landing battery fire. So it's actually
2:35:58the OEH standard which was.3 parts per
2:36:02million, but the standard that EMBAR was
2:36:04talking about was 002 parts per million.
2:36:07That's a t-fold difference. Um, and that
2:36:10made a huge difference on the response
2:36:12that they had in our community. So, the
2:36:15DTSC tested the soil at a depth of a
2:36:18quarter inch, but the San Jose State
2:36:20said the fallout from the concentration
2:36:22was at the top couple millimeters. So,
2:36:25no soil sample was taken from one site
2:36:27and they one of the reasons was time
2:36:29constraint. That was not a reasonable
2:36:31reason. Why was it that you guys didn't
2:36:34have enough time to collect it? I
2:36:35collected almost 12 different samples
2:36:37from 12 different sites and I did that
2:36:40in one afternoon. All right. The DT um
2:36:43some of the sites may not have had
2:36:45visible ash but they did have nano
2:36:48particles of metal and other hazardous
2:36:50compounds smaller than 100 microns. This
2:36:53means neither the PM2.5 monitoring nor
2:36:56the eyes of the DTSC technician could
2:36:59detect them. And the reason why I say
2:37:01that they the eyes of them couldn't
2:37:02detect it is at site one they said we
2:37:04didn't see any visible ash. Well no duh
2:37:07some of its nano particles. Finally the
2:37:10DTSC additional analysis is needed to
2:37:13determine whether the cobalt results are
2:37:16consistent with natural occurring
2:37:18backgrounds. I have not seen any um
2:37:20evidence that this analysis was
2:37:21completed even though we know that San
2:37:23Jose State University has the background
2:37:26data so it's available. Um, we have
2:37:29people that are having health conditions
2:37:30that are related to having of elevated
2:37:33levels of cobalt. For example, there's a
2:37:35pregnant woman who is having trouble
2:37:37with her pregnancy right now because of
2:37:39the high cobalt and they have evidence.
2:37:41They're testing it and she's having
2:37:43heart problems. There's another person
2:37:44who died from a heart attack shortly
2:37:46after the fire and I and he's within the
2:37:48plume. It was probably around four miles
2:37:50away. I have to wonder did that have to
2:37:52do with it? And in regards to the
2:37:53cumulative exposure, uh we weren't
2:37:56exposed to just one chemical. We were
2:37:58exposed to a cocktail of chemicals and
2:38:00it has a cumulative effects and the
2:38:02standards that you use were for one
2:38:04pollutant at one time. Um and and like I
2:38:06said, you didn't even use the right
2:38:08standards for that. So why weren't the
2:38:11minimal risk level uh levels used? And
2:38:16um yeah, thank you for your time.
2:38:19Thank you for your comments.
2:38:22Last call for public comments for agenda
2:38:24item number five, the bees proposed
2:38:26metrics for the hazardous waste
2:38:28management program. Uh please raise your
2:38:31virtual hand or press star 9 on your
2:38:33phone and if we can check with our
2:38:35Spanish interpreters if there's any
2:38:37comments in our Spanish Zoom
2:38:47room. Just one moment while we
2:38:57verify. Okay. Does not appear. Uh Aldo
2:39:01Laticia, would you mind confirming?
2:39:03Perfect. Thank you so much. Uh there are
2:39:05no additional uh comments for this item.
2:39:07So this concludes the public comment
2:39:09portion for agenda item number five.
2:39:12Chair Bstra.
2:39:17Um, thank you very much, uh, Courtney,
2:39:19and thank you to to the public for all
2:39:21the comments. Um, really appreciate, uh,
2:39:24you taking the time to do that. Um, so
2:39:26we'll now move on to agenda item number
2:39:28six, which is a public forum. Um, so
2:39:32these are this agenda item is for um,
2:39:36items that are otherwise not on the
2:39:38agenda. Um, and we invite the public to
2:39:41comment uh, for the board's future
2:39:43consideration. Um, so board staff will
2:39:46record any action items or items for
2:39:49consideration for a future board meeting
2:39:50that are raised here during this public
2:39:53forum. Um, board staff will also share
2:39:56these with the DTSC leadership team and
2:40:00we will then report back on progress on
2:40:02these action items at a subsequent
2:40:04meeting. Um, for comments related to
2:40:07DTSC's draft hazardous waste management
2:40:09plan, we ask that you please hold your
2:40:11comments until we get to that item. um
2:40:13which is around 4:45 p.m. Um so
2:40:16Courtney, would you please facilitate
2:40:18public forum? Thank you, Chair
2:40:21Rickstro. As the chair mentioned, we're
2:40:23going to open the floor for the public
2:40:25forum portion of our meeting for those
2:40:27items not on the agenda. As a reminder,
2:40:30you can always submit comments and
2:40:31questions to us at bees info dot sorry
2:40:36besinfo at bees.dtsc.ca.gov.
2:40:42gov. All commenters will have three
2:40:45minutes and for those commenting in
2:40:47Spanish, time will be doubled to allow
2:40:50for
2:40:51translations. So, we're going to go
2:40:53ahead and start with our in room
2:40:55participants first to see if anyone
2:40:57would like to comment during public
2:40:59forum. If so, please raise your
2:41:01hand. Okay. Uh please come up to the
2:41:04podium. If you'd like to be identified
2:41:06for the record, please state your name
2:41:08and affiliation. And you'll have three
2:41:10minutes to make your comment. We have
2:41:12the timer uh on the screen as well. Hi,
2:41:15my name is
2:41:34Sure.
2:41:35So, so for me, this is personal. I live
2:41:37in Avocado Heights, uh, with my
2:41:40partners, with my in-laws, and with my
2:41:42three-year-old daughter, uh, and we live
2:41:44just a short distance from Echobat. Uh,
2:41:47and I can't afford to remain quiet, uh,
2:41:50while Echobat is slowly poisoning us.
2:41:53Um, so the evidence is here. I think
2:41:55most people know, uh, the community is
2:41:58well aware. Uh but uh DTSC also in their
2:42:01own testing has a real really heavy um
2:42:04lead samples in uh uh in the neighboring
2:42:08yards. Um Echobat demonstrates contempt
2:42:11for reg for regulations. Um it's been
2:42:15designated as a significant non-complier
2:42:17by the EPA and sued uh for 29 violations
2:42:21uh by the state of California. Um
2:42:24despite scrutiny for years, uh Echobat
2:42:28still regularly exceeds uh limits for
2:42:31lead, arsenics, and other toxins. And
2:42:34what happens here is uh I'm not so much
2:42:36concerned about myself. I'm ultimately
2:42:38concerned for my daughter. And children
2:42:41pay the price because there's no there's
2:42:43no um acceptable level of lead uh for a
2:42:47child and it does affect the development
2:42:49and it affects uh and creates brain uh
2:42:52brain damage.
2:42:55Um, to me, make no mistake, this is
2:42:58really about environmental racism. Uh, I
2:43:01live in a workingclass immigrant,
2:43:05primarily Latino and Asian community. We
2:43:08don't have the political capital. We
2:43:10don't have the economic resources to
2:43:12fight Echobat. And Echobat knows that
2:43:14and takes advantage of this.
2:43:19This would not happen in the on the west
2:43:22side of town. They have the resources to
2:43:24fight that. Echopad would not be able to
2:43:26operate on the uh they can only operate
2:43:29in the vulnerable communities that can't
2:43:31defend
2:43:33themselves.
2:43:34Um so they've taken advantage of this.
2:43:37They have used threats of lawsuits
2:43:40lobbying to continue doing what they do
2:43:42uh which is profit and creating more
2:43:46waste and really DTSC and the board is
2:43:51our final line of defense. You you guys
2:43:54ultimately will put your stamp of
2:43:56approval or contribute to putting your
2:43:58stamp of approval on this uh uh this um
2:44:03this industry. And I really want to
2:44:07urge you to deny the permits. Uh and uh
2:44:11yeah, that's it. Thank you for
2:44:12listening. Thank you for your comments.
2:44:15A next commenter that would like to
2:44:16speak in person, please go ahead and
2:44:18come up to the podium. If you'd like to
2:44:20be identified for the record, please
2:44:22state your name and affiliation and
2:44:24you'll have three minutes to make your
2:44:25comment.
2:44:29Hello, my name is Martha Werta, resident
2:44:31of North Whittier. I am here to ask the
2:44:34board to deny the permit. Quo has a
2:44:37history of violating regulations and
2:44:39failing to meet environmental and safety
2:44:42standards. In 2018, the state of
2:44:44California sued QCO for 29 violations.
2:44:48The company continues to routinely be
2:44:51out of compliance with basic regulations
2:44:54that are meant to protect our health. So
2:44:56much so that the EPA has labeled the
2:44:59company a significant
2:45:02non-complier. The residents of the
2:45:04schools exist where Quebec go does
2:45:07business. Workingclass minority families
2:45:10are united in demanding protections
2:45:12outlined in state
2:45:14regulations. As a retired state of
2:45:16California deputy labor commissioner and
2:45:18hearing officer, I regularly heard cases
2:45:22of state labor law violations. I
2:45:25understand that the laws are in place
2:45:26with repercussions written in the laws
2:45:29for violations. I ask the board to be
2:45:32brave and do your enforcement job and
2:45:34protect our community. I am asking for
2:45:37environmental justice now and please
2:45:40deny Quo's permit. Thank you. Thank you
2:45:43for your comments. Are there any other
2:45:46commenters that would like to comment?
2:45:48Please go ahead and step up to the
2:45:50podium. Please state your name and
2:45:52affiliation for the record. if you would
2:45:54like and we you'll have three minutes.
2:45:56Again, Jenny N parents against SSFL. It
2:45:59took us years to get the subcommittee.
2:46:01We were advocating for it. It was the
2:46:03settlement agreement between DTSC and
2:46:04Boeing, which we wanted you to look at
2:46:06the science that was rolling out. It's
2:46:08done. We had to sue. That's the two $2
2:46:11million. Now, we have the working group
2:46:14and we've met several times for years
2:46:16down the road. Now, in real time, DTSC
2:46:19is rolling out their multiple lines of
2:46:21evidence, which we have met about. We've
2:46:24discussed, we've um shown you our
2:46:26independent scientific advisors
2:46:28paperwork. They submitted it. We've
2:46:30asked
2:46:32for there to be a deep re-evaluation and
2:46:37reworking of the modeling that they're
2:46:38using, which is getting our cleanup. and
2:46:43DTSC has made the statement in an email
2:46:46that I believe the working group has
2:46:48been CCed on that it it isn't that easy.
2:46:54It's taken us three years to get here
2:46:55and we understand that it isn't easy to
2:46:58push against the inner workings
2:47:01of DTSC, but we what we need at our site
2:47:05and I'm assuming at other sites
2:47:10is a willingness for this board to push
2:47:15back against the status quo because DTSC
2:47:18in our case does not want to do things
2:47:20differently than they've always done it.
2:47:22And even when we can say, "Hey, look
2:47:24here. We're in the weeds. This is the
2:47:26science." It doesn't matter. It doesn't
2:47:29matter how wrong it is, how
2:47:30inappropriate it is, how many loopholes
2:47:32are being exploited. There's an
2:47:33unwillingness to shift. And I I think
2:47:37that those of you who are in our working
2:47:39group can hopefully see that if you've
2:47:41looked at the the materials that have
2:47:43been submitted.
2:47:46Um, so I'm urging you to find the way,
2:47:49whether it be within your own personal
2:47:51ability to use the authority that you
2:47:53have been given to advise and direct
2:47:55that decision-making process,
2:47:58um, or whether it's through the
2:47:59documentation and reporting of DTSC
2:48:02staff's simple unwillingness to budge
2:48:05um, and to be able to submit that to the
2:48:07legislature and the EPA because even
2:48:10though that isn't a part of what DTSC
2:48:13has agreed to have reported, We are not
2:48:15going to see change at our site unless
2:48:17they are held accountable if they are
2:48:20not willing to even rework a model. We
2:48:22didn't say change it. We said look at
2:48:24it. This is the loophole you've
2:48:26exploited. Please let's look at what
2:48:28happens if you don't do it. Let's look
2:48:30at what happens if you don't inflate the
2:48:31the false positives non detects. They're
2:48:34not willing to run it because they don't
2:48:37want you to see it because they don't
2:48:38want to change it. So, um, 15 seconds
2:48:42remain. If you can't move the needle,
2:48:44please report it. Your voice in
2:48:47reporting it to the EPA and the
2:48:49legislative bodies is going to be
2:48:50stronger than our voice because we might
2:48:52not be believed, but we're hoping that
2:48:54you're seeing it and that if you can't
2:48:56change it, you'll report it. Thank you
2:48:58for your
2:48:59comments. There any other p inperson
2:49:02public commenters for public forum items
2:49:04not on the
2:49:06agenda? Oh, thank you. So, I can see
2:49:08over there. Thank you. Please come up to
2:49:10the podium. If you'd like to be
2:49:12identified for the record, please state
2:49:14your name and affiliation and you'll
2:49:15have three minutes. Hi, I'm Daniel
2:49:17Tatees. Uh I'm a part of Cleaner
2:49:19Coalition. Um I want to flag this
2:49:22decision that's going to happen at the
2:49:23end of July. Um I don't want to repeat
2:49:26what's already been stated with the
2:49:28non-compliance, the regular violations.
2:49:30Um it's more of a ritual for them. And
2:49:33so when we see this uh we see um the
2:49:38potential for them to be permitted uh it
2:49:41sets an example and that compliance and
2:49:44violations are optional essentially for
2:49:46these other facilities. There are maybe
2:49:48not as regularly committing violations
2:49:51on a class one or class 2 level. And so,
2:49:54um, we want you to pay attention to what
2:49:56happens at this facility, has
2:49:58implications for permitting, has
2:50:00implications for discussions and
2:50:03considerations around recycling with
2:50:05the, uh, with the waste management
2:50:08plans. And so, um, and has implications,
2:50:11as I mentioned, for the other possible
2:50:13violators and non-compliers as well. So,
2:50:16uh, thank you. Thank you for your
2:50:19comments. Last call for any other in
2:50:21room participants. Oh, thank you.
2:50:23Thanks, Duncan. Go and come up and uh
2:50:25please state your name and affiliation
2:50:26for the record if you choose and you'll
2:50:28have three minutes. Duncan McKe,
2:50:30community member. Um I'm here to talk a
2:50:34little bit more about KCO. I think it's
2:50:35that important. I think it's a textbook
2:50:38case of whether DTSC is going to
2:50:41adequately regulate hazardous
2:50:45waste disposal facilities such as Queco
2:50:49uh and protect the public which from my
2:50:53perspective and I think a lot of other
2:50:55people's we are counting on them to do
2:50:58and we're hoping that the board will
2:51:00encourage them to do that.
2:51:03Uh when I started going through the
2:51:05documents, I mean it's really disturbing
2:51:06that the data from the source testing is
2:51:10all confidential. Nobody knows what went
2:51:13into those furnaces. Nobody knows what
2:51:15came out of them. Your toxicologists who
2:51:18allegedly or supposedly reviewed that
2:51:21the two toxicologists, my understanding
2:51:23they're no longer even with DTSC.
2:51:26Now, we did meet with another gentleman
2:51:28who's a toxicologist, and he appeared to
2:51:31be very surprised about some of the
2:51:34things that we were telling him. There's
2:51:37I'm I'm reviewing video that were is
2:51:40taken by community members in the middle
2:51:44of the night when these guys are letting
2:51:45off material. There's material coming
2:51:48from locations
2:51:51uh emission points that are not being
2:51:53routed through the wet electrostatic
2:51:56precipitator thatqco is bragging about
2:51:59or the thermmo oxidizer that is
2:52:01supposedly
2:52:03uh breaking down some of these volatile
2:52:06organic compounds and polyyclic aromatic
2:52:09hydrocarbons and cancercausing
2:52:12uh materials. We have many times
2:52:16hazardous waste levels of lead in the
2:52:18soil. DTSC is still to this day, they've
2:52:21had many, many years to do it, even at
2:52:23the urging of their own scientists to
2:52:27definitively determine the source and
2:52:31demonstrate that it did not come from
2:52:33other sources like leaded gas emissions
2:52:36or lead paint.
2:52:38Um there's a lot of issues with that
2:52:41facility and if the permit is granted I
2:52:44just myself that's not even counting
2:52:47other people put in enough material
2:52:49where there is certainly grounds for
2:52:51appeal and I'm hoping that then that's
2:52:53when it's going to come before the board
2:52:55and I'm hoping that you will really take
2:52:57this seriously. There's a lot of people
2:53:00that I have seen that in my opinion were
2:53:03damaged by this facility and we cannot
2:53:06continue to let this occur. This entire
2:53:10waist stream needs to be diversified,
2:53:12taken to areas that are not in close
2:53:15proximity to 15 seconds remaining. So
2:53:18many people being affected by it. That's
2:53:21it. Thank you for your
2:53:23comments. Any other commenters in
2:53:26person?
2:53:28Okay, seeing none, we'll go ahead and
2:53:30move to Zoom. We have a two hands raised
2:53:33right now. If you would like to comment
2:53:35uh for during public forum, please raise
2:53:38your virtual hand or press star 9 on
2:53:40your phone. We're going to go ahead and
2:53:42invite Skyler Sakulus to unmute. You'll
2:53:46have three minutes to make your comment.
2:53:56Oh, I'm I'm sorry, Skyler. Uh, thank
2:53:59you. My name is Skyler Sakula Cruz.
2:54:04I'm so sorry. You're good to continue.
2:54:06Yes, we can hear you. Sorry about that.
2:54:10No, no worries. Thank you so much. Um,
2:54:13I'm here from Green Action and a
2:54:14resident of Santa Cruz. Um, I'm building
2:54:16off of some of the previous commenters
2:54:18from Moss Landing. Um, community
2:54:21concerns about the damaging impacts to
2:54:23human health and the environment from
2:54:24the Moss Landing battery fires they
2:54:26mentioned that took place in January and
2:54:28February of this year are not being
2:54:30adequately addressed by DTSC. This
2:54:33shoreline and agricultural community
2:54:34demands thorough, efficient, and urgent
2:54:38action. And this contamination site
2:54:41should have should have a public profile
2:54:44on DTSC's envir database with up-to-date
2:54:47site testing and planning information.
2:54:50Too many other contaminated sites in
2:54:52Calville, and we cannot allow this to
2:54:53continue. Hundreds of community members
2:54:56have
2:55:02Um, reported health impacts with limited
2:55:05sites along the shoreline like Baby
2:55:06Hunters Point and Treasure. Yeah, I I'm
2:55:10sorry you're you're cracking up a little
2:55:12bit. Um, so if we could have you go
2:55:14ahead and email us your comments, that
2:55:16would be great. There's some uh audio
2:55:19issues.
2:55:20I'll connect. Okay. Well, actually,
2:55:22we're going to have our outreach manager
2:55:24reach out to you for your comment so we
2:55:26can make sure to add that to the
2:55:27official
2:55:28record. Thank you very
2:55:30much. Uh, next commenter, we're going to
2:55:33uh request for Cynthia Babage to unmute.
2:55:37Uh, please state your name and
2:55:38affiliation for the record if you choose
2:55:40and you're going to go ahead and have
2:55:42three minutes to make your public
2:55:43comment starting now.
2:55:46Great. Thank you. My name is Cynthia
2:55:48Babage and I'm the founder and director
2:55:50of the DAMO Action Committee. I'm also
2:55:52the co-coordinator of the Los Angeles
2:55:54Environmental Justice Network.
2:55:57Today my comment is centered around the
2:55:59racism that continues to exist through
2:56:02redlinining. So um a little story,
2:56:05somebody from my community was relocated
2:56:08away from the Dammo Waste Pits and found
2:56:10a beautiful new home in Avocado Heights.
2:56:13I remember him calling me and telling me
2:56:15something was wrong. Something was in
2:56:17the air. He thought he might be in
2:56:18another toxic spot. The time to change
2:56:22this paradigm of redlinining is now.
2:56:25There needs to be a clear avenue to
2:56:28remove these types of facilities like
2:56:30the Jones chemicals of the community and
2:56:33the ecobats or the quameos that we
2:56:36always like to change the names and
2:56:39pretend that they're not the same evil
2:56:40animal that they are. There is no
2:56:43trigger to do this. There is no
2:56:45mechanism to stop the facilities that
2:56:48are in our redline communities from
2:56:51continuing to exist and much more of
2:56:54concern or even of just the same concern
2:56:56more coming. So I call on DTSC through
2:57:00the BAS to stop this redlinining that
2:57:03continues today without going back and
2:57:06starting to reverse the processes of why
2:57:08these facilities are in our lowincome
2:57:10overburdened communities already. There
2:57:13will never be an end in change. So, we
2:57:16just had a big conference yesterday and
2:57:19Jones Chemical, our facility was brought
2:57:21up and somebody from the agency said,
2:57:23"Well, you know, nobody's died." My god,
2:57:27that's what we're trying to prevent. And
2:57:30the things that are go undocumented, the
2:57:32unknown that the gentleman just spoke
2:57:35about are the reasons that we need to
2:57:37stop this racism. So today, I say at
2:57:41this moment, take the next step and deny
2:57:44the EcoBat permit. Take a stand. We know
2:57:47it's hard to figure out where another
2:57:49facility would go. But my God, pre don't
2:57:52pretend that you're not continuing the
2:57:54racism that's happening cuz that's
2:57:57what's happening. Thank you very much
2:57:59for your attention to this very urgent
2:58:01matter.
2:58:03Thank you for your comments. Next
2:58:05commenter, Charisa Holmes. We're going
2:58:08to go ahead and request you to unmute.
2:58:11Please accept our invitation and you'll
2:58:13have three minutes to make your comment.
2:58:17Okay. Um, first of all, I want to
2:58:19preface my comments by saying my
2:58:23comments predate uh the bees board. And
2:58:28so I want to wow, my heart is heavy. It
2:58:31stays heavy based on the fact of where I
2:58:34live, my family live, and what we've
2:58:36been exposed to at the Navy, the Hunters
2:58:40Point Naval Shipyard.
2:58:42However, listening to the various
2:58:45brothers and sisters in the communities
2:58:47in
2:58:48California, this is disgusting. It's
2:58:52dangerous. And I was thinking to myself,
2:58:54we've had 34 years waiting for
2:59:00DTSC and other agencies, regulatory
2:59:03agencies, but specifically
2:59:06DTSC. And 34 years at the Hunter Point
2:59:11Naval
2:59:12Shipyard. And from that time to the date
2:59:15now, I can't even tell you how many uh
2:59:19illnesses and deaths have occurred as a
2:59:23result of the contaminants, the toxins
2:59:26that u we're exposed to. So I just I
2:59:30just want to say a I stand in support of
2:59:34and with everyone that is going through
2:59:38this. And then you know what? If you
2:59:40want to see pretty much, you're going to
2:59:42have to fight more and harder cuz we're
2:59:44at 34 years of waiting for this cleanup
2:59:47to be complete. So, for my brothers and
2:59:51sisters that are going through all of
2:59:52this stuff, I want you to Google the
2:59:55Hunter Point Naval Shipyard history and
2:59:59see what you have to deal with. And it
3:00:01is environmental racism. So, we're going
3:00:04to have to all come together and sue the
3:00:06pants as Green Action has did and just
3:00:09sue them and sue them and sue them until
3:00:11we get results. And thank you uh board,
3:00:14especially to my favorite board member,
3:00:18Georgette, uh uh for you guys attention
3:00:22to these
3:00:23matters and for hearing from us. Okay,
3:00:27thank you.
3:00:29Goodbye. Thank you very much for your
3:00:32comments.
3:00:33Um, if we can check if there are any
3:00:36commenters in the Spanish room. And this
3:00:38is the last call for public forum for
3:00:40items not on the
3:00:42agenda. If our interpreters can let us
3:00:44know if we have any Spanish
3:00:47commenters. And
3:00:49uh we do have Therma Runaway. Uh we're
3:00:54going to request that you unmute. You'll
3:00:57have three minutes to make your comment.
3:00:59Thank you.
3:01:01Yeah, my comments short. I wanted to
3:01:03hear what Skyler said with Green in a
3:01:04Action. I know her was connection was uh
3:01:07a little bit staticky, but if you could
3:01:08give her a second chance, I really want
3:01:10to hear what she has to say because
3:01:12we're all very sick in Moss Landing.
3:01:14Very sick. And we're not getting any
3:01:16help. And I'm I'm I'm going through hell
3:01:19right now. So, please, I want to hear
3:01:21what she has to say.
3:01:24Thank you. If Is Skyler still on the
3:01:26line? If so, Skyler, can you raise your
3:01:28virtual hand?
3:01:36Let me see if Let me just double check.
3:01:39I'm not seeing her
3:01:45on. It doesn't look like Skyler is on
3:01:48right now, unless um under a different
3:01:50name or phone number.
3:01:53Um, so, uh, Skyler, uh, if you're
3:01:56listening, uh, please reach out to us
3:01:58and, uh, also our outreach manager will
3:02:00be in touch with you so we can make sure
3:02:02to get your comment on the record, uh,
3:02:04that gets posted to our website.
3:02:08Oh, is I'm sorry. Was there one more
3:02:10comment in person? Oh, thank you. No,
3:02:12sorry about that. No, no, my my bad. I
3:02:15had I hadn't thought I was going to say
3:02:16anything. Um this uh Rebecca Overmmy
3:02:19Velasquez, Clean Air Coalition, North
3:02:21Wier and Avocado Heights. Um I just
3:02:24wanted to plant a seed in your
3:02:28conversations about the violation
3:02:30scoring procedure. Um it was mentioned
3:02:32earlier that this is being developed and
3:02:35it's taking forever and it was supposed
3:02:36to be in place. Um the the reform, I'm
3:02:40sorry, of it was supposed to be in
3:02:41place. Um, I just want to alert you to
3:02:45concerns that we have about where the
3:02:48reform of the VSSP is going. Um, we as a
3:02:52community have done some serious deep
3:02:54dives into the um, rationale that DTSC
3:02:58wrote, 20ome pages of rationale for the
3:03:01revisions. Um, and we are really
3:03:03concerned. Um we don't think that this
3:03:06makes any positive difference for
3:03:09holding violator pollute polluters and
3:03:11violators to account. Um we believe that
3:03:14in fact it's just another way to avoid
3:03:17to for DTSC to sidestep its regulatory
3:03:20authority, its enforcement authority to
3:03:23actually then just flat out deny a
3:03:26permit to a facility that violates the
3:03:28law. Period. There's we uh the violation
3:03:31scoring procedure. Just beware. It's a
3:03:34lot of magical numbers and a lot of all
3:03:37of this that makes it look like there's
3:03:40actual calculation of a violation. In
3:03:44fact, what it does is prolong our misery
3:03:48and allow for facilities to stay stay in
3:03:52business. And um and I don't um so I
3:03:55know that conversation is still coming
3:03:57and we're still going to be we have yet
3:03:58to see the rules around this reform, but
3:04:01I wanted to um alert you um to that and
3:04:04we w and also invite you to have a
3:04:07conversation with us um about our
3:04:10concerns with the proposed reform.
3:04:12haven't seen the latest re revisions.
3:04:14So, we'll um we will like to look at
3:04:17those and but we would like to have a
3:04:19conversation with you about the
3:04:20direction that that's taking um and how
3:04:23uh and why we have the concerns we have.
3:04:25Thank you.
3:04:27Thank you for your comments. And uh it
3:04:30looks like uh we did uh receive
3:04:33confirmation from our interpreters.
3:04:34Thank you. There are no Spanish comments
3:04:36for this item and no other hands are
3:04:39raised. So, this will conclude the
3:04:42public forum portion uh of our meeting.
3:04:45Uh Chair Raikstraw, back to you. Um
3:04:48thank you very much, Courtney. And um
3:04:50Skyler, if you are able to reconnect for
3:04:52the public forum, we can we can take
3:04:53your comment um uh for the hazardous
3:04:56waste management plan hearing when we
3:04:58open up for public comment then. So, um
3:05:00maybe Sheena or Courtney, if you're able
3:05:02to work uh with them to get the to
3:05:05reestablish the connection, we can do
3:05:06that. Um so we now have two more uh
3:05:10items before we break. Um so we're going
3:05:13to um first turn to the board member
3:05:14reports which is item seven and then
3:05:16we'll have the um review discussion and
3:05:19approval of our minutes from the last
3:05:21meeting. Um so uh on agenda item number
3:05:26seven on board member reports um these
3:05:28reports are a chance for board members
3:05:30to report out on work on some committees
3:05:33and lies on reports as well as public
3:05:35engagement updates. Um so I will start
3:05:38with member Gomez first um who will
3:05:41provide an update on ex. So member
3:05:44Gomez. Yeah. So thank you. So there was
3:05:47a meeting yesterday with uh that DTSC
3:05:52held as a workshop with the community on
3:05:54that side. I unfortunately didn't
3:05:57participate but I do know that in our
3:06:00weekly u meetings that we have there are
3:06:03um the major concern is the funding uh
3:06:07which right now it sounds like there's
3:06:09uh as we heard it earlier from um from
3:06:14uh Miss Butler there are some
3:06:17possibilities of having a little bit
3:06:18more flexibility in the funding
3:06:20depending on how the budget gets gets
3:06:23adopted at at the state level. Uh we do
3:06:26have a working group meeting tomorrow
3:06:29which hopefully there'll be a little bit
3:06:31of more dive into the request. So next
3:06:35meeting there'll be I can have a a
3:06:37better report on that. And then the
3:06:40other one is um and it's been a
3:06:42conversation within the working group is
3:06:44the um analysis that EPA is currently
3:06:48doing in relation to the site cleanup
3:06:52and in terms of making it a super fund
3:06:54that still is ongoing. It hasn't
3:06:56stopped. That evaluation continues to
3:06:59occur. Um there isn't a specific
3:07:01timeline yet. Um and unfortunately for
3:07:05this meeting we were going to have a big
3:07:06of a
3:07:09uh um a dedicated discussion but it
3:07:12didn't occur. So hopefully down the the
3:07:14line we'll we'll be able to have that in
3:07:16relation to
3:07:18um and by the third party monitor which
3:07:20I think uh the full the full members can
3:07:24benefit from from what they're doing. Um
3:07:27there's weekly reporting weekly
3:07:29inspections by the third party party. um
3:07:33monitor um and there are some things
3:07:35that are being identified as not being
3:07:37followed but they're not there I won't
3:07:40say that it's not many um but I really
3:07:44want us to get a better understanding of
3:07:46what's going on in that and then uh what
3:07:49else
3:07:51um the evaluation super fund funding um
3:07:56but you heard from Lauren we continue to
3:07:58meet in relation to just giving her
3:08:01support and guidance on how to do some
3:08:04follow-ups, how to shape the reporting
3:08:07that should happen for us so we're aware
3:08:09of what's going on and what we're
3:08:11hearing. So, she continues to move
3:08:13forward with that. A lot of the
3:08:15reporting happens to a lot of the
3:08:18comments that she is doing follow-ups
3:08:20are mainly comments that we get to hear
3:08:23here at the moment. That's the majority.
3:08:26Not a lot of people are not following up
3:08:29directly to her. uh so we get to hear a
3:08:32lot of that. So we're exploring ways in
3:08:35which we can uplift the Umbbud's role to
3:08:39ensure that we're be more accessible
3:08:41when we're proactive. So that's
3:08:42something that it's ongoing. And then
3:08:45I'm also part of EJC um as well as uh
3:08:48Ingrid. But um that work right now it is
3:08:51my understanding that the members are
3:08:54getting um
3:08:56training on DTSC and what it is. So they
3:09:00haven't I don't think they've met as we
3:09:03haven't been invited if they are if they
3:09:06have but um they're just getting
3:09:08training on DTS. That's it.
3:09:12Um thanks very much member Gomez. Um
3:09:14we'll now turn to Vice Chair Strauss
3:09:16Hecker um who will provide an update on
3:09:19uh as the Department of Defense liaison
3:09:21and and any other matters she may wish
3:09:23to raise. Thank you. Um under the
3:09:25statute that created this board, one of
3:09:27the specific um provisions was that the
3:09:31board would have someone serve as a
3:09:33liaison to the department of defense
3:09:35given the various sites across
3:09:38California. And in my time on the board
3:09:42um there have been convened by Cal EPA
3:09:45uh the various boards, departments and
3:09:47offices meeting with the different
3:09:49services of uh DoD and that has been for
3:09:54me very interesting and useful to hear
3:09:56the different issues that come up. There
3:09:59was also for a time I think in my first
3:10:01year when DTSC convened that meeting for
3:10:05has to specific purposes which I joined
3:10:09and other managers such um as our
3:10:11present here today were part of that. So
3:10:13it was very useful to have a facility
3:10:16specific discussion around hazardous
3:10:19waste permitting or other issues. to
3:10:22pivot slightly as we've gone through uh
3:10:25the fee setting process DoD has some
3:10:29unique issues um for example around how
3:10:33I'll give you just an an example that
3:10:36that comes to mind if a very large Navy
3:10:39vessel comes into port and it's been at
3:10:42sea for 6 months it has all different
3:10:44kinds of waste that come ashore to be
3:10:47handled recycled or disposed of and some
3:10:50of it's universal waste Some of it's
3:10:52clearly hazardous ways. Some of it can't
3:10:54be stored for more than a certain amount
3:10:55of time. So there's a kind of a complex
3:10:57picture around how, for example, in San
3:11:01Diego, let's say, the Navy handles
3:11:03different kinds of wastes and which of
3:11:05those are subject to fees. And so my um
3:11:08point in bringing this up is I'm going
3:11:10to suggest that we urge and with DTSC
3:11:15convene a more regular DoD meeting in
3:11:18advance of our summertime fee setting
3:11:21schedule so that as DTS, excuse me, as
3:11:25the Department of Defense may have fee
3:11:27related issues that we can air them and
3:11:30with DTSC answer those um questions and
3:11:34then as may be appropriate um get into
3:11:37other permitting and facility specific
3:11:40matters and I would be glad to report
3:11:41back on that. So, it's kind of a
3:11:43two-part report for me here. One is that
3:11:46um I'll work with DTSC to try and put
3:11:49together something in advance of our
3:11:51June fees workshop in case DTSC has some
3:11:54issues, they can raise them up. And then
3:11:56two, that um with our DTSC colleagues
3:11:59that we get back into um quarterly or
3:12:03other um they don't have to be long.
3:12:05They're just an hour, but they're really
3:12:07useful. Um, DTSC bees meetings that I'd
3:12:09be glad to report on here. That's it.
3:12:12Thank you very much. Vice um Chair
3:12:15Hacker, members Brost or Batia, anything
3:12:17to report from here? Frost, please.
3:12:21Yeah, actually had a quite a few
3:12:23meetings um since our our last one. um
3:12:26you know uh in terms of the metrics um
3:12:29conversations um met with a coalition um
3:12:33led by PSRLA um had a really robust
3:12:36conversation there um and are currently
3:12:39looking at uh you know robust document
3:12:42that they've shared um also met with
3:12:44Albian Bridge Steward up in they're um
3:12:48virtually but they're from Menescino um
3:12:50learned about their site and they also
3:12:52had um numerous recommendations for for
3:12:56metrics. Um
3:12:58uh met with residents um of Avanol and
3:13:03Green Action to discuss concerns around
3:13:05the Avanol municipal
3:13:07landfill and also had um more of a um
3:13:13internal meeting with DTSC staff to
3:13:15learn more about inspections and
3:13:18inspection frequencies.
3:13:20And then finally, just wanted to report
3:13:22out um that there's going to be um a
3:13:26workshops on brownfield redevelopment in
3:13:29Fresno on June 5th as well as one in
3:13:33Sacramento on June 3rd. I will be
3:13:35presenting at the Fresno uh workshop. Um
3:13:39particularly around um engaging the
3:13:41community on brownfield redevelopment.
3:13:43Um certainly there's um there's a bit of
3:13:45a deficit of brownfield redevelopment
3:13:47opportunities in the central valley. So,
3:13:49we're very encouraged uh to uh to see
3:13:52this workshop coming and hoping to bring
3:13:54in community partners to learn more
3:13:56about opportunities for brownfield
3:13:58redevelopment in Central Valley.
3:14:02Very much member Batia.
3:14:05Since you've already talked about
3:14:06metrics, maybe I'll spend a minute
3:14:08giving you an update on fees. The for
3:14:12those of you that have not been actively
3:14:14engaged on fees, let me just give you
3:14:15the framework for how to think about
3:14:17fees. Typically every year in January
3:14:20the governor's office releases a
3:14:22preliminary uh appropriated budget for
3:14:25DTSC and that is the budget that gets
3:14:28revised in May which is what um director
3:14:31Butler spoke about earlier. What that
3:14:33appropriated budget does is it gives
3:14:35DTSC the authority to spend money to run
3:14:38some programs and
3:14:40services. And in parallel what happens
3:14:43is DDSC continues to collect revenues
3:14:46from the three different types of fees.
3:14:48I won't get into the details of the
3:14:50kinds of fees but there are three
3:14:51different kinds of fees that get
3:14:54collected through
3:14:55CDTFA and CDTFA is another sister agency
3:14:59at the state starts to provide DTSC a
3:15:03view of what are the revenues
3:15:05collected and that report we start to
3:15:08see in or DTSC starts to see it in March
3:15:11and then we as a board start to look at
3:15:14the both of these numbers side by side
3:15:16which is what is the appropriated amount
3:15:18account and what is the revenue
3:15:19collected and our goal as a board is I'd
3:15:23mentioned earlier is to make sure that
3:15:24DTSC remains solvent which means there's
3:15:26enough funding for all of its programs
3:15:29which means our first order of business
3:15:30is do we does DTSC have enough revenues
3:15:33to run its programs and meet the
3:15:35appropriate budget uh we um see this
3:15:39through the lens of what what are called
3:15:41fund condition statements we met with
3:15:44DTSC um regularly we meet with them and
3:15:47then as of last week we have some
3:15:48preliminary fund condition statements
3:15:50that we've started to see. Uh these will
3:15:53continue to get refined and as Swati
3:15:55mentioned in the workshop that we post
3:15:57in June, we're going to show you not
3:16:00just the fund condition statements but
3:16:01also some scenarios and our
3:16:04considerations in the scenarios are what
3:16:06is the uh loan repayment uh that we
3:16:10talked earlier about how DTSC have to
3:16:12take a loan to previously fill a
3:16:14shortfall or a deficit. So what is the
3:16:16loan uh repayment uh schedule? Uh what
3:16:19sort of reserve do do we think is
3:16:21prudent for GTSC to have? Um those are
3:16:24the two considerations and then if it
3:16:27ends up that in June we end up seeing
3:16:29any shortfalls do we have to make any
3:16:30changes to the fees to be the shortfall
3:16:32which we don't anticipate or we don't
3:16:33yet know in June we will show you the
3:16:35scenarios and the fundation statement
3:16:38that is
3:16:40thank you very much me
3:16:41Pontia. Um, okay. We'll now turn to
3:16:45agenda item number eight. Um, which is
3:16:47the review, discussion, and possible
3:16:49approval of the minutes. Um, so is there
3:16:54any discussion first regarding the
3:16:58minutes? So, can I have a motion to
3:17:01approve the April 20 24th meeting
3:17:03minutes? Chair Rickstro, I so move. Is
3:17:07there a second?
3:17:11There.
3:17:14member
3:17:15Boston. Uh, is there any board
3:17:17discussion? And Courtney, will you call
3:17:19the vote? Thank you, Chair Rickstra. Uh,
3:17:22all in favor of approving the April 24th
3:17:26meeting minutes, please say I. I. Any
3:17:29opposed?
3:17:31Abstensions. Can I actually Oh, I just
3:17:34realized that I missed a portion of last
3:17:37meeting. So, I actually probably should
3:17:39abstain from at least. So maybe I should
3:17:41not but the minutes reflect um well one
3:17:46you were there under difficult
3:17:47circumstances and it does reflect that
3:17:49you were there for most of the meeting
3:17:50and so I would suggest that okay um
3:17:53having gone back through my notes during
3:17:55the meeting and looking at the minutes I
3:17:57think we should um go forward as is.
3:17:59Okay, thank you for that confirmation.
3:18:03So, uh, stress, uh, vice chair Hacker,
3:18:06uh, motion to approve. Member Brostrom
3:18:09seconded. Everyone, uh, we voted in
3:18:12favor said I. Were there any opposed or
3:18:14any
3:18:15abstensions? Okay. Thank you so much.
3:18:18That motion passes unanimously as
3:18:20amended for, excuse me, unanimously for
3:18:24the uh, April 24th meeting minutes.
3:18:26Those approved minutes will be posted to
3:18:28our website in the coming
3:18:31days. And that will wrap up item number
3:18:35eight on the agenda. And uh Chair
3:18:37Rakestraw, it is now 3:36. Would you
3:18:41like to call for a break? Yes, I would.
3:18:43Um let's take a break and let's
3:18:45reconvene at 4:45 p.m. where we will
3:18:47begin uh the third hearing for DTSC's
3:18:51draft hazardous waste management plan.
3:18:53And thank you everyone. Before we take
3:18:55our break, I do just want to um do a
3:18:58quick poll for those uh joining us in
3:19:00person. Can I get a show of hands of
3:19:02those who plan to comment for agenda
3:19:04item number nine, the hazardous waste
3:19:06management plan? Great. Has have you all
3:19:09received a number or if anyone I should
3:19:11say if anyone has not received a number
3:19:13yet, can you keep your hand raised and
3:19:15we'll make sure to pass those out? Okay.
3:19:19Um maybe can I ask
3:19:23uh uh Evelyn or you're doing the order,
3:19:26huh? Would you be able to pass out the
3:19:28numbers? Sorry. Please keep your hand
3:19:30raised just for a moment so we can
3:19:32verify. If you haven't received a
3:19:33number, please keep your hand raised.
3:19:35For those on For those on Zoom,
3:19:40for those on Zoom that would like to
3:19:42comment, if you could raise your virtual
3:19:44hand, if you would like to comment on
3:19:46the hazardous waste management plan
3:19:48agenda item number nine, just to get an
3:19:51idea. Okay, so one, two. Okay, thank you
3:19:56so much. And again, we will check in on
3:19:58this item. Just want to uh get a get a
3:20:01poll uh as we go into break. Uh thank
3:20:04you all. We are going to go ahead and
3:20:06take our break now and we'll return at
3:20:094:45 p.m. Thank
3:20:11you. Okay, welcome back everyone. Thank
3:20:15you so much for joining us this evening.
3:20:18It is now 4:55 and we do maintain a
3:20:22quorum by having all members present.
3:20:25This is a reminder that the meeting is
3:20:27being livereamed and recorded. Your
3:20:29continued participation is
3:20:31acknowledgment that you are being
3:20:32recorded. Uh Chair Raikstraw, over to
3:20:35you to continue with our meeting. Thank
3:20:38you very much.
3:20:41Uh thank you very much, Courtney. Um so
3:20:43we'll now continue with the third uh
3:20:45hazardous waste management plan uh
3:20:47hearing. Uh the first hearing took place
3:20:50on March 20th in Fresno where we heard
3:20:52from many community members on DTSC's
3:20:54draft plan. Our second hearing took
3:20:56place on April 24th in Berkeley. Um
3:21:00these plan hearings are your opportunity
3:21:02to share comments and recommendations
3:21:04before the board votes on the plan. Um
3:21:07so as far as the run of show today um
3:21:09first the board's executive officer
3:21:11Swati Chararma will provide a brief
3:21:13overview of the hazardous waste
3:21:15management plan and the tenative
3:21:17timeline moving forward. Uh then uh
3:21:20Mandy Bane the deputy director of DTSC's
3:21:23hazardous waste management program will
3:21:25introduce the plan. Uh the board will
3:21:28then discuss and provide DTSC with
3:21:30direction regarding goal seven. Um and
3:21:33then deputy director Bane will continue
3:21:35her presentation with the focus on goals
3:21:37one through five. Um after the
3:21:39presentation we will open it up for
3:21:42board discussion and then we'll have
3:21:44public comment. Um so now over to
3:21:47executive officer Chararma to provide an
3:21:49overview of the third hazardous waste
3:21:51management plan hearing. Sure. Thank you
3:21:54so much. I'm not going to take too much
3:21:55time because what I've said I've shared
3:21:57before already. We're here for the third
3:22:00hazardous waste management plan hearing.
3:22:02The board is required to hold at least
3:22:04three hear or three hearings throughout
3:22:06the state. And we heard from many folks
3:22:10um many of the folks that are here in
3:22:12this room today um that you would like a
3:22:14fourth hearing and so we do have a
3:22:16fourth hearing planned in July in
3:22:19Sacramento to hear your comments um on
3:22:23the hazardous waste management plan. Um
3:22:25at a subsequent board meeting, the board
3:22:29will vote on the plan. And so once the
3:22:32board decides on what that date looks
3:22:34like, we will keep the public informed.
3:22:36But right now, you know, we welcome
3:22:38comments here. We also welcome
3:22:40one-on-one comments, written comments.
3:22:43Um, we we would like to hear from you.
3:22:45And we understand that three minutes may
3:22:48not be enough to discuss comments on a
3:22:51robust plan. And so we've had many
3:22:54stakeholder meetings already that have
3:22:56been very informative. Um, so please
3:22:58reach out to um either myself or Sheena
3:23:01Brooks, our outreach manager, if you
3:23:03would like to meet with us to discuss
3:23:05some of your ideas around the plan. And
3:23:08I will hand it back to Rick. Um, thank
3:23:10you very much, Swathy. Um, so I'll now
3:23:12turn it over um to Mandy Bane for some
3:23:15um introductory remarks. Great. Thank
3:23:17you. Um, I want to start by thanking all
3:23:21the community members that have uh came
3:23:24out for our first two hearings in Fresno
3:23:27and Berkeley as you mentioned and all of
3:23:29the folks that are here with us
3:23:31tonight. Um, the testimony has been very
3:23:35powerful and I thank you for sharing
3:23:38your experiences and concerns. I heard
3:23:41you talk about the pollution burdens you
3:23:44already face, the worry that DTSC is
3:23:47taking steps that would endanger your
3:23:48community by making that pollution
3:23:50burden worse and outrage that these
3:23:53steps would be taken without
3:23:54consultation and
3:23:56discussion. And as a public health
3:23:59professional, the distress, the fear,
3:24:01the anger that I heard from folks was
3:24:04very concerning. anxiety, stress have
3:24:07real consequences. And I do want to
3:24:09apologize that this plan had that impact
3:24:13on folks. You know, I'm motivated to do
3:24:16this job because I wholeheartedly
3:24:19believe that your zip code should not
3:24:21determine your health outcomes. and our
3:24:26institutions, our government agencies,
3:24:28we have a responsibility to undo those
3:24:31environmental just
3:24:33injustices that we, you know, we know
3:24:35where they come from. They came from
3:24:36redlinining. They came from that long
3:24:38history. And we do have to keep that in
3:24:41mind. And I think the only way we can
3:24:44kind of move forward is is also with
3:24:47with that that trust and kind of showing
3:24:50our work al along the way so that we can
3:24:53bring everyone along on the journey
3:24:56together. So that that is my personal
3:24:59perspective. I also want to recognize
3:25:02the work of all the DTSC staff that who
3:25:06drafted the plan and acknowledge that
3:25:09their draft is scientifically sound. It
3:25:12makes good hazardous waste management
3:25:15sense and it came out of a long process
3:25:19of research and workshops and engagement
3:25:22with stakeholders.
3:25:24Um you know the the concern here about
3:25:26is about non-rihazardous waste primarily
3:25:29hazardous waste soil. It is our largest
3:25:32waste stream that is generated every
3:25:34year in California and DTSC does have a
3:25:38responsibility to ensure that it's being
3:25:40managed most efficiently and
3:25:44effectively. But I want to reiterate
3:25:46that protecting human health in the
3:25:48environment is our mission as a
3:25:50department. It's my personal northstar.
3:25:53It's why we're all here, why we all care
3:25:56about this issue. So given all that, we
3:26:01are committed to revising the plan,
3:26:06particularly recommendation 7.2 related
3:26:09to alternative management standards for
3:26:12non-ri
3:26:13soils. Uh I should say non-rhazardous
3:26:16waste soils. So it's very clear. I'm
3:26:18still getting used to all our technical
3:26:19language here. Um I am looking forward
3:26:22to comment and direction from the board
3:26:24and I really also hope that uh
3:26:26stakeholders and community groups will
3:26:29be sharing their perspective as well. So
3:26:31with that I'll turn it back over. Thank
3:26:33you very much uh Mandy for the
3:26:35introduction. Um so uh as far as
3:26:38facilitating board uh discussion um I
3:26:40think with the board's indulgence I'd
3:26:42like to first start off with goal seven
3:26:45um in particular 7.2. Clearly, there's
3:26:48been an enormous amount of public
3:26:49interest uh in that goal. We've heard
3:26:51that at the first two uh hearings. Um
3:26:54so, I'd like to open it up for the board
3:26:56discussion on that. And then um any
3:26:58possible direction that um we as the
3:27:00board would like to provide to DTSC
3:27:04um on that goal in particular, we'll
3:27:06then go, as I said, to to Mandy's
3:27:08presentation and then and then dive in a
3:27:10bit more detail on one through five. So,
3:27:13I'll pause there. Um who would like to
3:27:14kick us off?
3:27:22[Laughter]
3:27:24in particular. So to goal number seven
3:27:28and then discussion on goals one through
3:27:30five will come after.
3:27:33Yeah. So, I mean, I think I, you know, I
3:27:36was remote last time. I was very sick,
3:27:38but I think I um, you know, I think I
3:27:41was, I was pretty clear in saying that I
3:27:43felt very comfortable with 7.2. I don't
3:27:47think there was a case made for the why.
3:27:50Um, and so, um, I I think what I'd like
3:27:55to put up for discussion is because to
3:27:57me it's, you know, a revision or a
3:28:00removal. And I personally because I
3:28:02don't think any of the groundwork was
3:28:04laid, I don't think it is subject to
3:28:06being revised in a way that makes sense
3:28:09without a lot more analysis. So my
3:28:11recommendation would be a
3:28:18Yeah, please go ahead. M okay so it's
3:28:21hard to have a conversation about goal
3:28:23seven without having a conversation
3:28:26about why is goal seven there which is
3:28:29what is the basis for any of the goals
3:28:31or recommendations to appear in the plan
3:28:35um given I'm sort of seconding what you
3:28:37said that from the plan uh and
3:28:40information presented in the plan it is
3:28:42not clear why it's showing up the only
3:28:45thing I would support including in some
3:28:48way shape or form is 7.4 that talks
3:28:50specifically about hazard hazardous
3:28:53waste generated from grime which is not
3:28:55the topic of discussion. If you're
3:28:57talking specifically about 7.2 soil
3:29:01given that the research and thinking is
3:29:03not fully there or it's not presented in
3:29:06the report I suggest removing it.
3:29:12Thanks. Um member Gomez vice chair
3:29:15Hacker would you like to speak on this
3:29:17issue? I support the recommendation.
3:29:24It's important. I think that as we look
3:29:27forward with the plan as a whole, and I
3:29:29will address goal seven specifically,
3:29:31that California not only do a superb job
3:29:35of managing solid waste and hazardous
3:29:38waste so as not to further burden
3:29:40communities, but that we understand that
3:29:43we have neighboring state partners in
3:29:46Arizona, Nevada, and Utah that also um
3:29:50have similar responsibilities and have
3:29:52commercial houses sites. And I think
3:29:55that there are other options that we can
3:29:59entertain. And I don't mean for them to
3:30:01be an amendment to the plan. I just am
3:30:03saying it for purposes of
3:30:04discussion. When this concern around
3:30:08whether or not we should manage more of
3:30:10our waste in states began or really
3:30:14became more of a topic of conversation,
3:30:16it was with the presumption that
3:30:18Arizona, Nevada, and Utah don't do as
3:30:20good a job as we do. Well, it's terribly
3:30:23complicated and I think that we should
3:30:25continue to expect that there will be a
3:30:28mix of solutions including certain kinds
3:30:32of wastes will go to certain commercial
3:30:34sites that have their own series of
3:30:38inspections, compliance actions and the
3:30:40like with their respective state
3:30:42oversight. So, I'd like us to not think
3:30:45that we have to manage more stuff in
3:30:48state. I don't think it's realistic
3:30:49given the size and variety of our
3:30:51economy, but we can have more
3:30:54partnership or formal memoranda of
3:30:57agreement with our neighboring states
3:30:59around how that compliance in these
3:31:02other commercial sites um can be
3:31:05addressed to give um if people need
3:31:07greater insight into how well it's being
3:31:10done or not being done. So there are
3:31:12other kinds of solutions out there. It
3:31:15was very stark when we met in Fresno to
3:31:18realize how people felt that they were
3:31:20so gravely
3:31:22burdened and that the possibility that
3:31:25we would suddenly declare what is
3:31:28currently a California hazardous waste
3:31:31to be something that belonged in a
3:31:32landfill near where they live. And that
3:31:34fear that Andy just referenced was so
3:31:38palpable and it it colored everything
3:31:41that continued into our Berkeley
3:31:43meeting. And as a result, it's as if all
3:31:46the years of work that the DTSC team has
3:31:48done um could not be seen because we
3:31:52could only see the concern around goal
3:31:54seven. So I think that we should set
3:31:58aside goal seven and I think we should
3:32:01focus obviously tonight on goals one
3:32:03through five. But I do think that our
3:32:05future lies in having a strong western
3:32:08US partnership around what goes where.
3:32:10And I would prefer to shift our energies
3:32:13particularly the board and staff's
3:32:15energies around are there things that we
3:32:18could do that probably make things
3:32:20better. That's kind of like the the test
3:32:23I'm employing is are we going to invest
3:32:25in something in the next year that makes
3:32:27something better. There are many
3:32:29elements of the plan that I think in
3:32:31other goals are worthy of investment
3:32:34that will make things better for us long
3:32:36term. So, I would I'm very grateful to
3:32:39the team for the work it's done and I'm
3:32:41very grateful to DTSC for being willing
3:32:45to take this in and and not continue
3:32:48pursuing it pending the actions that we
3:32:52do here tonight.
3:32:54Thank you. Um I think from my
3:32:56perspective, I'd like to thank Mandy for
3:32:58um your your comments and your
3:33:00responsiveness to the the comments that
3:33:02the public have been raising. I I do
3:33:03appreciate that. Um I mean I think when
3:33:06I was looking at the the plan in in
3:33:08particular um recognizing again that um
3:33:12you know relatively new to this role um
3:33:14I think you know one of the concerns
3:33:16that I I you know felt and that clearly
3:33:19has come through is the kind of the
3:33:20limited analysis in particular that
3:33:23would go into this. It seemed that kind
3:33:25of the decision had be been made and
3:33:27then the dis discussion or the analysis
3:33:29was limited to kind of whether the
3:33:31liners are sufficient but obviously the
3:33:33potential health impacts of bringing uh
3:33:36you know what what is currently
3:33:37hazardous waste soil extend well well
3:33:40beyond the the the liner system also you
3:33:43know go to transportation and kind of
3:33:45the full the full life cycle of that. Um
3:33:48so that was another uh kind of
3:33:49observation that I wanted to add as as
3:33:51well.
3:33:53Um, are there any other comments from
3:33:56board members? Um, I will pause for just
3:33:59a second and consult with uh, Swathy.
3:34:39Um, so I'm going to go over and and talk
3:34:40to our board council real. I'm going to
3:34:42make the bold uh move of actually
3:34:43proposing a motion. Uh, so be uh
3:34:46generous with me. Um, but we're just
3:34:48going to tweak the the final bits. Um,
3:34:50so I'll be back in just a sec.
3:35:36Um, all right. Thanks. Um, so, uh, I
3:35:39would like to make a motion, um, if with
3:35:42the board's indulgence, I'd like our
3:35:43board council to put, um,
3:35:46uh, what we've been talking about, uh,
3:35:48on the screen.
3:35:50I can kind of provide a rationale and
3:35:52walk walk through it.
3:35:54Great. Thank you, Chair Rickstra. So,
3:35:57um, Greg, if you wouldn't mind go ahead
3:35:59and sharing your screen
3:36:03from the Zoom application.
3:36:18Wonderful. Thank you.
3:36:21Um,
3:36:23so just to just to walk I guess both the
3:36:26public and and the board through this.
3:36:28Um, so the first part of the motion just
3:36:30sets out the mandate here that we're
3:36:33operating under that section 25135 of
3:36:37the health and safety code. The board
3:36:39and DTSC are tasked with jointly
3:36:41revising and finalizing the hazardous
3:36:43waste management plan. uh but it's the
3:36:46board that then uh approves that that
3:36:49plan. I think that's something we all
3:36:50know that just as the context
3:36:52um and uh one of the comments I know
3:36:55that in particular uh members Brostster
3:36:58and Batia have commented on is that
3:37:00there's been uh not as um not sufficient
3:37:03responsiveness from DTSC to the earlier
3:37:06comments that they had provided. So uh
3:37:09it's a direction to direct DTSC to work
3:37:12closely with the board to incorporate
3:37:14the written and oral comments uh from
3:37:16board members and board staff um to
3:37:19date. Um consider the public comments
3:37:22that that you all have uh provided and
3:37:24will provide today. Uh and then propose
3:37:27revisions uh to the plan by uh July 1st
3:37:31prior to the board's next hearing on the
3:37:34plan. Um we had thought that um July 1st
3:37:37gives you know gives gives two two weeks
3:37:40uh probably not enough time but we
3:37:42thought it perhaps would be um a
3:37:45reasonable amount of time but Mandy feel
3:37:47free to chime in and and say if that's
3:37:49patently unreasonable and then the third
3:37:52um paragraph captures the uh I think
3:37:56clear direction
3:37:57from the board members here that that uh
3:38:00we should remove uh recommendation 7.2 2
3:38:03is currently dropped in.
3:38:06I second your motion.
3:38:09And now we'll open up for discussion.
3:38:12Yeah, just um um just with that last
3:38:15clause um as currently drafted. I mean I
3:38:19I think we were pretty clear that we
3:38:21didn't want a revision of the like the
3:38:24content or like a reworking of it. And
3:38:27so my just my concern is if we just say
3:38:30like not this language but something
3:38:32else I feel like this motion might leave
3:38:34that door open. So um in my
3:38:37consideration like I don't think we
3:38:38should revisit this topic in this plan.
3:38:42Got it. So I don't know if there's like
3:38:44a be something to make it a little
3:38:46broader than than just like the actual.
3:38:51Thanks member Rostrom member Batia
3:38:54member Gomez. Do you have I would echo
3:38:58um Ingred in terms of the lang the
3:39:00language of the renewal does leave it
3:39:02open for re rewarding
3:39:06uh
3:39:07rewriting but I don't think that's the
3:39:09intention or at least that's not what we
3:39:11heard. I I think it's removal.
3:39:15Yeah. So there's not much else.
3:39:23Anything as currently?
3:39:27Yeah. I am also in favor of saying I
3:39:31move that DTSC recommend.
3:39:34Period.
3:39:36Uh I I do want to like make a comment
3:39:39that TTSC is a science-based
3:39:41organization. You have the best
3:39:43available science. You are going to
3:39:44constantly revise and update the best
3:39:46edible science to the report u update
3:39:49process. And what I would like to see in
3:39:53the future is if the science is clearly
3:39:55pointing a specific direction, show us
3:39:57that science and and all I'm saying is
3:40:00we want to remove it now. But if that
3:40:02there's some science that points to a
3:40:04specific action in the future, you can
3:40:06bring it
3:40:08back. But for now, I'm supporting what
3:40:12that science is not reflected in the
3:40:13current version of the plan.
3:40:15I note that the July 1st proposed date
3:40:19is about seven weeks from now. Um, Matt,
3:40:22did you think that that is workable?
3:40:25Well, I'd like to know if you intended
3:40:28to mean like an written full written
3:40:31version, revised version, or you mean
3:40:34like conceptually what the revisions
3:40:36are? You just need to get a sense.
3:40:43Yeah, please go. everybody. Yeah.
3:40:45So I why don't we allow the full board
3:40:49discussion and then allow Mandy to
3:40:51comment because some of us have done
3:40:52even more thinking and want to
3:40:54internalize our feedback and again
3:40:56review listen to the feedback from the
3:40:58public. If you feel like July is doable
3:41:01then we'll go with
3:41:02July. Is that an option?
3:41:06Do you want to wait on voting then until
3:41:09after
3:41:10Deputy Bing has given a presentation?
3:41:15I mean one
3:41:17can we make these two motions? Yeah. So
3:41:20vote on that last provision take out as
3:41:23currently drafted. That's the first
3:41:25initial motion that we vote on and then
3:41:27we pick up the second one in terms of
3:41:29the date after like we we have more
3:41:32chance to dial out about what we want to
3:41:34see changed.
3:41:37No, I mean just to throw out I mean
3:41:39alternatively we could remove the date.
3:41:42We we would just remove is currently
3:41:44drafted remove the date you know so it
3:41:47just say the plan prior to the board's
3:41:49next hearing. Uh and then we kind of
3:41:53amend this motion during the or after
3:41:57the next uh after the board's subsequent
3:42:00discussion after Mandy's presentation.
3:42:02That's another way to go about it as
3:42:03well. If we want to like capture the
3:42:05package uh and then go ahead and amend
3:42:09it.
3:42:12I'm raising my Yeah. uh I worry that
3:42:15like this will become an endless process
3:42:17and then it pushes into the next report
3:42:21revision and the next plan revision and
3:42:24so on. So in order to book end it I
3:42:26would like to see a date. Yeah. Because
3:42:29the comments we're going to give today
3:42:30are not new. I just want to be very
3:42:32clear they are comments we have given in
3:42:34the past. Yeah. So given that I would
3:42:37like to book end it and not have this
3:42:38process over take too long.
3:42:42I mean, is it is it reasonable? Can we
3:42:45go ahead and adopt this uh as is
3:42:49removing as currently drafted? Leave it
3:42:51in. And then if based on the comments,
3:42:55Mandy, that you hear, you can cry for
3:42:58help and say if that this just July 1st
3:43:00is patently unreasonable and then we
3:43:02could consider that amendment during
3:43:04that discussion. Is that maybe what what
3:43:06we'll do? Okay. So, let's remove as
3:43:08currently drafted.
3:43:12Um, so this is the motion that's
3:43:15currently on the table. Um, do we have a
3:43:18a second member
3:43:20Boston? Are there any other additional
3:43:23board discussion on this? I don't know
3:43:25if we properly answered um, Deputy
3:43:28Bain's question on is the board
3:43:30expecting like the actual plan revisions
3:43:33or is it more, you know, a presentation
3:43:36talking about the revisions? um which
3:43:39one do you want by the next hearing? I
3:43:42mean, ideally, of course, it would be
3:43:44the actual plan, but if that's not
3:43:45doable, is a presentation or talking
3:43:48about how the revisions what they've
3:43:50heard, how they're going to be
3:43:52incorporated.
3:43:55It's a good question. Are there any for
3:43:57Yeah, please. Oh, I mean
3:44:00just looking at at the language I read
3:44:03that as more of a
3:44:05incorporation and revisions are in the
3:44:07written plan. So I I do see this as as
3:44:11we have it now. Not that it has to be
3:44:13final. I don't think it says that it has
3:44:14to be final, but I think there has to be
3:44:16an attempt to actually put pen to paper
3:44:19with our revision. That's just how I
3:44:20read it. I'm also just flagging that the
3:44:23July board meeting is when the
3:44:25presentation would be on goals 6 through
3:44:2710. So you may not have heard from the
3:44:30public on goal six through 10 until
3:44:32then. So we may want to allow that like
3:44:36so to your point like kind of a working
3:44:39draft, right? And also incorporate edits
3:44:42that and comments that come up at the
3:44:44next board meeting as well. What
3:44:47if what if we put in there revisions to
3:44:50goals one through
3:44:52five in that motion?
3:44:57Yeah.
3:45:01I think we also have a responsibility
3:45:04given the timing and I take to heart
3:45:06Sush's comment about let's bring this to
3:45:11a close at the right time and not have
3:45:13it um continue on too long. I think we
3:45:16should focus on revising the plan goals
3:45:20one through five. I don't think um we
3:45:24have to wordsmith the way it's currently
3:45:27set up much of the intro text. I think
3:45:29we just have to focus on the actions
3:45:31themselves that you're looking at in
3:45:34goals one through five and in deleting
3:45:377.2. So I think that that is doable. I
3:45:40also think that our team and board
3:45:43members are more than willing to be
3:45:46available to answer questions throughout
3:45:49so that we can get to July and feel that
3:45:51we've heard the comments on one through
3:45:54five. We see the changes proposed
3:45:56through one through five and we're ready
3:45:57to go to our late July meeting with the
3:46:01revisions available to the public so
3:46:04that we can then use the July meeting to
3:46:05focus on 6 through 10.
3:46:09Okay. I think one last comment is that
3:46:14because we're going to spend some time
3:46:15today talking about the vision as well.
3:46:18A lot of the the plan actions or
3:46:21recommendations flow from that vision.
3:46:23So if we provide a strong anchor point
3:46:27ideally the revision of six to
3:46:3112 becomes somewhat easier because our
3:46:34framing has been established.
3:46:39But member budget you also raised a good
3:46:41point though I mean if our discussion
3:46:42today is on not just goals one through
3:46:45five but also on the vision the
3:46:47introductory sections I think we would
3:46:48expect that those would also be revised
3:46:50as well. So maybe we do re leave it as
3:46:52is and then DTSC can report back and say
3:46:57just to note that you know we focused
3:46:59our our our edits or revisions on you
3:47:02know those sections and you know so
3:47:05maybe there's an asterisk for the
3:47:06remaining ones that were particularly
3:47:08soliciting public comment on but you
3:47:10know that would kind of commonly or be
3:47:13understood or indicated some
3:47:14way. Okay. So I think we have
3:47:17a uh motion, we have a second, and we've
3:47:21had board discussion. Is there any dis
3:47:23discussion further on this motion that's
3:47:26on the table or before
3:47:29us? Okay. So
3:47:33Okay, Courtney, can you please call the
3:47:36vote? Thank you, Chair Raikstraw. Uh all
3:47:39in favor of the motions as stated uh
3:47:42here today uh please say I. I. I any
3:47:47opposed any
3:47:50abstensions? Okay, thank you. The motion
3:47:53passes
3:47:54unanimously and uh this will be sorry as
3:47:58as stated on the slides with uh
3:48:01regarding the removal of 7.2 of the
3:48:04hazardous waste draft 2025 hazardous
3:48:07waste management draft plan. Sorry,
3:48:10would you like Greg to um Greg, can you
3:48:12repeat the motion? Sorry. Yeah.
3:48:15Yeah. So, the motion reads, "Under
3:48:17section 25135 of the health and safety
3:48:20code, the board and DTSC jointly revise
3:48:23and finalize the hazardous waste
3:48:24management plan before it is considered
3:48:26by the board for approval. The motion is
3:48:29therefore to move to direct DTSC to work
3:48:32closely with the board to incorporate
3:48:35the written and oral comments from board
3:48:37members and board staff, consider the
3:48:39public comments received, and propose
3:48:42revisions to the plan by July 1st prior
3:48:44to the board's next hearing on the plan.
3:48:47In particular, I move that DTSC removed
3:48:507.2.
3:48:56Um, excellent. Well, thank you all so
3:48:58much. Um uh I think so that concludes
3:49:01the discussion on tool 7 in particular.
3:49:04So we'll now turn it over um to deputy
3:49:07director uh Mandy Bane to deliver the
3:49:10presentation on goals one through five.
3:49:11And again we'll have a um discussion
3:49:14amongst the board uh on those goals. I
3:49:16should say goals one through five and
3:49:18the kind of introductory section. Uh and
3:49:20then we'll open it up for um public
3:49:23comment uh on that set of issues as
3:49:25well. Andy, please over to you. Okay,
3:49:28great. Thank you. Um, okay. So, no
3:49:32introduction needed that we're covering
3:49:34goals one through five. The previous
3:49:37presentations are recorded and on the
3:49:39board website if anyone wants to kind of
3:49:43get a sneak peek and and go back and
3:49:45look at uh the bigger kind of overview
3:49:50of the whole plan um that is available.
3:49:53Oh, yeah. I was going to change the
3:49:55slide. Next slide, please. Um, I do want
3:49:59to make sure everyone has uh the
3:50:01opportunity to read the plan if they
3:50:03would like. There's the QR code and
3:50:05links. We'll have those throughout the
3:50:07presentation
3:50:09um that you are able
3:50:10to
3:50:12um find the plan. I also want to point
3:50:15out that in the appendices that you'll
3:50:17see uh when you scroll down on that
3:50:19website is really where kind of the the
3:50:23meat of the research um and analysis. So
3:50:27um it's a lot of reading, but if there's
3:50:29a particular topic that you're
3:50:30interested in, I definitely recommend
3:50:32the appendices.
3:50:36Um, I also want to go to the next slide
3:50:40then and um just briefly uh reiterate
3:50:45that this plan uh is a mandate that
3:50:49comes out of Senate Bill 158 and it uh
3:50:52mandates that we have a hazardous waste
3:50:55management report uh which we published
3:50:59in 2023, two years later a plan and then
3:51:02we repeat that process.
3:51:05Um so everything that went into this
3:51:09draft plan includes the data from the
3:51:12report uh a lot of uh public comment and
3:51:16feedback and also additional research
3:51:18that our team uh was able to complete. I
3:51:22do want to highlight that there uh they
3:51:25did 10
3:51:26workshops. Um these workshops are really
3:51:29deep dives into each of the topics. Um,
3:51:34so if there's a topic that you're really
3:51:36interested in, they're like it's like a
3:51:38master class to me. So I really
3:51:40recommend them. They're all available on
3:51:42our website or pretty easily found um
3:51:46through a search
3:51:47engine. So putting in a plug for those.
3:51:50And then just to kind of recap very high
3:51:52level uh what did we uh find in the 2023
3:51:58report. So in the last 25 years um
3:52:03hazardous waste generated in California
3:52:05has decreased by about
3:52:0740%. Even though the number of uh
3:52:10generators has um almost doubled right
3:52:14so
3:52:15um so in general the amount of waste
3:52:18generated each year in California has
3:52:21decreased. Um but hazardous waste
3:52:24streams are also this changing
3:52:26landscape. So we know for example that
3:52:30um more and more we will be relying on
3:52:33lithium ion batteries for example and so
3:52:35we expect that waste stream to increase
3:52:39even as uh in general we've seen this
3:52:41decrease. Um there might also be newly
3:52:44identified hazardous waste. Right? So
3:52:46it's not a static fixed um landscape
3:52:50when we're talking about hazardous
3:52:52waste.
3:52:54Um the plan uh the not the plan the
3:52:57report also highlighted that the
3:53:00majority of hazardous waste generated in
3:53:02California is identified as non-RICKRA
3:53:06meaning it's not uh it doesn't it's not
3:53:09identified as hazardous waste federally.
3:53:12It is only identified as hazardous waste
3:53:14in California.
3:53:16Um, and also one of our largest waste
3:53:19types that we generate each year in
3:53:22California is contaminated soil. Um, and
3:53:26that's something that is in some ways
3:53:30good news because it means we're doing
3:53:32more cleanup in communities. Um, and we
3:53:36don't want to say, you know, you you
3:53:38can't generate uh contaminated soil
3:53:40because then we're not uh developing our
3:53:43housing, for example, and removing those
3:53:45contaminants from
3:53:47communities. So, those are my super
3:53:50highlevel um
3:53:53takeaways. And then uh the next slide,
3:53:57I'm like two slides behind. Sorry. Uh
3:54:00because I'm looking at them here and I
3:54:02keep thinking that I'm advancing them.
3:54:03It's like a kid playing with one of
3:54:05those little steering wheels. Oh, a
3:54:08couple more.
3:54:09Sorry.
3:54:11Uh, yep. Okay. Uh, next one. And we
3:54:16should be caught
3:54:17up. Okay. So, the purpose of the plan is
3:54:20specified in the statute of uh, Senate
3:54:24Bill 158. Um but I just wanted to also
3:54:27kind of highlight that um the plan is
3:54:31really a vision for hazardous waste
3:54:33management in the state. Not all of the
3:54:37things in the plan are things
3:54:39specifically for DTSC to do. Some of
3:54:42these are recommendations
3:54:44um and goals that would apply to other
3:54:47like other local governments for example
3:54:50um or even our regulated entities.
3:54:54Uh we'll go to the next
3:54:57slide. So what is the vision that DTSC
3:55:01lays out in the draft plan? It has three
3:55:05elements. Um first is supporting a
3:55:08circular economy and waste reduction. So
3:55:11in a circular economy the end of life of
3:55:14a material is considered upfront. So you
3:55:17have to plan for what happens when this
3:55:20becomes uh when its useful life is
3:55:23ended. Um and the first choice is always
3:55:26to reuse or recover wastes instead of
3:55:30disposing of
3:55:32them. Second, we envision sustainable
3:55:36hazardous waste management that
3:55:38prioritizes protecting human health and
3:55:40the environment.
3:55:42And finally, we envision a California
3:55:44where we are investing in research and
3:55:47innovation and using the best available
3:55:49science to implement the goals and
3:55:51recommendations of this plan and
3:55:54ultimately using that innovation and
3:55:56research to support that circular
3:55:58economy and and waste
3:56:02reduction. Okay, next slide please.
3:56:07So in the plan uh there are as been
3:56:11noted 10 re uh 10 goals and each goal
3:56:14has a few
3:56:15recommendations. Um sorry I also don't
3:56:18know where to turn. So I'm mostly
3:56:20talking to community because that's
3:56:22usually what I'm trying to do. But um
3:56:24anyway so we have 10 goals and each of
3:56:27those goals has several recommendations.
3:56:29I've just kind of broken them down so
3:56:30they're all on um one slide at a time.
3:56:35So
3:56:38um our first goal is to promote
3:56:40environmental justice
3:56:42initiatives.
3:56:44Uh we have uh
3:56:47two initiatives that have been really
3:56:50successful. Uh the community considerate
3:56:53cleanups which I will write as C3
3:56:56community considerate cleanups. Um and
3:56:59we want to see those uh that model
3:57:02expanded to other types of cleanups,
3:57:05specifically voluntary cleanup
3:57:08agreements. Uh we want to also promote
3:57:11those community considerate cleanups to
3:57:14um to other uh oversight agencies. DTSC
3:57:19is not the only agency in the state that
3:57:21has oversight over cleanup. And so we
3:57:24want to promote those C3
3:57:27um approach to other oversight agencies.
3:57:30We also want to restore funding for our
3:57:32other um really great initiative which
3:57:35is CVCI cleanup and vulnerable
3:57:38communities initiative. Um I think we
3:57:42mentioned earlier in the day in the um
3:57:44in the meeting that that funding was cut
3:57:47and we would really like to see that
3:57:48restored.
3:57:50We also heard earlier from director
3:57:53Butler about our enforcement strategic
3:57:55plan. Um so we also recommend that we um
3:58:00fully implement that plan. Um because at
3:58:04the end of the day enforcement really is
3:58:06uh an environmental justice tool.
3:58:10So, and then uh the last uh
3:58:14recommendation we have is to analyze
3:58:16hazardous waste generators and the
3:58:18surrounding areas. So, in our 2023
3:58:21report, we analyzed
3:58:24um destination facilities and um and the
3:58:29surrounding areas for those destination
3:58:32facilities. But we also know that
3:58:34there's a lot more generators than there
3:58:36are destination facilities. And so we
3:58:38want to um kind of round out that
3:58:40picture and understand the generators
3:58:42and the areas around
3:58:45them. Okay, that's goal one. Next slide,
3:58:50please. For goal
3:58:53two, I got to make this a little bigger.
3:58:57Okay, our goal two is to improve access
3:59:00to information. Um, you know, DTSC has
3:59:04this wealth of very technical knowledge.
3:59:08Um, and we want to, uh, be able to
3:59:12provide that information and those
3:59:14resources more, but also keep in mind a
3:59:17really diverse set of audiences that we
3:59:20are going to present that information
3:59:21to. So everything from short videos on
3:59:24some of our core concepts like what is a
3:59:27hazardous waste uh to um the toxic
3:59:31crusaders program which is a program we
3:59:33have that's um hope like sparking an
3:59:37interest in environmental science and
3:59:39chemistry um in students and also uh
3:59:44quick reference guides for for um
3:59:46businesses for example.
3:59:50So that's goal two. We'll go ahead and
3:59:52move to the next slide for goal three.
3:59:55Um under goal three, so goal three has a
3:59:58lot of content. So it actually has three
4:00:00slides, three for three. Um under goal
4:00:04three, we want to identify opportunities
4:00:06for waste reduction. So under goal
4:00:09three, our first recommendation is to
4:00:11prioritize reduction of negative impacts
4:00:14to communities when evaluating options
4:00:17to remediate sites.
4:00:20Um treatment of
4:00:24uh treatment of contaminated soil should
4:00:26be the selective remediation method of a
4:00:29contaminated site if treatment is
4:00:31determined to be effective,
4:00:33implementable, and cost effective.
4:00:37Um, we also want to make sure that we're
4:00:40using that community considerate cleanup
4:00:43model to focus on reducing negative
4:00:45impacts to community wherever those uh
4:00:48cleanups are
4:00:50happening. Um, and then for this last
4:00:54one on the slide, evaluate possible soil
4:00:56treatment studies at orphan sites. So,
4:00:58the type of cleanup that DTSC has the
4:01:01most authority around is the orphan
4:01:03sites. Um, so that could be a place
4:01:07where we um try to pilot some
4:01:10remediation um
4:01:12technologies, but we also have limited
4:01:14funding and we want to make sure we
4:01:16clean up as many orphan sites as
4:01:17possible. So I think this is a
4:01:19recommendation that we consider on a
4:01:21case-byase basis where at an orphan site
4:01:24or other cleanups as well. Um are there
4:01:28uh other methods besides uh just
4:01:31removing the soil?
4:01:34Okay, goal uh three, the second uh
4:01:38slide, please. So, uh under this goal,
4:01:42we're talking about incinerable waste
4:01:44streams and analyzing um opportunities
4:01:49for source reduction,
4:01:51uh legitimate recycling and alternative
4:01:54treatment. So, what is an incinerable
4:01:56waste? uh it is a waste that you um
4:02:00manage by
4:02:03incinerating. And um how did we why did
4:02:06we think that this is an important waste
4:02:09to try to set some goals and and reduce
4:02:13um when we're looking at those at what
4:02:15would be a good candidate for uh
4:02:18reduction uh program uh it's things that
4:02:22either are maybe a large volume uh like
4:02:26uh contaminated soils for example um or
4:02:30things that are hard to manage or things
4:02:32that pose um a more serious health risk
4:02:34I would think. So insinerable waste is
4:02:37actually a small percentage of waste
4:02:39produced in generated in California
4:02:41every year but it is very difficult to
4:02:44manage. There are no um commercial
4:02:48incinerators in the state of California.
4:02:51There's very few commercial incinerators
4:02:53in the country. Um and there have been
4:02:56occasions where they stop accepting
4:02:59incinerable waste and then we are we are
4:03:02kind of we would be could be left
4:03:04vulnerable to um you know not having a
4:03:07way to manage that waste
4:03:09properly. Also what are incinerable
4:03:12waste? Uh it it could be paints, it
4:03:16could be aerosol cans, hand
4:03:18sanitizer. Um those are things that most
4:03:21of us are familiar with. It could also
4:03:23be it is mostly though industrial waste
4:03:26from manufacturing
4:03:28processes. So when we think about
4:03:30incinerable waste, we recommend
4:03:32researching and establishing reduction
4:03:34goals. We want to recommend promoting
4:03:37safe on-site recycling and also
4:03:40researching newer technologies for
4:03:42managing incinerable waste. There might
4:03:44be new technologies so that some of that
4:03:46waste could be managed um not in an
4:03:50incinerator.
4:03:53Um okay, next slide
4:03:58please. Uh this is the final one for
4:04:00goal three. Um and in this re set of
4:04:03recommendations, we're talking about
4:04:04lithium uh ion batteries and we want to
4:04:08ensure that they are recovered um and
4:04:11when possible reused, repaired,
4:04:14repurposed, remanufactured or recycled
4:04:18um at the end of their useful life.
4:04:20So again when we talking talking about
4:04:23why lithium-ion batteries right now
4:04:25they're um you know lithium is a limited
4:04:29natural resource
4:04:31um it is an increasing waist stream. We
4:04:34also don't want to um we can't really do
4:04:37source reduction because lithium ion
4:04:40batteries are helping us meet uh our
4:04:42climate goals. Right? So there there
4:04:44it's important that we have lithium-ion
4:04:46batteries um and important that we find
4:04:49ways to repair, repurpose, recycle,
4:04:53etc. So our recommendations here are to
4:04:57um first form a DTSC workg group so we
4:05:00can gather information from across the
4:05:02department, make sure we have all of our
4:05:04in-house experts um together so we can
4:05:08work on this uh topic. We also recommend
4:05:12determining and supporting development
4:05:14of needed
4:05:16infrastructure. And um finally, we
4:05:18recommend having various experts come
4:05:22together from various sectors like
4:05:24academics um other types of researchers
4:05:28and uh could be government experts,
4:05:31industry experts to also um work on
4:05:35developing those management strategies.
4:05:41Okay, with that we will move on to goal
4:05:44four. Uh in goal four uh it is to
4:05:49establish a modern waste reduction
4:05:51program. Uh DTSC has not had a specific
4:05:55waste reduction program for at least 10
4:05:58years. Uh so we recommend that um a P2
4:06:03which stands for pollution prevention.
4:06:06So, a pollution prevention or waste
4:06:08reduction
4:06:10uh program
4:06:12uh be established at
4:06:15DTSC. We also uh recommend researching
4:06:20potential for waste reduction grant
4:06:25programs. And um finally, we think there
4:06:28should be a holistic pollution
4:06:30prevention program administered by Cal
4:06:33EPA to address shared environmental
4:06:36goals. That's things like using less
4:06:38water, using less energy, and um
4:06:42reducing the impacts of climate
4:06:46change. And we'll do our next slide,
4:06:50please. Goal five is to apply financial
4:06:53instruments to encourage reduction in
4:06:55hazardous waste
4:06:57generation. Um so in goal five the
4:07:00recommendations here um the first one is
4:07:03really about looking at the the impacts
4:07:06when you increase a fee um on a
4:07:11hazardous waste generation. Right? So in
4:07:13theory if you uh increase the fee then
4:07:18uh you know um people would be
4:07:21incentivized they would want to generate
4:07:24less of that hazardous waste. But there
4:07:26can also be the opposite effect where if
4:07:28you increase the fee people might be
4:07:30motivated to um mismanage their their
4:07:34hazardous waste or maybe stop producing
4:07:38um a product. I think there's, you know,
4:07:41you could imagine like a pharmaceutical
4:07:43company if you say you can't use this,
4:07:45you know, there's going to be a very
4:07:46large fee on this solvent that you've
4:07:48been using. Uh maybe they would just not
4:07:50make that that product anymore.
4:07:53Um and uh so really we're saying here we
4:07:58want to really kind of uh analyze
4:08:03the what happens when you increase fees
4:08:06and and what are the potential impacts
4:08:09on human health and the environment. Um,
4:08:12finally, we want to continue. We
4:08:15recommend that DTSC explore and evaluate
4:08:17funding frameworks that provide a more
4:08:19sustainable and long-term funding
4:08:21solution while also encouraging
4:08:24reduction of hazardous waste um
4:08:27generated in the
4:08:29state. Uh, so we'll go to the next
4:08:33slide, please. So, those were goals one
4:08:35through five. A bit rapid fire. Um, I
4:08:39think next steps, we've all been hearing
4:08:42uh since the beginning of of our time
4:08:44here this afternoon that uh what the
4:08:47next steps are in terms of the meetings,
4:08:49the next hearings in um July. I also do
4:08:53want to point out that in your if you
4:08:55look at the plan, each of the
4:08:58recommendations has um a kind of
4:09:01timeline attached to it. So some of
4:09:03those uh recommendations are have
4:09:05already been started. Some of them are
4:09:07ongoing. You know, some of them are
4:09:09projected to take, you know, five years
4:09:11or longer. So if you're looking at those
4:09:13goals and recommendations, you have to
4:09:15kind of keep those multiple timelines in
4:09:18mind. And then and also uh there are
4:09:22recommendations in here you know one
4:09:24that fall outside the purview of DTSC
4:09:27but even those that are within our
4:09:29purview don't necessarily have funding
4:09:31already attached to them. So those
4:09:33timelines are also kind of dependent on
4:09:35the resources that might be
4:09:37available. Um and if we go to the last
4:09:40slide uh there is a QR code and a link
4:09:45uh to provide feedback. So, if you um
4:09:48are listening online um or want to take
4:09:52a screenshot and send us uh some more
4:09:54information, some more feedback later
4:09:56on, we'd be happy to receive that. And
4:09:58with that, I'll turn it back over to the
4:10:00board. Thanks so much, Mandy, and thanks
4:10:02for the the detailed presentation. Um
4:10:04so, we'll now um have board discussion
4:10:06on
4:10:09um well, both the introduction and the
4:10:11vision and then goals one through five.
4:10:14Um, with the board's indulgence, I'd
4:10:16like to kind of bucket um, our
4:10:18discussion into uh, well, we could do
4:10:22six buckets. I think that would be a
4:10:23little bit prolonged. So, I'm proposing
4:10:25three buckets, which would be like the
4:10:27introduction, vision, overarching
4:10:29structure kind of comments and then we
4:10:32could move into goals one and two and
4:10:34then do three uh, and then goals three
4:10:37to five. um h open to suggestions if
4:10:41that doesn't make sense. Um but just to
4:10:45kind of facilitate the the board
4:10:46discussion, I thought we could maybe use
4:10:48that approach.
4:10:50Um I like that. Okay. Doing the vision
4:10:53and the structure before we get into the
4:10:56specific discussion or recommendations.
4:10:59That's right. And then we would take up
4:11:01we would kind of segment the goals and
4:11:03we could just go through goals one, then
4:11:05goal two, go three, go. We can I'm happy
4:11:07to do that. Um but I just thought that
4:11:10might take a little bit more time. But
4:11:12we can let's let's see how it goes and
4:11:13then we'll kind of adjust from there. So
4:11:15why don't we open it up for board
4:11:17discussion on the um kind of the
4:11:20introduction, the vision, the structure,
4:11:22some of the more overarching comments
4:11:24that I know um many of you have have
4:11:26have already
4:11:30delivered. Who wants to kick us off?
4:11:35should defer to the committee. Okay, I
4:11:37can stop. Yeah, member Pia, please.
4:11:41So, um, sorry, member, do you want your
4:11:43slides shared at
4:11:46this a little with the structure
4:11:49because we'll be going back and forth
4:11:51with the different I think some of her
4:11:53slides have to do with the
4:11:56but it's up to you. Um I can I can
4:11:59deliver the feedback and then is it easy
4:12:02to put up the slide? One slide and go
4:12:04back and forth. Is it easy to put up the
4:12:06slide? If not, I can just Okay, let's
4:12:09just do the first
4:12:11slide. All right. But before we look at
4:12:14the slide, I just like to just give you
4:12:16some recap of what you've heard me say
4:12:19maybe multiple times before is first the
4:12:23the I I acknowledge that there is a
4:12:25vision that um was presented by Mandy
4:12:29now included in the plan. The issue that
4:12:32I have with that vision is it it is such
4:12:35at such a high altitude that from that
4:12:38altitude there are so many things that
4:12:41DTSA can do which is why the plan is the
4:12:44way it is today. Um, I had previously
4:12:47asked for a list of
4:12:51prioritized actions or recommendations
4:12:53that are rationalized as in based in
4:12:56data that are clearly impactful,
4:13:00measurable and impactful and that are
4:13:02net new. So there's four specific things
4:13:04prioritize, rationalize, net new,
4:13:06clearly measurable. So from a structure
4:13:10perspective that thread is not carried
4:13:13through which is why I find that when
4:13:16reviewing the plan there are multiple
4:13:19frameworks presented from the focus
4:13:23topic like focus areas to goals to then
4:13:27topics like there's and it's causing
4:13:29some like framework fatigue like I
4:13:31cannot clearly tell from the plan why a
4:13:34certain action or recommendation is
4:13:37included and what impact I we should
4:13:39expect to drive. So those are my
4:13:41overarching comments in terms of the the
4:13:43vision being at not the right altitude
4:13:45and the structure that flows from it and
4:13:47that gets recommendations that that
4:13:49framing itself is very noisy and I think
4:13:53you can all when you read the plan I
4:13:56find I found at least that the the goals
4:14:01and the recommendations are not all of
4:14:04the same level. Some of them you've
4:14:07heard about the goal seven they're like
4:14:08contaminant so foil is this big thing
4:14:10and there's another one that talks about
4:14:12short form videos for information access
4:14:14they are not the same thing I personally
4:14:17would like to see fewer things but are
4:14:19really impactful and I would like to
4:14:21drive them to the finish line if by
4:14:24adding everything we're trying to make
4:14:26everybody happy that means we're focused
4:14:28on nothing and we're not prioritizing
4:14:29and I'd rather give like GTSC more space
4:14:33to deliver really great work and get it
4:14:35the finish line so that we're not having
4:14:37this debate judgment. So with that
4:14:39framing if I were to think about the
4:14:41report this is what I would call plan
4:14:44sorry this is what I was anchoring on
4:14:46we've heard repeatedly that there is a
4:14:47clear hierarchy in terms of
4:14:49disposal I feel like we can clearly
4:14:51agree that we want to meaningfully
4:14:54reduce the proportion of hazardous waste
4:14:56that ends up in land disposal or for
4:14:59incineration. I think that is not for
4:15:01debate. So firstly I feel like we could
4:15:04start with that lens. The second thing
4:15:05that's also not doesn't require a lot of
4:15:08debate is that through this end to end
4:15:10management of hazardous waste let's take
4:15:14steps to reduce any health impacts
4:15:16through this life cycle. And number
4:15:18three is there is DGSC is a science
4:15:21based organization. I have a lot of
4:15:22respect for really good data and that is
4:15:25invisible work. You none of the
4:15:28stakeholders may see it but that work is
4:15:30important that needs to get done. So
4:15:31there's some work that's required to
4:15:33collect good data, build all the
4:15:35infrastructure to make sure we can make
4:15:37good decisions in the future. And so we
4:15:39need to take some actions to mobilize
4:15:40against good good clean data and fill
4:15:42the data gaps. So there's a third in my
4:15:45mind a principle around how do we ensure
4:15:49that we have really good data to drive
4:15:50decisions. So those would be my sort of
4:15:54version of principles or vision whatever
4:15:56we call it and the framework for how we
4:15:59screen out recommendations or actions
4:16:01that
4:16:09BTC thanks
4:16:12me I assume the 111 is should be one two
4:16:15three yes okay they're all equally
4:16:17important they're all one
4:16:26Um, Boston, would you like to go ahead?
4:16:29Please bring up member BR's first to
4:16:33first slide.
4:16:36Stood on the second
4:16:49slide. go to the next one.
4:16:54Okay. So, um I I agree with a lot of
4:16:58what was stated. I think what I
4:17:00struggled with in this plan is yes, what
4:17:04what what is the driving factor? What is
4:17:08the overarching goal that we're trying
4:17:10to achieve? And it seemed like a little
4:17:12bit of a a mishmash. Like there's things
4:17:14in there that I really like. Um and we
4:17:16we'll get to those. Um but there was no
4:17:19cohesion in terms of what's in, what's
4:17:21out, you know, what's really driving our
4:17:23longer term vision. And so then I go
4:17:25back to the statute um in order to try
4:17:28to, you know, sus out the intent. And to
4:17:31me, a lot of the the confusion that I
4:17:34see in the plan um can be rectified with
4:17:37with a couple of provisions that are
4:17:40front and center in the statute, which
4:17:42is health and safety code
4:17:4425135D, which lays out 12 specific
4:17:47things that are in the plan. But the
4:17:49number one thing that is listed is you
4:17:53know the hazardous waste uh the state
4:17:56hazardous waste management shall include
4:17:58that's a must it must include as first
4:18:01thing a baseline of the amount and types
4:18:04of hazardous waste generated and
4:18:05disposed of in the state disposed of in
4:18:08other states and which recommendations
4:18:10can be drawn and changes made. So um and
4:18:14then if you notice at the end it said it
4:18:18basically says
4:18:20that the goal should be
4:18:23measurable. Um so to me the very first
4:18:26thing that ought to be in this plan and
4:18:28in fact the work was already done. It's
4:18:30in the report the hazardous waste
4:18:31management report did a lot of this
4:18:33work. So we actually have the data but
4:18:36the data hasn't made its way from the
4:18:38report to the plan. So the first thing
4:18:40that I would like to see in the in the
4:18:42plan is let's get a baseline of the
4:18:44amounts and types of waste generated and
4:18:46disposable to state analysis. Um and so
4:18:50that is the lens that we can start to to
4:18:52make the
4:18:54recommendations. Um and then the second
4:18:57thing listed in the statute which in my
4:18:58mind is also not included in the plan is
4:19:02the plan shall include recommended goals
4:19:04to reduce the amount of hazardous waste
4:19:06generated and disposed of including
4:19:08goals based on statewide
4:19:11totals and then total amounts of
4:19:14particular waist streams and then total
4:19:16amounts of waist streams by industry
4:19:19type or sector. So there's three levels
4:19:21of analysis.
4:19:23Um, and so in my
4:19:26mind reading this
4:19:28together, the statute is asking for some
4:19:31numeric goals that and you can go to my
4:19:35next
4:19:35slide. Um, so so really I
4:19:40recommend you know two things. One is
4:19:43that we get the baselines in the in the
4:19:45in the plan and then that we really have
4:19:49a vision a longer term vision for the
4:19:51state on numeric goals for reductions of
4:19:55hazardous waste generation and disposal
4:19:57and and I want to just note that because
4:20:00this is a iterative process every three
4:20:02years we don't have to get the number
4:20:04perfect and I know I've heard from DPSC
4:20:06staff you know that it's hard to project
4:20:09it's hard to really figure out without a
4:20:10lot more analysis you know exactly what
4:20:13that number should be. And I think that
4:20:14uncertainty is okay specifically because
4:20:17we have this cycle so that we can
4:20:21continually update and refine the data
4:20:23and and have that the additional
4:20:26analysis drive to make sure that we're
4:20:27on the right path with our targets. But
4:20:30absent a stated goal that we're driving
4:20:32toward a reduction of hazardous waste
4:20:35generation and disposal in the state,
4:20:37it's hard to define the like the rest of
4:20:39the plan. we don't have that guiding
4:20:42north star in the plan. That's that and
4:20:45I and I do think that having a circular
4:20:46economy is too broad. Um so I think
4:20:50something more more specific than that
4:20:53and reading the statute I do think it
4:20:55should be a numerical.
4:20:57Thank you very
4:20:58much. Member Gomez, Vice Chair Sean
4:21:02Hacker. Uh, I I I can't stress and
4:21:06support what my colleagues have stated.
4:21:10I think I've said it
4:21:11before. I I I don't want to get caught
4:21:15too much in the different goals. To me,
4:21:20um, the number one thing that I expect
4:21:23to see in this plan
4:21:27is a commitment of of a reduction goal.
4:21:32Um, and it could be based on different
4:21:37uh types of waste. It doesn't have to be
4:21:40very specific or generic. It's just we
4:21:42got to work towards something. I I this
4:21:46is a I I don't want to be
4:21:50um disrespectful to staff. I know that
4:21:53you gave a lot of thought and there's a
4:21:56lot of research that needs to occur, but
4:22:00I don't think as a body I I don't think
4:22:04that you need approval from this body to
4:22:06do research. I think that can happen. I
4:22:09think our
4:22:11responsibility as a body and what we're
4:22:14set to do is
4:22:16to is it's to take in a plan that is
4:22:20committed to do reduction. As I'm
4:22:23looking at your at the mission of DTSC
4:22:26is to protect California's people's
4:22:29communities and environment from toxic
4:22:32substance. So the way that I see this is
4:22:34how is this plan getting us to
4:22:38that? So to me this plan should laid lay
4:22:42out if we are committed in achieving
4:22:47environmental
4:22:48justice. How are we doing that through
4:22:51this plan? I still don't see that and
4:22:55that to me there are numbers that need
4:22:58to be printed here in commitments and
4:23:01then therefore we should be measuring
4:23:03that and it doesn't mean I think there's
4:23:05a fear that once we put a number that
4:23:08there's this expectation I think there's
4:23:10the expectation to hold us accountable
4:23:13and that that is the minimum that I
4:23:15think the public is looking for so for
4:23:17me I'm going to continue saying that I'm
4:23:21going to continue asking for that and if
4:23:24that's not reflected that I I can't
4:23:27support a plan that doesn't have that.
4:23:31Thank you very much. Anything to ad I
4:23:34think I would find it so helpful if we
4:23:38could be more disciplined about what we
4:23:41can invest in and afford to do. And for
4:23:45me that would be to take the content of
4:23:48the current draft and with the director
4:23:52and her team determine what are the
4:23:55things that DTSC has the resources to do
4:23:58in the state fiscal year that starts in
4:24:01six weeks time that is not dependent on
4:24:04more large ass from a legislature that's
4:24:07looking at a huge budget deficit but
4:24:09assumes this is the workforce we've got
4:24:12this is the money we've got And what in
4:24:15the plan are we definitely going to do
4:24:17in the coming year? And are those
4:24:19actions things that the board and DTSC
4:24:23understand to be focused have a real
4:24:26clear purpose grounded in the data that
4:24:29has been prepared studiously by the team
4:24:31at DTSC so far. I just feel that for the
4:24:3537 38 parts of this I I just some of
4:24:39them were nice but not essential and
4:24:42some of them were so begging for focus
4:24:44and therefore I didn't even know how to
4:24:46measure them. So as we get into the
4:24:48specifics of goal one through five I
4:24:50have some suggestions but I would mostly
4:24:52like I know there's a lot of content
4:24:55that will come out this evening but I
4:24:57would really like us to focus on on what
4:24:59is possible for the coming year.
4:25:03Thank you very much. Um, I'll I'll just
4:25:06I I I very much agree with I I think the
4:25:08board seems to generally be in alignment
4:25:10on on several of these issues. Um, and
4:25:13and I I I would join that. Sushma, I
4:25:15really liked orbach. I really liked your
4:25:17your vision as you laid it out. I
4:25:19thought that was very clear. Um and uh
4:25:22on the the reduction goals in
4:25:24particular, I mean I was looking at the
4:25:26the statute and I think the um direction
4:25:30to um kind of come up with proposals for
4:25:34to the legislature on kind of like
4:25:36statutory changes I feel like um was one
4:25:40thing that didn't really feel like it
4:25:41was there. And I feel like setting um
4:25:44these types of kind of bolder visions,
4:25:47bolder goals would enable that to
4:25:50happen. So I think it's kind of a
4:25:51question of, you know, are we waiting
4:25:53for the, you know, the legislative
4:25:55changes or are we going in and saying
4:25:57kind of here's what we intend to do,
4:25:59help us to to get there. And that was
4:26:01kind of a tension that I um had
4:26:03identified reading the plan. Um okay, so
4:26:07based that was that was our our
4:26:08introductory section. um based on the
4:26:10motion earlier, these are the types of
4:26:12kind of written and oral um uh
4:26:17directions that we would I suppose
4:26:19expect to see in a revised uh plan
4:26:21pursuant to our earlier motion. So, why
4:26:23don't we now open it up to um goals one
4:26:26and two if that makes sense for the
4:26:29presentations that that each of you have
4:26:31prepared. Um and so, who wants to to
4:26:33kick us up? I don't know if member batia
4:26:35or member
4:26:39brastrom
4:26:40again. Thank you.
4:26:54Thank you. So let me just talk about the
4:26:59what's on the slide first and then we'll
4:27:00give you the overarching where did I
4:27:03where I landed with one. So with the
4:27:06framing that I provided earlier of like
4:27:08my three screening criteria one is it
4:27:10going to divert away from land disposal
4:27:14um and or ination is it going to improve
4:27:18health in a meaningful way through the
4:27:19end to end management of hazardous
4:27:22waste. And number three, it is going to
4:27:25give us some new information, uncover
4:27:27data gaps. Uh I went I went through all
4:27:30of the goals and the sub goals and
4:27:33screen for those and also I'm looking
4:27:36for the things we spoke about which is
4:27:38it is going to be clearly measurable. Is
4:27:41it clearly net new because the DTSC does
4:27:43not need permission to do something it
4:27:44is already doing or it is already
4:27:46mandated to do uh through other programs
4:27:49of statute. So is it looking at is it
4:27:53recommending doing something that's net
4:27:55new that's clearly measurable uh and
4:27:57that and that could recommended that it
4:27:59be prioritized because of one of those
4:28:00three principles then this is where I
4:28:02landed uh
4:28:05for goal one specifically I found I
4:28:09found that it's probably most useful in
4:28:11my mind to just include 1.2
4:28:14two and
4:28:161 four with some modification. Uh I want
4:28:20to get to the the point you've heard
4:28:23multiple of us make which is without a
4:28:26goal it's hard to know if we're making
4:28:27any progress otherwise it's like we're
4:28:29doing a set of things I'm going to
4:28:30continue to do set of things but like
4:28:32that those set of things are they moving
4:28:34the needle in any meaningful way it's
4:28:36hard to know and there are two ways to
4:28:37do goal setting there's inductive
4:28:39reasoning and deductive reasoning I get
4:28:40it that you have a lot of data you can
4:28:42then get to deductive reasoning and say
4:28:45this is what's truly uh this is how much
4:28:47we truly think we can reduce so let's
4:28:48set that goal
4:28:50In a world where there are a lot of data
4:28:51gaps and we don't know what's reducible,
4:28:53all we can do is set an aspirational
4:28:54goal and try to make progress against
4:28:56it. So I've used that rationale to say
4:28:59we're going to set goal and try to
4:29:00measure against it. So coming back to
4:29:03goal one where I've used that is in
4:29:071.4 where there the 1.4 before talks
4:29:11about analysis of hazardous waste
4:29:13generators and my fundamental point is
4:29:15analysis for the sake of analysis is not
4:29:17helpful and what is the so what of the
4:29:20analysis if the so what of the analysis
4:29:21is is in my mind it's a way to identify
4:29:24the w streams maybe generated by
4:29:26recurring base gen like so identify
4:29:29recurring base streams and then
4:29:31recommend reduction strategies perhaps
4:29:33to reduce that hazardous waste generated
4:29:35by x% I put out 10% in three years might
4:29:38be very aggressive but any alternate
4:29:40number so that we have a way to measure
4:29:43progress. So where I netted off with
4:29:45goal one is there are some things here
4:29:46that don't seem either materially
4:29:49impactful or they're not measurable. So
4:29:51I would like us to I would like us to
4:29:53move forward with 1.2 which talks about
4:29:55CBCI but I'd like even the
4:29:58CDCI action to be very pointed and
4:30:01precise which is secure funding and
4:30:03continue delivering CDCI through a
4:30:05partnership with key organizations. Um
4:30:08that is what I'd like to see happen and
4:30:10and for 1.4 again I call out what 1.4 is
4:30:14which is identify those recurrent wave
4:30:15streams and recommend specific reduction
4:30:17strategies that get us to x% of
4:30:20reduction. So that's the goal one I have
4:30:23the suggestion sorry to interrupt it
4:30:25might be good for common understanding
4:30:27if we just do goal one. Yeah your slide
4:30:30up there helps because it's got all four
4:30:32elements. Yeah. if we kind of
4:30:34contributed to to goal one and then
4:30:36before we moved on to the next one
4:30:38otherwise I feel like we're jumping back
4:30:40and forth. Sure. I'm just gonna add one
4:30:42more point and then like we should open
4:30:44it up which is
4:30:46um once we like get to a point where we
4:30:49say there are certain actions we
4:30:51collectively agree are going to move the
4:30:53needle. We you've also heard us
4:30:58um you've heard us talk about how we
4:31:01want to be grounded in
4:31:03data. Um so what I attempted to do is to
4:31:06say okay what does the report tell us by
4:31:08way of proof point or what is the date
4:31:10supporting data that is pointing to us
4:31:13taking that action and then how might we
4:31:15measure it? What is the impact metric?
4:31:18We will get to this later but ultimately
4:31:20I think a clean plan is something that
4:31:22gets us there. Here's what we're going
4:31:23to do. Here's why we're doing this.
4:31:25Here's how we're going to measure it.
4:31:26That's it. We don't need a lot of like
4:31:28contextual setting. We've done so much
4:31:29contextual setting in the plan that it's
4:31:31hard to understand where where we ended
4:31:33up and why we ended up. Okay. So, with
4:31:35that, we move to goal one so we can have
4:31:36a full discussion.
4:31:40You could put my I also have them all
4:31:42listed. Yeah. Not in much detail, but
4:31:45you can go to slide four.
4:31:54So,
4:31:55um, again, I I agree, um, a lot with
4:31:59what Shishma said. Um, I, you
4:32:02know, I guess where I landed was
4:32:05somewhat similar except for I I I did
4:32:08recommend that we approve, um, the
4:32:11community considered cleanups. Um, I do
4:32:14think, you know, I just left it at the
4:32:16highest level because I think some of
4:32:17those subp parts, they were a little
4:32:19vague. I think they muddied the water.
4:32:20So I would just go back to basic
4:32:22principles. Um and I think I would even
4:32:25revise this to be incorporate
4:32:27community considered cleanups into the
4:32:29site remediation program um rather than
4:32:31just limit it to voluntary. But I do
4:32:34think that the C3 um initiative should
4:32:37be incorporated into the BTSC's site
4:32:39remediation program. I agree that we
4:32:41should continue the CBCI initiative. Um,
4:32:45and then 1.3, this is kind of where I
4:32:48saw a lot of, you know, this was
4:32:49something that was reoccurring that you
4:32:51had somewhat specific concrete things
4:32:53and then you get into this really vague
4:32:56um, you know, kind of measure and I do
4:32:59think we should carve those out. I don't
4:33:01think they add too much to the plan and
4:33:03I think they actually muddy the waters.
4:33:05Um, I do think that a lot of these
4:33:07things are important. There's also the
4:33:08strategic plan. There's the directive
4:33:10priorities. There's other things where
4:33:11some of these kind of big overarching
4:33:13like statements make better sense. I
4:33:16don't think it should be in the
4:33:17hazardous waste management plan. So, I
4:33:19recommended removing 1.3. And then with
4:33:221.4 there, and this also appears
4:33:24throughout the plan, there are these
4:33:26callouts for additional analysis. And so
4:33:29I think I think it's okay if we want to
4:33:31include a a section in the plan, but it
4:33:33really should be these are the the
4:33:35things that we are going to do in the
4:33:37next iteration of the hazardous waste
4:33:39management report. So they're not the
4:33:41plan, you know, they're kind of calling
4:33:43out maybe what the next iteration is. So
4:33:45for the the analysis of hazardous waste
4:33:47generators in the surrounding areas, I
4:33:49do believe that is an important um you
4:33:51know exercise but I think we should make
4:33:54explicit that that analysis will be part
4:33:56of the next iteration of the hazardous
4:33:58waste management report. So then we have
4:34:00that data and we can figure out what to
4:34:01do with it in the next iteration of the
4:34:03plan. So those are my recommendations
4:34:04for one. Thanks very much member. Um
4:34:09Vice Chair Hacker or member Gomez I'll
4:34:12I'll start with 1.4 For the generators,
4:34:14my suggestion is that we pick one of the
4:34:17most populous counties like LA County
4:34:20that has a large percentage of the
4:34:22statewide generators and start with one
4:34:26particular area of focus and involve the
4:34:29Koopa and see what we find. I think the
4:34:33point made earlier was conducting an
4:34:35analysis to what end? What are we what's
4:34:38the question that we're trying to answer
4:34:40here? And I think one way to get it done
4:34:43within the time period of a year would
4:34:46be to frame the question that you want
4:34:48to answer and go do it with the Koopa in
4:34:51one year with the staff that we have and
4:34:53as Ingred suggested it can be nested in
4:34:56the next hazardous waste management
4:34:57report. But if we find that that one
4:35:00particular large county emphasis is
4:35:02useful then you know where you want to
4:35:05go next and if that's still the same
4:35:07question that you want to research and
4:35:09answer. So, trying to do it statewide, I
4:35:11think, will just take more than 3 years
4:35:13and not get us anywhere. And I'm really
4:35:15into um let's let's try it somewhere,
4:35:18see what we learn, see how it influences
4:35:21any of the things that could grow from
4:35:23it. I am a big proponent of director
4:35:26Butler's emphasis on enforcement. And
4:35:29so, 1.3 I agree completely, is vague and
4:35:32not actionable as written. Um, but I do
4:35:36think
4:35:37that we have to up our game in terms of
4:35:41compliance and enforcement in order for
4:35:44communities to feel like they have
4:35:46access to inspection and enforcement
4:35:49data. They know if facilities in fact as
4:35:52well as generators and transporters are
4:35:54in compliance. And so there may be
4:35:57another way to reframe an enforcement
4:36:00focused aspect of this going forward.
4:36:02But the way it's currently worded, I
4:36:04thought was um too vague. So those are
4:36:07my main suggestions. I agree with
4:36:09Susha's way of of um restructuring it.
4:36:13Thank you comments. Um I I'm not going
4:36:16to repeat what's been stated to support
4:36:20everything. I think the one area that I
4:36:24question
4:36:28um is because I was part of the
4:36:31evaluation of CVCI, the cleanup and
4:36:35vulnerable communities
4:36:37initiative popular.
4:36:40There's no funding right now and it
4:36:42doesn't sound like we're in there's
4:36:43going to be some advocacy on on
4:36:46restoring some of that funding at least
4:36:48for this
4:36:49cycle. But whenever there's funding, I
4:36:53think one area that we had issues
4:36:56evaluating is how is this initiative
4:37:00advancing
4:37:02um improving or advancing health? And I
4:37:06think if we're going to tie it if the
4:37:09goal is to reduce environmental health
4:37:13impacts, I think the I don't know how
4:37:16that does that or at least I don't know
4:37:18I don't know how we're going to measure
4:37:20that because currently as the initiative
4:37:23is it doesn't do that. So that's just a
4:37:27comment.
4:37:29Um, but I'm going to go the bigger
4:37:32picture is reduce environmental health
4:37:35impacts by promoting environmental
4:37:37justice initiatives. For what purpose?
4:37:41What's the measurement here? Um, I I
4:37:44it's it's hard for me to wrap my mind in
4:37:47terms of from these from 1.1 to 1.4, how
4:37:52do we get there? Because there's there's
4:37:54no measurement to get us there. And I
4:37:57can't say 1.1 is more important than
4:38:011.4. It's just there's there's just a
4:38:04lot. So I just feel like there needs to
4:38:07be more intentional less I I think less
4:38:10right now is better than just a bunch of
4:38:14whatifs.
4:38:18Thanks very much. Um the only thing I
4:38:19would I would add I just would very much
4:38:21agree with Vice Chair Hacker on um 1.3.
4:38:24Um I I would I would propose not
4:38:27excluding it. Um but I do agree it's too
4:38:30uh vague as drafted. I think we would
4:38:31want to maintain or at least I would
4:38:33want to maintain a focus on on
4:38:34enforcement but would want to see the
4:38:36the next level of detail down from what
4:38:381.3 looks like for in practice. Why
4:38:42don't we go ahead and move to
4:38:45uh goal two? um cognizant that it's a
4:38:50very good discussion but we kind of want
4:38:51to um speed it up to ensure we have
4:38:53sufficient time for public comment. Um
4:38:55everyone's been waiting here patiently.
4:38:57So why don't we go to goal two?
4:39:00Okay. So uh go to I think
4:39:04fundamentally I don't believe that
4:39:07adding something to the plan is going to
4:39:10now suddenly change access to
4:39:13information and I'm saying this because
4:39:15I feel like access to information has
4:39:16come out in so many different part of
4:39:20director but um priorities we since the
4:39:24board inception we've been talking about
4:39:26public engagement and have the public
4:39:29more manual
4:39:31So this feels so foundational to me for
4:39:34DTSC that I don't know why like new
4:39:37permission is required to then execute
4:39:40on this in this holistic management
4:39:42plan. It does not seem like a net new
4:39:44thing which is why I keep coming back to
4:39:46you should already be doing this and now
4:39:48do we believe that by adding it
4:39:51something that has not happened today is
4:39:53suddenly going to happen. Uh and from
4:39:55that lens I I don't believe we should
4:39:58include them here.
4:40:02Slide
4:40:16five. Uh so I came to the same
4:40:18conclusion um that I don't think we
4:40:20should include either of these things.
4:40:22Um, one, this is actually not tied to
4:40:24anything in the statute. And again, this
4:40:28is very important and fundamental, but
4:40:31just because it's important, fundamental
4:40:32doesn't mean that it belongs in the
4:40:34plan. And I think we dilute the plan if
4:40:36we just kind of start putting in a
4:40:38mishmash. So, um, I recommend removing
4:40:41all.
4:40:44Thanks. I agree. I agree.
4:40:48All right. That was efficient. Um, You
4:40:52should make the editing really a lot
4:40:53easier.
4:40:56Um let's go ahead and move on to goal
4:40:58number three. Um now um should we keep
4:41:01the practice of member? Do you want to
4:41:03go? Okay.
4:41:06Go
4:41:08um
4:41:10go talk about reduction. Uh you go back
4:41:14to
4:41:16my while you do that. I re I do
4:41:20recommend modifying the recommendations
4:41:25significantly to distill them down to
4:41:26what is the essence of what you're
4:41:28trying to achieve and like some proposed
4:41:30language
4:41:31here. Just wait for it to come
4:41:40up in the interest of time. Do you want
4:41:42to talk? I can just Okay. So 3.1 talks
4:41:47about a whole bunch of things starting
4:41:49with community considered cleanups and
4:41:52also it covers feasibility of soil
4:41:54treatment studies and so on.
4:41:56Um I would like this to be modified to
4:42:01say what is measurable actionable like
4:42:04clear and do which is evaluate
4:42:06alternative on-site soil treatment
4:42:08options that would reduce the need for
4:42:10uh excavation for land disposal and
4:42:12actually
4:42:13measure or complete the pilot. I know
4:42:16the slide is cut off but wrong slide
4:42:19also. Yeah. Oh, wrong slide.
4:42:29Yes, just keep going. Keep going. Keep
4:42:32going. You want that? There you go. This
4:42:34this slide, right? No. No. Keep going.
4:42:36It'll say
4:42:373.1. Keep
4:42:40going. Keep
4:42:43going. Two
4:42:45more. And next one.
4:42:49Perfect. Yeah.
4:42:52So I put in modified language here for
4:42:553.1 but 3.2 talks about um inable waste.
4:43:01Again I saying recommend actions to
4:43:04reduce the total hazards we sent for
4:43:05ination through source reduction and
4:43:07alter management. In my the other frame
4:43:10slide I also included the rational and
4:43:12the how we might measure the impact of
4:43:14this. Uh and then for the last one, this
4:43:17is where like a reduction I introduced a
4:43:19reduction goal. I'd love to see we're
4:43:21talking about lithium ion battery waste.
4:43:23Then let's compute the lithium ion
4:43:25battery that's not being automatically
4:43:27managed today at the end of life and
4:43:29attempt to achieve a 10% version goal in
4:43:32three years. Again could be some x%
4:43:35whatever
4:43:37that but include all three but modify
4:43:39them to make them really precise and
4:43:42measurable.
4:43:49Um, so for 3.1 I think that the top line
4:43:53is a little vague, but when you go to
4:43:54the sub component, I think there's a
4:43:56couple of specific things in there that
4:43:58do make a lot of sense. Um, so, you
4:44:00know, I know we already talked about the
4:44:02C3. I, you know, it's yes, I think we
4:44:05should we should do the C3. Um but I
4:44:08also um I do want to capture this idea
4:44:10because I do think it's very concrete is
4:44:13evalu like using orphan sites um as a
4:44:17way to you know to encourage and to
4:44:21prove institute treatment options. So I
4:44:24I think that is innovative. It's new.
4:44:26It's been talked about. Um so I would
4:44:29encourage um uh keeping that for 3.2 and
4:44:333.3.
4:44:35um these are kind of similar in my
4:44:37analysis. So the statute talks about
4:44:39looking at specific waist streams and so
4:44:41I think here we have the waist streams
4:44:42that UTSC has has identified as as a
4:44:46potential focus focal point and I agree
4:44:48with them. Um so inable waste and
4:44:51lithium ion batteries. So those I think
4:44:54do have a place but again um I think
4:44:58this is another opportunity because it
4:44:59calls for analysis that this is a call
4:45:02out um to make part of the next
4:45:05hazardous waste management report and
4:45:08include a numeric goal um because that
4:45:10again gets back to the statutory
4:45:12requirement to be goal based and
4:45:14measurable. So for both um 3.2 2 and
4:45:183.3. Yes, but really being quite
4:45:21explicit that this analysis will be part
4:45:23of the next report and that report will
4:45:25include a full reduction.
4:45:29Thank you very much. Um, member Gomez,
4:45:31Vice Chair,
4:45:32I don't have anything else on this. I
4:45:35agree.
4:45:36Stay on on goal three for a moment. I
4:45:39thought that the reference to the
4:45:41community considerate cleanups here in
4:45:42goal 3.1 was somewhat duplicative. Yeah.
4:45:46With um what is in 1.1. So let's not
4:45:49have it in both places. I too support
4:45:52the notion that we would pick one or two
4:45:54so-called orphan sites that would be
4:45:56good candidates for um alternative
4:45:59treatment technologies, partner with um
4:46:02perhaps academic interests. But let's
4:46:04try and be specific about one or two of
4:46:06these. I know that um a group of
4:46:10community leaders and others had worked
4:46:13um as Isabelle will affirm on treatment
4:46:16technology recommendations um some years
4:46:19back. I don't think it was ever
4:46:21published, but it would be great to just
4:46:22try and pick up where that effort left
4:46:24off. Um and in terms of 3.3, I think
4:46:28this is one of the most which is the
4:46:29lithium ion battery work. I think this
4:46:32is one of the most important specific
4:46:34parts of the plan. it seems the most
4:46:36urgent and I encourage that I encourage
4:46:40DTSC with support from this board and
4:46:43others um to reach externally first um
4:46:46to look at others who are busy handling
4:46:49them whether it's in their workplaces
4:46:51whether it's people who do car repair
4:46:54whether it's the manufacturers I just
4:46:56feel that we tend to want to get our own
4:46:59internal work groups all sorted out and
4:47:02come to a certain place before we ask um
4:47:05communities and the and the industries
4:47:07themselves to engage and I think let's
4:47:09try and turn that um upside down just
4:47:11this one time and start with the
4:47:13external focus maybe some workshops
4:47:16where you would really mix it up and
4:47:18that will help drive this forward but I
4:47:20wanted to add one further suggestion
4:47:22Mandy if I may on lithium ion and it
4:47:24relates not only to the comments that we
4:47:26heard earlier in public forum but I do
4:47:29think that it would be very helpful to
4:47:31invest um in developing
4:47:34um with others emergency response
4:47:36protocols in responding to lithium ion
4:47:39batteries. Um I think we need to do
4:47:43that. We need protocols that involve
4:47:45both community safety, air monitoring,
4:47:48sampling and the like. Not just because
4:47:51of moss landing, but because it could
4:47:52happen anywhere at any time. And we want
4:47:55to make sure that both people in
4:47:57communities and people who work in this
4:48:00um line of work um don't fear a fire and
4:48:03don't fear what will happen. So if we
4:48:06can consider that I I offer that as a
4:48:08suggestion.
4:48:10Thank you very much. Why don't we go
4:48:11ahead and move along um to goals uh four
4:48:15and five. Um we'll start with goal four.
4:48:17Um and I know again the public has been
4:48:19waiting very patiently. So if we could
4:48:20aim to finish Sure. in about um next 10
4:48:23or so minutes. That would be ideal. I'll
4:48:25give it um four also gets through some
4:48:29sort of reduction.
4:48:32uh 44 where I landed was to retain 4.1
4:48:36uh 4.1 but modified significantly and my
4:48:40proposed modification is to say identify
4:48:42two specific generator type of focused
4:48:45source reduction program aimed at um
4:48:49reduction of hazardous waste generation
4:48:51by by
4:48:5310% is what I've said but it could be 80
4:48:56x% and then for the other two they
4:48:59didn't feel materially impactful given
4:49:01the criteria originally
4:49:04proposed. Uh so I'll just leave it at
4:49:06that.
4:49:09Thank you.
4:49:16Um so uh 4.1 is very very important to
4:49:20me. This is like um maybe one of the
4:49:22most important things in the plan is to
4:49:23reestablish a pollution prevention
4:49:26program at EPSC. And I do think um my
4:49:29recommendation is yes, but this really
4:49:32needs to be fleshed out and I would want
4:49:34a commitment from DTSC
4:49:37um to work with with the board with
4:49:39stakeholders on developing that
4:49:40framework. Um so to me this is this is
4:49:44critically important um and also you
4:49:46know there's not enough there's not
4:49:48enough on it right now. Um number two,
4:49:51research the potential for a waste
4:49:52reduction grant program. Um if we are
4:49:55going to look at different methodologies
4:49:57because um our former PQ program was all
4:49:59voluntary based incentive based and we
4:50:02did we failed to see a lot of um impact
4:50:05in terms of waste reductions and so um I
4:50:08I I don't know that just focusing on
4:50:11waste reduction grant programs is the
4:50:13right focus. I think instead we should
4:50:15research multiple methodologies um
4:50:17really focus on how do we best achieve
4:50:19actual waste reductions in the state and
4:50:21that can be both incentive based and and
4:50:23and and um um and non-incentive based u
4:50:29measures. Um and then uh 4.3
4:50:33um this is calling on Kelly PA to
4:50:35administer kind of a holistic teaching
4:50:37program. I think it's a good vision.
4:50:39Kelly PA is not generally in that role.
4:50:41They're more of a coordinator role. So I
4:50:43was a little surprised to see that they
4:50:44would be administrating a program. So
4:50:46that'd be quite a departure from how
4:50:47we've done things in in the state. And
4:50:49so I'm not opposed to having CalPA, you
4:50:51know, really bring together
4:50:52stakeholders, but again doesn't rise to
4:50:54the same level if we're being more
4:50:56focused as 4.1.
4:50:59Can I just add one thing? I fully agree
4:51:01with the the framing of for for two. I
4:51:04feel like two, we're talking about a
4:51:05grant program and keeping it separate
4:51:07from 4.1. like grant program is a means
4:51:09to an end and if you have a reduction
4:51:11goal that's 4.1 and then you use the
4:51:13grant funding to make that happen that
4:51:15is cohesive way to achieve that goal
4:51:18right now they've disconnected and they
4:51:19feel separate and that's why I don't
4:51:21think it's working the way it is sorry
4:51:25any other additions from comments or no
4:51:29I have one small thing I don't want to
4:51:31take the time but in 5.2 to when we look
4:51:34at ways to encourage reduction of
4:51:36hazardous waste generation. One of the
4:51:38things I had seen on a tour with um DTSC
4:51:41and other board members was the tendency
4:51:44of retailers um to ship things for
4:51:47packaging to be disposed of as hazardous
4:51:49waste that you would never ever in your
4:51:52wildest dreams think of in the teddy
4:51:54bear and slippers department as
4:51:56hazardous waste. And I'm trying to
4:51:58understand and we did receive um public
4:52:00comment on this from someone who's been
4:52:02more engaged in the industry. I'm trying
4:52:04to understand whether it's Prop 65 or
4:52:06has just waste regulationdriven. This is
4:52:09not something that I need to ask anybody
4:52:11else to work on, but I'm interested in
4:52:13exploring what is it about the way we
4:52:16run our programs that incentivizes the
4:52:19Targets and Walmarts of the world to as
4:52:21they need to clear products from a shelf
4:52:23to have it um shipped and managed,
4:52:26disposed of as hazardous waste. If we
4:52:28want to try and and back off some of
4:52:30that behavior, what's driving that that
4:52:32risk decision? And I I'd like to explore
4:52:35that more, but I don't want to add to
4:52:38what we need to get to tonight. Member
4:52:40Gomez, please. Yeah, just one thing I
4:52:42think uh Ingret stated, but in in 4.3, I
4:52:47just my question was more on why have
4:52:51Cali PA administer
4:52:54Yeah. this this P2 program. Um I
4:52:58question that and I I don't know yeah if
4:53:01there's been discussions
4:53:03or what led to that or what's leading to
4:53:06that idea. So thanks and let's round out
4:53:10with go five
4:53:14uh goal five while that's coming up
4:53:16focuses on financial instruments
4:53:19reduction. I suggest excluding them
4:53:21because they're already happening as
4:53:23part of work with the department of
4:53:25finance. So I feel like it's productive
4:53:26to include it which again takes away
4:53:28from you know how to get few things. So
4:53:30it's money as we call
4:53:41it. So um yeah the the structure of 5.1
4:53:46is is is strange to me. It's
4:53:48presupposing a certain outcome. So if
4:53:50you are looking at the impact of fees,
4:53:51look at the impact of fees, not only on
4:53:54negative impacts. Um um so uh yeah, I
4:53:58would modify this. I I think we I I
4:54:00don't mind calling out that we should be
4:54:02looking at fee structures. It is part of
4:54:05our fee committee's um goals as well.
4:54:08But fee structures can have can be a
4:54:10significant tool. So I don't mind
4:54:12including it but certainly would want to
4:54:14change it to just assessing the overall
4:54:16impact and then again including it in
4:54:17the next hazardous waste management
4:54:19report. Um and then 5.2 is is continue
4:54:22to work with UMass L um on on funding
4:54:25frameworks and I have appreciated that
4:54:27work in the past and would um would uh
4:54:31yeah would support moving forward with
4:54:33that work.
4:54:35Thanks Mark Gomez. Vice I I just
4:54:38question this goal. I I I don't know how
4:54:41it's connected overall if the work is
4:54:44happening. So I don't think it's needed
4:54:47actually.
4:54:50Okay. Yeah. I I just just from my
4:54:53perspective, I had the same comment um
4:54:55that member Rostrom did on on 5.1, which
4:54:58is to modify the goal to not presuppose
4:55:01that um increasing fees will necessarily
4:55:05uh result in negative overall impact.
4:55:07There are instances where it where it
4:55:08could not. So I wouldn't want to
4:55:09necessarily just prejudge that that
4:55:13assessment. Um so I think are there
4:55:16other board comments? So that was like a
4:55:19bit of a rapidfire round of board
4:55:20comments on uh on the structure goals
4:55:23one through five. Um you know I I would
4:55:26note um that you know I think some of
4:55:28the comments that we received and the
4:55:30slides weren't fully in alignment. I
4:55:32think in many cases they they were. Um
4:55:35but you know we look forward to working
4:55:38with DTSC in the revision process to um
4:55:42kind of rectify any areas where uh there
4:55:44might be slight differences in view and
4:55:46and you know I think each of the board
4:55:48members explained in um a good amount of
4:55:50detail the kind of the why of of of what
4:55:54was included in their
4:55:55presentations. So let's um stop there
4:55:58with board discussion. Let's move to um
4:56:01public comment. Thank you all for your
4:56:03patience. Um, we're we won't have a a
4:56:05formal break right now, but I would
4:56:07encourage if you need to stand up and
4:56:09get a breath of fresh air. It's quite
4:56:11warm in this room, I know. Um, or just
4:56:13kind of stretch your legs a bit, please
4:56:15feel free to to do so. Um, you don't
4:56:17necessarily have to remain seated. Uh,
4:56:20if you um need to stand up and stretch.
4:56:22So, I'll turn it over to Courtney to
4:56:24facilitate that. And again, thank you so
4:56:26much for coming and for your
4:56:27participation. Thank you, Chair Ra. For
4:56:30those joining us in person and wish to
4:56:32comment and have not yet received a
4:56:35numbered card, if you could please raise
4:56:37your hand and Evelyn or Sheena will pass
4:56:40out a card for you. Anyone not receive a
4:56:43numbered card
4:56:44yet? Okay, just keep your hand raised if
4:56:49needed. Great. Uh we are going to be
4:56:51calling up the series of numbers about
4:56:54five at a time to line up behind the
4:56:56podium. Um, for those joining on Zoom,
4:57:00please raise your virtual hand on the
4:57:01Zoom toolbar. Press star9 on your phone.
4:57:04You can go ahead and get in the queue.
4:57:06Now, if you have joined the Spanish
4:57:08channel, please wait for the
4:57:09interpreters to provide instructions. I
4:57:12will acknowledge each commenter by first
4:57:14and last name as displayed on Zoom. And
4:57:16I apologize in advance if I mispronounce
4:57:18any names. We ask that your comments be
4:57:21no longer than 3 minutes. You will have
4:57:24the timer on the screen in front of you.
4:57:26and we will also use Q cards to signal
4:57:28when your time has been
4:57:30complete. So, um, starting off with our
4:57:33in-person commenters, we're going to ask
4:57:35for numbers one through five to go ahead
4:57:38and line up behind the podium, please.
4:57:42One through five, line up behind the
4:57:49podium. And whoever Yeah. Oh, thank you.
4:57:51And uh yes, when you're done with your
4:57:53card, you can go ahead and give it back
4:57:54to Evelyn just so we can keep track of
4:57:57uh how many we're at. So uh first
4:57:59commenter, thank you so much. Um if
4:58:01you'd like to be identified for the
4:58:03record, please state your name and
4:58:04affiliation and you will have three
4:58:06minutes. Thank you. Okay. Hi again,
4:58:08Rebecca Overmmy Velasquez, Clean Air
4:58:10Coalition of Northwidian and Avocado
4:58:11Heights. Um, so I just want to uh talk a
4:58:14little bit about this idea of a circular
4:58:17economy and then transition to the
4:58:18lithium ion battery issue that's in the
4:58:21in the plan so-called. Um, the report
4:58:25the plan says something about a circular
4:58:27economy. I I just want to it's irks me
4:58:29because I don't think it's properly
4:58:31defining what a circular economy is. Now
4:58:34you know in a circular economy there is
4:58:36no waste, right? So a circular economy
4:58:39is modeled on natural ecosystems and in
4:58:42natural ecosystems there's no waste.
4:58:44It's a wonderful wonderful system that
4:58:47has been you know here we are billions
4:58:50of years later and we have all this life
4:58:51on earth and that's thanks to these
4:58:53natural ecosystems and the way that
4:58:55everything is used. Um a circular
4:58:58economy in agriculture does a similar
4:59:00kind of thing. There's no waste. There
4:59:02are no chemical inputs. Everything grown
4:59:05is eaten or composted for new growth and
4:59:09restored to the earth. Profits made from
4:59:12selling inputs are reduced or eliminated
4:59:15in a circular economy. I think that's
4:59:17important to note but really important.
4:59:19So are the externalities reduced or
4:59:22eliminated which is a huge benefit.
4:59:24Right? So economic growth is constrained
4:59:27in a circular economy but um it's
4:59:30replaced by a focus on environmental and
4:59:32community well-being. So I applaud this
4:59:34idea of focus of a circular economy, but
4:59:37this plan does not really make that
4:59:40plan. It doesn't make a plan for a
4:59:42circular economy. And that trans that's
4:59:43the transition now is to the lithium ion
4:59:46battery issue because that's a glaring
4:59:48example of the ways in which we are what
4:59:51the plan suggests is in fact the s a
4:59:54basic status quo of where we are today
4:59:57which is a take make waste economy and
5:00:00the waste is all that this plan is
5:00:04concerned with and the idea is that this
5:00:06waste will be recycled recycling is not
5:00:09clean or green I'm here to tell you I
5:00:12live in a community where there is a
5:00:14battery recycling facility that's the
5:00:16dirtiest facility in in the state of
5:00:18California. It's toxic. So recycling is
5:00:21not a solution to our waste problem. Um
5:00:26lithium ion technology is also not the
5:00:28only techn battery technology. I just
5:00:30read a wonderful uh little piece, maybe
5:00:32it's promotional, but the Chinese EV
5:00:35manufacturers and Chinese battery
5:00:38manufacturers are using sodium um which
5:00:41has a lot of benefits over lithium. And
5:00:43given that the Chinese market for EVs is
5:00:46fast growing and taking over the world,
5:00:48I suspect lithium ion is going to be um
5:00:51redundant uh irrelevant fairly soon as a
5:00:54technology. So we need to be thinking
5:00:56forward about new technologies that are
5:00:59cleaner and safer. That's the other
5:01:01thing seconds remaining. In the
5:01:03meantime, our community is really
5:01:04frightened because this lithium ion
5:01:06technology, these batteries, these spent
5:01:08batteries are going to come to us and we
5:01:10need you to be really aware of that
5:01:12because that's the future for us. We see
5:01:14that. We know that Quo Ecobat is angling
5:01:16for that business and um we want you to
5:01:19be mindful of that. Okay. Thank you very
5:01:21much. Thank you for your comments. Next
5:01:23commenter, please come up to the podium.
5:01:26If you'd like to be identified, please
5:01:28state your name and affiliation for the
5:01:30record and you'll have three minutes.
5:01:32Sure. Uh, good evening. My name is Kaia
5:01:35Ellen Sugarman and I'm with Physicians
5:01:36for Social Responsibility Los Angeles.
5:01:39Uh I want to begin by acknowledging this
5:01:42board um for and thanking this board
5:01:46frankly for the recommendations about
5:01:48some of the shortcomings of this plan
5:01:50this draft plan including requesting the
5:01:52removal of goal 7.2. Uh also the direct
5:01:56asks for clear reduction goals. This
5:01:59reflects the power of community advocacy
5:02:02and this board's attention to public
5:02:03feedback. Even with this removal of the
5:02:06incredibly concerning 7.2, two, this
5:02:08plan does not rise to the level of bold
5:02:09preventative action that California
5:02:11needs. Given the stated commitment to
5:02:14environmental justice and pollution
5:02:15prevention, I would like to see this
5:02:17plan grounded in clear, enforcable
5:02:20actions and immediate timelines. The
5:02:22majority of environmental justice
5:02:24initiatives outlined, as mentioned, are
5:02:26modest expansions of existing programs
5:02:28or voluntary in nature, such as the
5:02:31community considerate cleanups
5:02:32initiative. These are not guaranteed for
5:02:34the communities most impacted by toxic
5:02:36exposure um to have positive benefits
5:02:39and there are no clear mechanisms for
5:02:41community input to actually shape
5:02:43decisions and no commitments to
5:02:45expanding enforcement resources where
5:02:47they're most urgently needed in
5:02:49frontlined overburdened communities. So
5:02:51looking at goal 3.1 specific question I
5:02:54have is about encouraging uh treatment
5:02:57of soil whenever possible. We would like
5:02:59to engage DTSC
5:03:01uh with DTSC to further and sorry and
5:03:04the bees to further understand what
5:03:06opportunities may exist as pathways for
5:03:08bio remediation methods to become
5:03:11scalable treatment options and if not
5:03:13understand exactly why I'd like to
5:03:16discuss what is needed so this can be a
5:03:18pathway for communitydriven soil
5:03:19cleanup.
5:03:22This plan, the plan's section on source
5:03:24reduction, the most protective and
5:03:25equitable solution, is delayed, vague,
5:03:29and unfunded with most initiatives
5:03:30pushed to 2028 or beyond. And the plan
5:03:33also makes repeated references to waste
5:03:35reduction. But minimizing waste isn't
5:03:37the same as preventing toxic production
5:03:39at the source. While the waste
5:03:42management hierarchy places source
5:03:43reduction at the top, DTSC's
5:03:45programmatic priorities, research
5:03:46investments, and timelines as indicated
5:03:48by the plan do not reflect this. And
5:03:50they should because communities living
5:03:52with ongoing toxic exposures cannot wait
5:03:55for meaningful action. We would like to
5:03:57understand and dare I say even
5:03:59co-develop what will true source
5:04:01reduction efforts entail.
5:04:03And with regard to engagement of the
5:04:05public, workshops were held before the
5:04:08plan was written and while I can imagine
5:04:09they played an important role in the
5:04:11development of the draft plan, they were
5:04:13not in response to its content. So
5:04:15understanding that these comment periods
5:04:16are meant to provide that space and
5:04:18having heard from many other commenters,
5:04:21thank you is not adequate. Um we it
5:04:24would be great if there was opportunity
5:04:26for community members to track how their
5:04:27input is incorporated and I'm encouraged
5:04:30by the conversation around metrics that
5:04:31that will be uplifted. Um I also have
5:04:35questions around the role of the
5:04:38ejac plan and uh it's concerning that
5:04:41they're not a part of this process thus
5:04:43far. So this plan must prioritize
5:04:45specific actions with regard to source
5:04:47reduction, establish binding source
5:04:49reduction targets, and build
5:04:50infrastructure for your accountability.
5:04:53Thank you for your comments. Next
5:04:55commenter, please step up to the podium.
5:04:57You'll have three minutes and you can
5:04:58state your name for the record. Uh if
5:05:00you want to be identified, state your
5:05:02name and affiliation.
5:05:04Thank you. Hi, I'm Ivana Castanos with
5:05:06Physicians for Social Responsibility Los
5:05:08Angeles. I want to thank the board for
5:05:10its leadership today, particularly for
5:05:12its recommendation to drop um
5:05:14recommendation 7.2 and for the strong
5:05:15and detailed guidance it has provided to
5:05:17DCA DTSC today and that I urge DTSC to
5:05:20take to heart. I do have some additional
5:05:22feedback. Um in this draft plan, DTSC
5:05:25uplifts the hierarchy of waste which is
5:05:26clear that prevention and source
5:05:28reduction should be prioritized but the
5:05:30plan itself does not reflect this. To
5:05:32start, we need clear recommendations for
5:05:34bio remediation and soil treatment to
5:05:36establish specific standards for how the
5:05:38agency plans to determine when treatment
5:05:40of contaminated soil would be considered
5:05:43effective, implementable, and
5:05:44cost-effective. Ultimately, we need DTSC
5:05:47to identify gaps and develop mechanisms
5:05:49to work towards a real pathway for bio
5:05:51remediation and treatment of
5:05:52contaminated soil to reduce digging it
5:05:54up and hauling it to another
5:05:55environmental justice community. In
5:05:58addition, the plan includes mention of
5:06:00some of the considerations that were
5:06:01used in deciding to focus on lithium
5:06:03battery recycling and incinerable waste,
5:06:05including degree of hazard of the waste,
5:06:07difficulty in managing that waste, and
5:06:09community impacts. But it lacks
5:06:12discussion of the data or analysis
5:06:14completed to evaluate different waste
5:06:15streams for these considerations. It's
5:06:17difficult to understand how DTSC arrived
5:06:19at their decision-making, and it doesn't
5:06:21explain why the plan limits itself to
5:06:23only these source reduction goals. The
5:06:26hazard the issue of hazardous waste is
5:06:28difficult and complex. This plan should
5:06:30look at up as upstream as possible to
5:06:33identify recommendations and steps for
5:06:35identifying policies to actually change
5:06:37our products and materials and the
5:06:39processes by which we make these
5:06:41materials. Um to more quickly identify
5:06:43safer alternatives and work towards a
5:06:45regenerative economy that does not
5:06:47pollute and harm our communities. DTSE
5:06:50should take on pollution prevention, but
5:06:52standing up the prior program as it was
5:06:54will not be enough. We need to move
5:06:56beyond limited voluntary programs and
5:06:58providing optional guidance. We need
5:07:00this plan to take bigger steps to begin
5:07:02the real work of identifying policy gaps
5:07:04and potential mechanisms to mandate or
5:07:06deeply incentivize the safer
5:07:07alternatives and pollution reduction we
5:07:09desperately need. I I heard DTSC staff
5:07:12discuss at the last hearing that the
5:07:14reason we don't see more source
5:07:15reduction in this draft is because
5:07:17pollution prevention is hard. And I
5:07:19agree that it's hard, but it's
5:07:20unimaginably harder to live in a
5:07:22community that is being poisoned, to see
5:07:23your family and your neighbors sick and
5:07:25suffering. As long as we continue
5:07:27business as usual and do not act to
5:07:28prioritize source reduction, we will be
5:07:30forced to continue making more and more
5:07:32decisions about which communities must
5:07:34bear the burdens of this hazardous
5:07:36waste. We all deserve better and we must
5:07:38do better. This draft plan is not
5:07:40enough. Thank you. Thank you for your
5:07:42comments. Next commenter, you'll have
5:07:44three minutes to make your comment.
5:07:48Hi, I'm Melissa Bumstead again and um I
5:07:50just wanted to thank you for your
5:07:51commitment to rework item number seven.
5:07:54Um my comments here are a little bit
5:07:57redundant, but I thought I'd still share
5:07:58it with you just for information going
5:07:59forward as you continue to work on the
5:08:01plan. Uh Jenny and myself uh were
5:08:03actually trained to collect ash after
5:08:05the Woolseie fire and started to learn
5:08:07about air quality. And then after the
5:08:10because of that um connection we were
5:08:12invited by the LA academic the LA fires
5:08:16academic consortium which includes
5:08:18Harvard, UCLA, UC Davis, USC, Caltech
5:08:21and many many others to do ash and soil
5:08:24sampling after the LA fires which has
5:08:27led us
5:08:28into a different engagement with the
5:08:31community and toxic environments than
5:08:32what we had previously limited ourselves
5:08:34to. Uh we are now uh the founding
5:08:38members of the LA Fires Community
5:08:40Coalition and the Air Quality Khalo
5:08:42Valley
5:08:43Coalition and it's been a very
5:08:46interesting relationship trying to help
5:08:48lead other community members who have
5:08:50never had to consider being in a toxic
5:08:52environment before, leading them through
5:08:54how to read reports, how to work with
5:08:55scientists, how to reach out to their
5:08:57elected officials and advocate. Um so
5:08:59we're very grateful for that opportunity
5:09:02to help our community. And I just wanted
5:09:04to share about how concerned residents
5:09:07are. Even apparently, for better or for
5:09:08worse, Kim Kardashian is very concerned
5:09:11about the air quality and the toxic
5:09:14material coming to landfills. Um, so
5:09:18this is this is something that I want to
5:09:19bring up to the point of this is, I
5:09:21think, for lack of better words, a spark
5:09:24has been started under people in
5:09:27California realizing that toxic material
5:09:29exists and that its potential to end up
5:09:31in their backyards. I I think um the
5:09:34more we see climate change, the more we
5:09:36see wildfires, the more this is going to
5:09:38become a frontline issue for
5:09:40Californians to feel safe. And this is
5:09:42an opportunity not just with hazardous
5:09:44waste that is manufactured, but also
5:09:46hazardous waste that is created by
5:09:47wildfires on how to create a plan that
5:09:50is going to protect Californians in the
5:09:52in the future. And again, I think this
5:09:54is going to become a more frontline um
5:09:57issue for many many Californians.
5:09:59Something else I wanted to point out,
5:10:01um, the Seami Valley Landfill, which is
5:10:02near the Santa Susanna Field Lab, is
5:10:04accepting, we've heard, up to 80% of the
5:10:07expected debris from the wildfires, the
5:10:09LA wildfires, because they have no
5:10:10tonnage limit, and they're open 24/7.
5:10:13Um, there was recently a truck spill on
5:10:15the 118 freeway with this toxic waste.
5:10:18that went all across the the road and
5:10:20and the infrastructure does not yet
5:10:22exist with with monitoring systems
5:10:24around these landfills at least for air
5:10:26quality to the to the degree that would
5:10:28monitor specifically landfill toxicity.
5:10:32Um I think that's something that might
5:10:33need to be built into these plans for
5:10:35any expansion of toxic waste sites. Um
5:10:39and then my final comment is that I just
5:10:41want to ensure that the toxic waste that
5:10:43is from California going to other states
5:10:45as as you mentioned um is used to the
5:10:47same protective standards. I know from
5:10:49what I understand they may accept less
5:10:52uh protective standards and we want to
5:10:54ensure that they are safe as well. Thank
5:10:55you for your comments. While the next
5:10:57commenter comes up to the podium, we're
5:10:59going to go go ahead and ask for numbers
5:11:01six through 10 to go ahead and line up
5:11:03behind the podium. and appreciate you
5:11:06all sticking to the three minutes to
5:11:08make sure everyone has an opportunity to
5:11:10comment. Uh so please go ahead and
5:11:12comment and if you'd like to be
5:11:14identified for the record, please state
5:11:15your name and affiliation. Thank you.
5:11:18Good evening, Angela Johnson from Earth
5:11:21Justice. And because the board members
5:11:24have said so much of what I was
5:11:25thinking, thank you so much. I never
5:11:27thought I'd see the day where I was
5:11:28saying listening to the bees speak, I
5:11:30feel so seen. Um there I have a little
5:11:33bit of extra time and I want to use that
5:11:35to first note that y'all had a great
5:11:38conversation. I'm glad that it happened
5:11:40and then we still get three minutes to
5:11:42sit learn it all take it all in and give
5:11:45comment.
5:11:47Um I as to the plan I think that you've
5:11:51laid out a lot of the issues. I want to
5:11:52raise three quickly. one on goal number
5:11:55one. It is a shocking discovery that
5:11:58DTSC is still doing research into all
5:12:01the generators of hazardous waste. And I
5:12:03think it speaks a lot to some of the
5:12:05work that needs to be done and one of
5:12:07the really good reasons why we should
5:12:08focus on key things and focus our
5:12:10attention on things that are um need to
5:12:12happen quickly. On goal number three, I
5:12:16want to talk about two things quickly.
5:12:18One, I want to note that as we're
5:12:19thinking about incinerable waste, one of
5:12:21the things that the report calls out is
5:12:23the use of paralysis in um to deal with
5:12:26some of this waste. This is not the way
5:12:28we want to go. There is a long and
5:12:30robust uh debate about that. That is
5:12:33incineration. We can't let industry
5:12:35convince us that it's not. We should be
5:12:37treating that waste as it's incinerated,
5:12:39which includes lots of additional
5:12:41requirements for human health and
5:12:42safety. Also on lithium ion batteries,
5:12:46um Rebecca has already said a lot of
5:12:48what I would say. I will just note that
5:12:51when you look at this issue, just like
5:12:53many of them in the report, the partners
5:12:56don't include communities. You cannot
5:12:58have a working group about lithium ion
5:13:00battery man recycling and not include
5:13:02the community that is living with the
5:13:04battery recycling facility.
5:13:07on um goal number
5:13:09five. Um the notion that we should be
5:13:13careful about increasing fees and disi
5:13:15disincentivizing the use and creation of
5:13:17hazardous waste is something that's hard
5:13:19for me to really wrap my mind around.
5:13:21But if we're going to um if we have fees
5:13:24as a tool to move industry away from
5:13:26things that are dirty into things that
5:13:28are clean, even if it costs us more
5:13:30money, we should not be fearful of that.
5:13:32Instead, we should lead on those kinds
5:13:34of issues. And then finally, I know that
5:13:36you've decided that this is going to be
5:13:38about goals number one through five, but
5:13:39I want to preview what I have to say
5:13:40about goal number nine. So, in goal
5:13:44number nine, um, the hazardous waste
5:13:46hierarchy, which I think there's some
5:13:48brilliant PR in this report, and that's
5:13:49one of them. The notion that we are
5:13:52going to now adopt exemptions and
5:13:55exclusions for hazardous waste mirroring
5:13:58what's been happening at the federal
5:14:00level which is not the place we want to
5:14:03go is deeply problematic. These
5:14:06exclusions in particular the transfer w
5:14:08the transferbased recycling solution um
5:14:11exclusion is a broad problem. We will be
5:14:15submitting more details. I don't know
5:14:17how this is going to work with how
5:14:18you're going to your comments, but um
5:14:21fundamentally this plan should go back
5:14:23to staff now so that we don't have to
5:14:25spend our summer thinking about this and
5:14:27saying thank you. Thank you for your
5:14:30comments. Next commenter, come up.
5:14:32Please come up to the podium and you'll
5:14:34have three minutes.
5:14:37Thank you. Um hi, I'm Alia Crutcher um
5:14:40with Communities for a Better
5:14:41Environment. Um, I actually wanted to
5:14:43talk about goal number one about
5:14:44integrating community u considerate
5:14:46cleanup into voluntary cleanup
5:14:48agreements. So I work on a campaign
5:14:50related to a former metal recycler in
5:14:52Southgate in southeast LA. Um, and our
5:14:54members over the years worked tirelessly
5:14:56to shut down operations and they were
5:14:58eventually successful. Um, but fast
5:15:00forward to the present, we find out that
5:15:01U-Haul bought the parcel and wants to
5:15:04use it for storage but also for an auto
5:15:06body shop for their trucks. Um so they
5:15:08entered into a clear agreement with DTSC
5:15:11and um now we're waiting for the final
5:15:13response plan um a plan by the way based
5:15:16on data from only two out of the 47
5:15:19houses on the fence line because proper
5:15:21community engagement was not conducted.
5:15:24Um so when I talk to our youth members
5:15:25about this um I always ask them what do
5:15:28you want for the future of this site and
5:15:30it's always the same. They say we want
5:15:31to say in what the site becomes and we
5:15:34don't want a U-Haul auto body shop. Um,
5:15:36so we meet with DTSC, we talk to them
5:15:38about it, and it's always the same.
5:15:40There's nothing to be done. They're in
5:15:41this cleanup agreement. So I think as a
5:15:44whole, the plan should be rejected. It
5:15:45should do a lot more than it does. Um,
5:15:47but as it relates to goal one, oh, I
5:15:50have a lot of time. Okay. As it relates
5:15:52to goal one, I would especially love to
5:15:55see more because right now with this
5:15:57campaign that I'm on, we're seeing how
5:15:59these agreements are limiting our
5:16:01community's ability to have a say um, in
5:16:03what happens in the neighborhoods. So,
5:16:06um, in particular, I would love to see a
5:16:08mandate requiring the inclusion of
5:16:10public participation before before the
5:16:13CLA agreement is even entered into. I
5:16:15think that would go a long way. Um, and
5:16:17also instead of providing purchasers
5:16:19like guidelines for public
5:16:20participation, which I think is what's
5:16:22happening with us, I'd love to see a
5:16:24mandate um, requiring adequate public
5:16:27outreach in the entire process. Oh,
5:16:29okay. I did that really quick. Thank
5:16:31you. Thank you for your comments. Next
5:16:34commenter, please step up to the podium.
5:16:35If you would like to be identified for
5:16:37the record, please state your name and
5:16:38affiliation and you'll three minutes.
5:16:40Jenny Nack, parents against SSFL. I came
5:16:42here to talk about
5:16:447.2. I don't need to. So, these are not
5:16:47going to be the most eloquent comments.
5:16:48However, with the motion that was
5:16:50passed, I wish it would have included to
5:16:53be c that the revisions would be
5:16:54circulated amongst the public
5:16:56stakeholders in plenty of time before
5:16:58the meeting because we want to see what
5:17:01the revisions are. I know you don't want
5:17:03to draw it out forever, but if the
5:17:06collaboration between you and DTSC
5:17:08doesn't go well and they knock
5:17:10everything down, we want to have another
5:17:11opportunity to advocate.
5:17:15Um, goal number four, why would P2 be
5:17:19administered by Cali EPA? I have an
5:17:22opinion about that and I'm going to
5:17:23share it, which is I think DTSC would
5:17:25like to distance themselves from
5:17:27P2. Um, and I think that's directly
5:17:30linked to goal five, which is the claim
5:17:33that if you increase fees, you're going
5:17:35to result in proper handling. And if
5:17:38that is the argument, then DTSC should
5:17:41penalize them with fines and bring them
5:17:44into compliance, not run away from
5:17:46increasing fees. So I think there in
5:17:49both of these we see a reluctance to
5:17:53actually
5:17:54regulate and that is very illuminating
5:17:58in terms of looking at the relationship
5:18:00that the regulatory agency has with the
5:18:02permites and I think that that's
5:18:04important to look at and keep in
5:18:06mind. Um sorry I wasn't pointing at you
5:18:10I was pointing at my time.
5:18:12Uh circling back to emergency protocols
5:18:15with the fires as Melissa told you we've
5:18:18been involved
5:18:20in we have experienced with and seen
5:18:23watched other communities experience
5:18:27um emergency protocols which circumvent
5:18:30SQA and leave soil classification and
5:18:32waste classification
5:18:35completely completely lacking in
5:18:37transparency to anyone in the public.
5:18:39And I believe that director Butler also
5:18:42said in the last meeting, you know, the
5:18:44EPA wasn't releasing data. We cannot and
5:18:47then and then in the last meeting that
5:18:49we had um with our work group or maybe
5:18:52it was with our one of the last meetings
5:18:56we had heard a DTSC emergency respond
5:19:00responding
5:19:01responding director say that they were
5:19:04doing the highest quality job. They were
5:19:06so proud of what they were doing. But
5:19:07the people on the ground are
5:19:09experiencing absolutely no transparency
5:19:10and we don't know if they're doing a
5:19:12good job or not. And that makes me
5:19:14concerned and I'm hoping the emergency
5:19:17protocols can be because there we're
5:19:19going to see more frequent emergencies.
5:19:20I think it would be very wise to bring
5:19:22those
5:19:24under the 15 seconds the this plan in
5:19:28some way so that SQA isn't always tossed
5:19:31to the side. Uh soil classification
5:19:34isn't just tossed to the side. We've got
5:19:36to do something to keep a handle on
5:19:37that. Thank you so much. Thank you for
5:19:39your comments. Next commenter, please
5:19:41step up to the podium and you'll have
5:19:43three minutes. Um, oh, sorry. Oh, my
5:19:47number.
5:19:51So I don't want to repeat what some of
5:19:52my uh colleagues and fellow members of
5:19:55CSIC um stated but one of the main
5:19:59concerns I noted especially in the
5:20:00presentation by Miss Bane was um in plan
5:20:04three in which the lithium
5:20:08batteries the possibility of where they
5:20:11would be located how they'd be processed
5:20:14did not include any uh discussion or
5:20:18dialogue with uh community members uh or
5:20:23local
5:20:24organizations
5:20:25and our position especially coming off
5:20:29Avocado Heights in this area on La
5:20:31Pointe in which we're experiencing
5:20:33continued and reckless contamination
5:20:36violations from EcoBat. They're already
5:20:39planning to create technology to
5:20:42implement and convert lithium batteries
5:20:43into recycling. This is for profit. This
5:20:46is not for recycling. And so if they're
5:20:49doing this in other states right now, we
5:20:52need to be keeping that in
5:20:53consideration. And we really need to
5:20:56include communities in our experience
5:20:57with
5:20:58recycling and our experience with these
5:21:02battery uh processing plants, these
5:21:06supposed recyclers that are really just
5:21:09converting these ingots into cheaper
5:21:11material for profit and polluting the
5:21:14communities nearby and not taking
5:21:16responsibility for cleanup and not doing
5:21:18much really to insist that they're
5:21:21collecting data and being responsible
5:21:23about that data as Well, and so I just
5:21:26want to insist that in this plan,
5:21:28communities should be deeply involved
5:21:30especially around this uh lithium
5:21:33battery issue.
5:21:37Thank you for your comments. Next
5:21:39commenter, please come up to the podium
5:21:41and you'll have three minutes. Duncan
5:21:43McKe, hate to give you a little bit
5:21:46more. Uh, I just barely glanced at some
5:21:50of the doc some of the documents last
5:21:52night and I found a couple things that I
5:21:54think I'd like to point out. First of
5:21:57all, it says there's no incinerators in
5:21:59California. What happens to the plastic
5:22:02and rubber battery cases that aren't
5:22:06portions of the battery cases that
5:22:08aren't separated at Queco that are fed
5:22:11into the furnace. It's hazardous waste.
5:22:14It's a listed hazardous waste being
5:22:16incinerated. They're not permitted as an
5:22:19incinerator. Enforcement division should
5:22:22be right on top of that. That was one of
5:22:24my public comments on their trap
5:22:28permit. In addition to
5:22:30that, Ecobat has opened a lithium
5:22:35battery recycling facility in Arizona.
5:22:38the guys in city of industry, rumor has
5:22:40it that that is something they would
5:22:43like to expand into here in city of
5:22:47industry. Um the part about the soil,
5:22:50the orphan sites and not being able to
5:22:54identify a viable responsible party, we
5:22:58used to call them PRPs, principal
5:23:00responsible parties. Again, if you would
5:23:04speciate the lead, you'd be able to
5:23:07definitively or likely determine the
5:23:11source of the lead and come up with that
5:23:13responsible party. And if you wouldn't
5:23:16let these guys blow this material all
5:23:19over, and if South Coast Air Quality
5:23:20Management District wouldn't let them
5:23:22put stuff up in the air that falls out
5:23:24as aerial deposition into the soil, you
5:23:27wouldn't have it in the soil. And that's
5:23:30a good place to start with your
5:23:32hazardous waste reduction ideas about
5:23:36reducing the waist stream so we don't
5:23:38have to deal with it. Um
5:23:42uh there was one more thing that that
5:23:45just jumped right out at me. It's
5:23:46slipping my mind at this time. But these
5:23:49lithium batteries, these things are
5:23:51highly toxic. Whatever's in the battery
5:23:54kit. Oh, it's the pyro uh the pyrolyis
5:24:00of these the pyro metallergy. They're
5:24:04heating them up to thousands of degrees
5:24:07and whatever the battery cases, whatever
5:24:09material that is hazardous waste that is
5:24:12in proximity to the metals that they're
5:24:15attempting to recover are going to be
5:24:17incinerated. They're going to need an
5:24:18incinerator PE permit from DTSC under
5:24:21the R under the Clean Air
5:24:24Act and RCA. At least in the case of
5:24:29QucoCco, DTSC is mandated to issue an
5:24:34incinerator permit if they're
5:24:36incinerating, if they're acting in that
5:24:39capacity. So th those are the points I'd
5:24:42like you to consider and and thank you
5:24:44for the opportunity.
5:24:46Thank you for your comments. While the
5:24:48while the next commenter comes up to the
5:24:50podium, we're going to go ahead and ask
5:24:52for numbers 11 through 15 to line up
5:24:55behind the podium to prepare to speak on
5:24:57this
5:24:58item. If you'd like to be identified for
5:25:01the record, please state your name and
5:25:03affiliation and you'll have three
5:25:04minutes. Thank you. My name is Martha
5:25:06Werta. I live in um North Whittier. I'm
5:25:10a member of the clean air coalition and
5:25:13I'm one of the volunteers who went
5:25:15doortodoor letting the neighbors know in
5:25:18Avocado Heights in La Point of the of
5:25:21the lead smelter in their community and
5:25:23the upcoming hearing that was coming up
5:25:26on September 14th. At that hearing or
5:25:29town hall, a lot of the community,
5:25:32Spanish and English speaking, spoke up
5:25:34confidently and with conviction about
5:25:37all the illnesses they were experiencing
5:25:39in their families, their children with
5:25:42asthma, family members who have passed
5:25:45unexplicably and um our agency, our
5:25:49organization has done um on our own soil
5:25:53samples. Um, what I also want to bring
5:25:56up is that uh, Quco Eco Kobach is a
5:25:59corporate bully who has threatened legal
5:26:01action against the community members who
5:26:04speak up about public concerns. Ecobat
5:26:07has threatened to sue Clean Air
5:26:09Coalition for defamation because we have
5:26:11told the truth about the dangers of
5:26:14living next to this toxic facility.
5:26:17EcoBack is suing the DTSC and Clean Air
5:26:19Coalition because we demand transparency
5:26:22and public participation in regulatory
5:26:25process. I bring this up because they
5:26:29cannot be trusted. I don't understand
5:26:31why DTSSE is being allowed to self audit
5:26:35or letting uh EcoBack self audit and do
5:26:38their own regulatory to show that
5:26:40they're in compliance. That's like
5:26:42having the fox watching the hen house.
5:26:44They should not be trusted. And I just
5:26:48pray as a community member that not only
5:26:51that they are denied an expansion
5:26:54permit, but also any type of business in
5:26:56the uh community where plenty of
5:26:59children and schools exist. Thank you.
5:27:02Thank you for your comments. A next
5:27:04commenter if you
5:27:0911. Thank you so much. Just making sure.
5:27:12Um, I too had to kind of change my
5:27:14comments a little bit. So, sorry if it's
5:27:16a little scattered, but I did want to
5:27:18say thank you um for taking out 7.2. Uh,
5:27:22thank you for your leadership of board
5:27:24member Brstrom on that. Uh, my name is
5:27:26Tom Helm. I'm the co-founder of Valley
5:27:28Improvement Projects, an environmental
5:27:30justice group that started in Stannis
5:27:32Loss County um, as a reaction to having
5:27:34at the time one of three municipal waste
5:27:37incinerators in California. we were the
5:27:39last one to shut down just this last
5:27:41December. Um so there's no more
5:27:43municipal uh waste incinerators uh in
5:27:46California. Um and through that work we
5:27:49learned about the Surell report um a
5:27:51report that California commissioned that
5:27:53basically said to um cite these
5:27:56polluting uh incinerators and other
5:27:58things in lowincome communities that
5:28:01have low education and don't speak
5:28:03English and that are Catholic and that
5:28:06work in ranching and mining. basically
5:28:08describing our local uh Latino
5:28:11farmworker communities. So, no surprise
5:28:13that a couple years after that report
5:28:15came out, they opened up the incinerator
5:28:18there in West Dannis Los County, which
5:28:20is historically been a dumping ground.
5:28:22It is also where the landfill is. Um and
5:28:25so to continue with actually looking at
5:28:28landfills which are in majority people
5:28:31of color and low-income communities that
5:28:33is building upon a legacy of
5:28:35environmental injustice and
5:28:37environmental racism that is
5:28:39unacceptable as a plan. So thank you
5:28:41again for taking that off. That was my
5:28:43original comment that I still wanted to
5:28:45make. VIP also um was one of 40
5:28:48environmental justice groups that
5:28:50started the California Environmental
5:28:52Justice Coalition. We're now uh up to
5:28:54almost 90 groups and and we were founded
5:28:56around um several groups with a long
5:28:59history of issues with DTSC not
5:29:02listening to community not doing proper
5:29:05community outreach letting landfills
5:29:07operate on expired permits long overdue
5:29:10civil rights and commu cumulative
5:29:12impacts policies. Um and we saw a
5:29:15continue of this legacy through this
5:29:17process. The plan was released on a
5:29:20Friday. The following week, we had the
5:29:22first hearing, not giving adequate time
5:29:24to even read the plan to give uh
5:29:27comments. The the only uh Sanwaqin
5:29:30Valley meeting, the first one right
5:29:32after the plan came out was in Fresno on
5:29:35a weekday at 10:00 a.m. where community
5:29:37members uh were not able to make it. Um,
5:29:40so even though you took out that part of
5:29:43the plan, we are still um wanting to
5:29:46make sure that DTSC improves in its
5:29:49community outreach um and takes into
5:29:51consideration um these things. We want
5:29:54to continue to advocate for source
5:29:56reduction and treatment innovation. I
5:29:58want to point out that it was 2016 that
5:30:02the community protection and hazardous
5:30:04waste reduction initiative committee
5:30:07came up with these very same
5:30:09recommendations that were here 10 years
5:30:11later now talking about like all over
5:30:13again. Oh, this is what we're going to
5:30:15start doing. Environmental justice has
5:30:17been asking for these things um for a
5:30:20very long time. And one final comment.
5:30:23Um, we need clarification on what the
5:30:25authority is of the bees as compared to
5:30:27the director of DTSC. Just because you
5:30:30took this out of the plan, is this going
5:30:31to be continued to look at by staff? Is
5:30:34the director going to overrule that
5:30:36decision? We still need a lot of
5:30:37answers. We'll be back. Thank you. Thank
5:30:39you for your comments. And next
5:30:41commenter, if you'd like to be
5:30:43identified for the record, please state
5:30:44your name and affiliation and you'll
5:30:46have three minutes.
5:30:49Numbered card.
5:31:00Thank you so much. You'll have three
5:31:01minutes. Thank you. Um Kar from the NDC
5:31:04National Diversity Coalition. NDC
5:31:07welcome the motion approved by the board
5:31:09and looking forward for continuous
5:31:11positive change to this plan. We welcome
5:31:14board member Ingred recommendation on
5:31:17missing foundational components and
5:31:19adding numeric measures. We agree with
5:31:21vice chair Alexis on the necessity of an
5:31:24emergency plan to deal with the lithium
5:31:26battery waste. We agree with board
5:31:29member Shushma on the necessity of
5:31:31staying
5:31:33specific
5:31:34staying specific and sharp to the point.
5:31:38We need to see time uh more time
5:31:41specific goals and prioritize source
5:31:43reduction on which the most preferable
5:31:46method of waste management. I reiterate
5:31:50uh the recommendations earlier by Angela
5:31:52from Earth Justice regarding the
5:31:54importance of ensuring that businesses
5:31:57shift to use less toxic materials even
5:32:00if it costs more. And we want uh to end
5:32:03this personal note that um um miss vice
5:32:08chair suggested that uh on mixed efforts
5:32:11between uh states and we hope to see
5:32:14that as possible in the plan. Thank you
5:32:17for your comments. Thank you. A next
5:32:20commenter if you'd like to be identified
5:32:21for the record please state your name
5:32:23and affiliation and you'll have three
5:32:25minutes.
5:32:28Hi. Uh thank you board for you know uh
5:32:31my name is Adil. I'm the chief legal
5:32:33officer with National Diversity
5:32:34Coalition. Thank you for acknowledging
5:32:36and removing some point. Which were the
5:32:38most controversial part which NDC have
5:32:41been um challenging the two uh workshop
5:32:44that we had. Um uh I agree with the most
5:32:47of the comments and recommendation
5:32:49provided by the board in terms of
5:32:51measurable and goal. uh the only a
5:32:54couple of thing uh we are concerned as
5:32:56to in the 1.4 Four, there's a goal about
5:33:00analyzing the Hadar waste uh generators
5:33:04and uh the neighboring area. One of the
5:33:07goal of environmental justice. If the
5:33:08goal is environmental justice, you have
5:33:09to also study about how the communities
5:33:12are impacted and what are you do going
5:33:15to do with the after the data is
5:33:19generated what are you going to do with
5:33:20the data if what are the standards to
5:33:22analyze if the communities are harmed or
5:33:25analyzed like because we don't know the
5:33:27data. So there should be a much more
5:33:29clarity on the 1.4 as to like what is
5:33:32the DTSC plan in identifying the the
5:33:35impact on the communities and what
5:33:36you're going to do after the that
5:33:39particular harm is identified. Secondly
5:33:42on the goal number two uh there is a uh
5:33:45there's a goal on the diversity but what
5:33:47you also feel that there is no targeted
5:33:50identification of what kind of languages
5:33:52we give. There's always this assumption
5:33:54that environmental groups are primarily
5:33:57from English. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not
5:33:59an expert on that. But assuming that a
5:34:01lot of local community organizations or
5:34:03maybe people who don't speak English, we
5:34:05should include a specific language of at
5:34:08least Spanish in the context. Uh so
5:34:12yeah, uh thank you for the comments.
5:34:15Thank you for your comments. And while
5:34:16the next commenter comes up to the
5:34:18podium, we're going to go ahead and ask
5:34:19for numbers 16 through 20 to line up.
5:34:22for public comments. If you'd like to be
5:34:24identified for the record, please state
5:34:26your name and affiliation. You'll have
5:34:27three minutes. Thank you. Good evening,
5:34:30Chair Rake Shaw, members of the board,
5:34:32and DTSC staff. My name is Ariel
5:34:34Mccardi. I'm chief of staff at National
5:34:36Diversity Coalition. First, I want to
5:34:38sincerely thank the board and members
5:34:39who have taken the time to meet with us,
5:34:41listen carefully to our concerns, and
5:34:43engage in meaningful dialogue around
5:34:45this important plan. Your leadership has
5:34:47not gone unnoticed, and we deeply
5:34:49appreciate your openness and
5:34:50transparency. We particularly want to
5:34:52thank you for your clear direction to
5:34:54DTSC step to remove the alternate
5:34:57alternative management standards from
5:34:59goal 7 of the hazardous waste management
5:35:01plan. Your decisive guidance
5:35:03demonstrates genuine responsiveness to
5:35:05the concerns of impacted communities and
5:35:08represents a critical step towards
5:35:10restoring trust and accountability at
5:35:12DTSC. We reiterate along with the
5:35:14reduction of hazardous waste, there
5:35:16should be meaningful emphasizes source
5:35:18reduction program for types of hazardous
5:35:21that are applicable. We cannot afford
5:35:23further delays on urgently needed
5:35:25progress in reducing hazardous waste at
5:35:27the source. We strongly believe and want
5:35:29to clearly state today that if DTSC
5:35:31staff ever intends to reconsider
5:35:33weakened standards for RCA soil in the
5:35:36future, such a significant shift must
5:35:39return to the board for explicit
5:35:40approval. We are optimistic about the
5:35:42direction we're headed in today, but I
5:35:44want to emphasize that our optimism
5:35:46depends on seeing concrete, written
5:35:48changes to the plan. Words matter, but
5:35:51documented commitments matter even more.
5:35:53We look forward to reviewing an updated
5:35:55hazardous waste management plan that
5:35:57reflects your clear direction and the
5:35:59critical input from communities across
5:36:01California. Again, we thank you for your
5:36:03thoughtful leadership. Together, let's
5:36:05refocus our energies on building a
5:36:06robust source reduction strategy that
5:36:10truly protects all Californians and sets
5:36:12DTSC on the right path for years to
5:36:14come. Thank you. Thank you for your
5:36:16comments. Our next commenter, please
5:36:18step up to the podium. If you would like
5:36:21to be identified, state your name and
5:36:22affiliation and note three minutes. Yes.
5:36:24Hi, good evening. I'm Ellen Rodriguez
5:36:26Wing. I'm a board member of the Filipino
5:36:29American Chamber of Commerce of Cerritos
5:36:30and Gateway Cities and we are also a
5:36:33member of the National Diversity
5:36:34Coalition. I'm also a homeowner and a
5:36:37business owner and um the few things the
5:36:40be few big impacts that I that come to
5:36:43my mind is are number one uh uh air
5:36:47pollution and contamination of uh source
5:36:51and uh groundwater and also driving the
5:36:54home values down where the hazardous res
5:36:57uh hazardous waste residents are in.
5:37:00Also, it creates the vulnerable
5:37:02community.
5:37:04So from what I gather from this hearing
5:37:07and of course the previous feedbacks is
5:37:09there's a big disconnect between the
5:37:11goals and the recommend uh and the plan
5:37:14and so and I thank you uh to the board
5:37:17for being the voice of the people. We
5:37:19want to see those changes. We hope to
5:37:21see those changes in the revised DTSC
5:37:24plan.
5:37:25um also uh going to because there's a
5:37:29disconnect we want to focus on the
5:37:31source reduction and uh I think we have
5:37:36to refocus our energies and resources to
5:37:39that because it just creates a havoc
5:37:42when we have the hazardous waste uh in
5:37:44the residence area and thank you so much
5:37:46for your time. Thank you for your
5:37:48comments. And next commenter, you'll
5:37:50have three minutes. Please state your
5:37:52name and affiliation for the record if
5:37:54you choose.
5:37:56Thank you. And u good evening uh
5:37:58everyone. My name is Ron Ramirez, a
5:38:01business owner from uh Los Angeles and
5:38:03currently a board member of
5:38:04FilipinoAmerican Chamber of Commerce uh
5:38:07Greater Los Angeles and also a member of
5:38:09National Diversity Coalition. I want to
5:38:12highlight how um how vital it is for the
5:38:15board of environmental safety um to
5:38:19ensure responsible oversight of Azardus
5:38:21waste facilities in vulnerable areas. My
5:38:25biggest worry is the potential for
5:38:26ground water and surface water uh
5:38:29contamination. Once toxic materials sip
5:38:32into our water systems, uh they affect
5:38:34countless people and businesses who rely
5:38:36on clean water for their neighborhoods
5:38:38or livelihoods. Along with that, I'm
5:38:41concerned that local communities might
5:38:44uh might lose input uh uh if decision
5:38:47making is shifted away from those
5:38:49directly affected. Local voices need to
5:38:53be heard so that policy outcomes protect
5:38:55both public health and e economic
5:38:58stability. While my community has not
5:39:01experienced major environment uh crisis
5:39:03yet, I believe strong regulation is
5:39:06crucial to prevent future harm. uh
5:39:09expanding or reclassifies reclassifying
5:39:13hazardous waste disposal without
5:39:15rigorous safeguards could put entire
5:39:17neighborhoods at risk. Instead of
5:39:20allowing more dumping, we should be
5:39:22working to reduce the volume of
5:39:24dangerous materials produced in the
5:39:27first place. safer industrial processes
5:39:30and upfront pollution prevention will
5:39:33both protect public health and lower
5:39:35businesses uh or lower business costs in
5:39:38the long run. I appreciate the board's
5:39:41dedication to science-based
5:39:44decisions and equitable policy. It is
5:39:48especially important for you to engage
5:39:50with historically underserved um un uh
5:39:54underserved communities, those who often
5:39:57bear the brunt of harmful industrial
5:40:00policies. I urge you to proceed with uh
5:40:03transparency, thorough environmental
5:40:05impact studies and robust enforcement
5:40:09um of any rules you adopt. This means
5:40:12not only asking for public input, but
5:40:15truly listening and prioritizing under
5:40:18underserved regions with crafting
5:40:20hazardous waste
5:40:22regulations. Thank you for your
5:40:24leadership
5:40:25uh in protecting California's natural
5:40:28resources. Please continue championing
5:40:30fairness and public health in ensuring
5:40:34that decisions on hazardous waste are
5:40:36informed by the latest research,
5:40:39community concerns, and commitment to
5:40:42environmental justice. Thank you. Thank
5:40:45you for your
5:40:46comments. Next commenter, while you go
5:40:48up to the podium, uh just give us one
5:40:50moment to pull in one of our
5:40:52interpreters.
5:41:01Okay. So, uh in just one moment, Aldo
5:41:03will give the instructions and then
5:41:06you'll have six minutes to allow time
5:41:08for interpretation.
5:41:14Okay. One minute.
5:41:43[Music]
5:41:46I
5:41:50just need
5:41:52[Music]
5:41:56Thank you all for your patience while we
5:41:58uh prepare the interpreter.
5:42:09Hi Laticia, are you there?
5:42:12Yes, I'm here. Okay, wonderful. Thank
5:42:14you. We're going to go ahead and proceed
5:42:16with a a public commenter and they're
5:42:18going to have uh six minutes to allow
5:42:20time for interpretation.
5:42:33I've been here for more than 10 years
5:42:35living here in the city of
5:42:40Leticia. We're going to kind of we're
5:42:42going to do it consecutively. So, we'll
5:42:44we'll we'll have our public commenter
5:42:45speak and then we'll pause and then
5:42:48we'll have Laticia.
5:42:50Perfect. Yeah. So this will this part
5:42:51will be
5:42:52consecutive. Okay. Thank you so much.
5:43:13So, I live in the city of Exite. I've
5:43:15been living here for quite some time,
5:43:17about 10 years now. I live close to the
5:43:19710 freeway, an area that's highly
5:43:22contaminated. And there's been um
5:43:25reports that we are reduced by 16 years
5:43:29of life living here.
5:43:42And I'm here because I'm worried about
5:43:45the plans that you have for the uh
5:43:48hazardous waste management plan from
5:43:51DTSC.
5:44:00We need a solid plan that is viable that
5:44:03can uh contaminate these that I'm sorry
5:44:05that can contain these problems that we
5:44:08have.
5:44:22We need a plan so that we're able to
5:44:24figure out how it is that we can
5:44:26regulate the chemicals that we are
5:44:28putting out forth.
5:44:43how it is that materials are being
5:44:45fabricated and how we what we can do to
5:44:47be able to regulate these chemicals.
5:45:02This protects the health and also
5:45:04protects other uh humans around the area
5:45:07to be able to have a fulfilling life.
5:45:23So because of this, I'm asking you to
5:45:26take this back to DTSC to please revise
5:45:29it and to incorporate it the correct
5:45:31way.
5:45:45And we'd also ask ask for you to devis a
5:45:48better plan so that you can also involve
5:45:50other
5:45:58people and so that people can have a lot
5:46:00more
5:46:06participation and ask them how it is
5:46:08that they have been impacted by the
5:46:11residue. They're
5:46:15um by the I'm by the hazardous waste and
5:46:19also to
5:46:24regulate
5:46:30fabric. Also to be able to regulate
5:46:33businesses, manufacturing companies
5:46:42chemicals and toxins and so that you're
5:46:44able to monitor them adequately.
5:46:48Thank you for your comments. Thank you
5:46:51and thank you Leticia for your
5:46:53assistance. Appreciate that. Sure. Can
5:46:55someone please assign me back as an
5:46:57interpreter? Yes. Yes, we'll assign you
5:46:59back uh send you into the other room.
5:47:02Thank you so much. Uh for the
5:47:06for the next lines, we're looking for uh
5:47:08numbers 21 through 25. You can go ahead
5:47:10and come on up to the uh 21 can come up
5:47:13to the podium and the others can line up
5:47:17behind. If you'd like to be identified
5:47:19for the record, please state your name
5:47:21and affiliation and you'll have three
5:47:23minutes. My name is Andrea Gordon. I
5:47:26live in Hassianda Heights and I'm with
5:47:27the Clean Air Coalition of North
5:47:29Whittier and Avocado Heights. Our
5:47:32primary focus is everything related to
5:47:36the Queco Ecobat lead battery smelter.
5:47:42And what I have seen over years and
5:47:43years and years of working with Clean
5:47:46Air and with my community to try and
5:47:48stop the pollution in our area, I see
5:47:52that that business is a serial
5:47:55poller, a major violator. And I have
5:47:59seen nothing from anyone that has been
5:48:02truly effective with regulating this
5:48:06this
5:48:07company. We are concerned about the
5:48:09lithium ion batteries that they're
5:48:11likely to try and bring in. They've been
5:48:14operating without a permit as a serial
5:48:17poller and violator, one of the worst in
5:48:19the state for years and years and years.
5:48:22Now, there's a draft permit that's being
5:48:24considered right right now, as you know,
5:48:26but um I don't see anything that's
5:48:29really effective. I see DTSC and some of
5:48:32the other regulatory agencies as major
5:48:36bureaucracies who engage in rhetoric,
5:48:39but I don't ever see much action in my
5:48:42community that would serve the purpose
5:48:46of what their primary um responsibility
5:48:49is, which is the safety and security of
5:48:51people uh communities, those in and
5:48:55around the plant. Uh, Queco Ecoat brings
5:48:59in hundreds of tons of lead batteries
5:49:04every single day from all over the the
5:49:09world. And then they burn the plastic
5:49:13and the rubber to facilitate the
5:49:17smeltering of the lead portion of the B.
5:49:20All of this goes into the air. All of it
5:49:22goes into the water runoff. Their stuff
5:49:25doesn't work. It's got cracks in cement
5:49:28floors. It leeches out into the dirt. It
5:49:31goes through the air and lands in
5:49:33neighborhoods. You've got excide all
5:49:36over again. I want to see action. And
5:49:39I'm hoping that this hazardous waste uh
5:49:42plan will help
5:49:45facilitate the effective management. But
5:49:48so far, I haven't seen anything. Your
5:49:51board is the only thing I've seen so far
5:49:54that has been responsive to the
5:49:56community and I thank you for all that
5:49:59you have done. But in addition to what I
5:50:02saw in this plan and what I see in my
5:50:05community, we have now seen in
5:50:08January, what we've known for quite a
5:50:10while, not always right here, but all of
5:50:14California is burning at some point. And
5:50:18I would encourage you all to go online
5:50:21and look for the 35minute video that was
5:50:24prepared by and put out by the um local
5:50:281014, the firefighters union for LA
5:50:31County and ALADS and some of the other
5:50:34uh 15 seconds remaining union
5:50:36organizations for the law enforcement.
5:50:39as our first responders, they were
5:50:41getting hit with bricksiz bricksized
5:50:46um pieces of debris that was flying
5:50:49through the air at 80 miles an hour and
5:50:53getting hit with that and it was
5:50:55hazardous waste. Thank you for your
5:50:57comments. I'd appreciate whatever you
5:50:59can do to clean up this plan and to
5:51:01effectively shut down. Thank you for
5:51:03your comments. Like stopping the
5:51:04importing of all those lead batteries
5:51:06from all over the world. That would be a
5:51:08good way of reducing. Thank you for your
5:51:10comments. Next commenter, if you would
5:51:13like to be identified for the record,
5:51:15please state your name and affiliation
5:51:17and you'll have three minutes.
5:51:23Uh, good evening. My name is Marisella
5:51:25Talamantes. I live in the cities of um
5:51:31southeast Lingwood um Huntington Park
5:51:35and near the
5:51:38710. I have a a big problem here because
5:51:44I come to support my my friends to come
5:51:49to us for to support uh the the laws.
5:51:54But how can I come and say thank you
5:51:57when I pass every day for
5:52:00uh the Garfield and uh firestone and
5:52:04it's smelling too worse the the the air
5:52:09is worse and I said what are you doing
5:52:12because you represent us you represent
5:52:14our cities
5:52:17so how can I say thank
5:52:20you you are the ones who are managed
5:52:24those issues
5:52:26our our health to to
5:52:31to have a clean hair to have a our
5:52:35health in a good shape. I used to work
5:52:39with little kids and now it's worse when
5:52:42they are come to school coughing and the
5:52:45parents sometimes with a lot of mous
5:52:49because our air is not clean.
5:52:53Please, please take your position very
5:52:57serious. You are the ones who represent
5:53:00everybody here. Do your job. I have a
5:53:04many years doing community service by
5:53:08free and I'm so proud and nobody pay me
5:53:11for that. And there are a lot of people
5:53:14that are paying and don't do that at
5:53:17their job. So if you have person that
5:53:20has to
5:53:22um check those grades of contamination,
5:53:27please let them do the
5:53:29work. Um and support us. My mother says
5:53:35when you go to sleep on the night,
5:53:38please make sure not to do nothing bad
5:53:41to to anyone. So when you go to bed,
5:53:45please think on that because you are the
5:53:47ones who represent us. Thank you. Thank
5:53:51you for your
5:53:52comments. Next commenter, if you'd like
5:53:55to step up to the
5:53:56podium, we'll hand the card to Evelyn
5:53:59and you'll have three minutes. If you
5:54:01would like to be identified for the
5:54:02record, please state your name and
5:54:04affiliation.
5:54:05Good evening. I'm Caroline Frell. I'm
5:54:07the director of the Environmental Law
5:54:08and Justice Clinic at Golden Gate
5:54:10University. Um, and I submitted comments
5:54:13previously and also earlier today on
5:54:16behalf of National Diversity Coalition
5:54:18and Green Action for Health and
5:54:19Environmental Justice. Um, and we
5:54:23provided specific comments on goals one
5:54:26through seven because we're just getting
5:54:28ahead of the game, I guess. Um but I
5:54:31think one of the things that I would
5:54:33just say tonight is that I think in
5:54:35terms of structure I think the plan
5:54:37really needs to answer a particular
5:54:41question which is what will be
5:54:43different. How will health be protected
5:54:45at the end of the three years of this
5:54:47plan? And if it can create a framework
5:54:50with clear outcomes and measurable goals
5:54:54that and metrics that allow that to
5:54:56happen, I think it'll be a much tighter
5:54:58plan, a much clearer plan, and something
5:55:00that um can be built off in the future.
5:55:03And more importantly, it will actually
5:55:05lead to a reduction in the impacts from
5:55:08hazardous waste, which communities have
5:55:10been asking for for decades.
5:55:14Um and then specifically in terms of
5:55:16some of the goals, I think there are a
5:55:18few things that are about continuing
5:55:20programs like community
5:55:23um uh considerate cleanups that are are
5:55:26moving forward without an evaluation of
5:55:28the current program. So I think you can
5:55:31evaluate the program, see where gaps are
5:55:32and that provides further action items
5:55:36and um opportunities for moving that
5:55:39program forward. Similarly with the um
5:55:43you know resurrection of the pollution
5:55:46prevention program that is not was not a
5:55:49perfect program and so how do you fix
5:55:50that in the next iteration to actually
5:55:53achieve what it's supposed to do. I also
5:55:56feel like goal four is probably the most
5:55:59important goal in the plan and it's also
5:56:02the least funded and the slowest to
5:56:05actually get off the ground because it
5:56:08is just reestablishing a reporting
5:56:11process. Um so what is the plan for
5:56:13actually getting funding to achieve um
5:56:16that goal? Um and then in terms of goal
5:56:20five in in the fees I think again this
5:56:24tags with some of the other comments we
5:56:26made which is this may be an
5:56:28implementation measure of another bigger
5:56:31goal and fees are not in of themselves
5:56:35harmful. They're actually helpful. Um
5:56:38but they're only helpful if you also
5:56:41think of them in a comprehensive way.
5:56:43How is this part of a robust regulatory
5:56:45program with clear
5:56:48clear mandatory goals and standards and
5:56:51enforceable. So, it's a all
5:56:54comprehensive. And then finally, goal
5:56:55seven. Thank you for removing
5:56:577.2. That is um really encouraging. I
5:57:02will get out ahead and say staff should
5:57:03not work on this. It's part of a the
5:57:08alternative management standard is part
5:57:09of a waste criteria goal. There are
5:57:11three parts of that. You establish the
5:57:13alternative management standard, but
5:57:15only when you look at the waste criteria
5:57:18as a whole, the testing, and whether
5:57:21more protective standards need to be
5:57:23added. You can't get ahead of it. Don't
5:57:25get ahead of it. Thank you very much for
5:57:27your comments.
5:57:32Okay, for the record, uh it is
5:57:367:32 and we're just making a note for
5:57:38the record that uh member Batia has left
5:57:42the
5:57:42meeting. Thank
5:57:45you. 7:32 and a
5:57:48half. Thank you, Member Batia. Okay. Uh
5:57:52next commenter. Uh thank you. If you
5:57:54would like to be identified for the
5:57:55record, please state your name and
5:57:56affiliation and you'll have three
5:57:58minutes. Um good evening. My name is
5:58:00Demarino um president of the film
5:58:02chamber of commerce of Critos and
5:58:04Gateway Cities. Um upon hearing the
5:58:07goals outlined um to manage the the
5:58:10hazardous waste and um I just appreciate
5:58:14how um the emphasis is to simplify and
5:58:18prioritize and
5:58:20um gather data that can be used as as
5:58:23benchmarks. Uh but at the same time I'm
5:58:25also concerned that why wasn't it like
5:58:27that from the beginning but um with that
5:58:30said um I am really looking forward to
5:58:33seeing uh how how this plans um this
5:58:38goals are going to be uh are going to
5:58:42translate into
5:58:44uh into implementable system that would
5:58:48impact the community and the
5:58:50environment.
5:58:51uh our what's closest to my heart on on
5:58:54this um the uh of all the goals that has
5:58:57been um discussed is the is number two
5:59:01because of the the information um and
5:59:03that uh that the public has to know more
5:59:07and I'm part of that public that needs
5:59:08to know more because I don't know enough
5:59:10I would admit but um having attended
5:59:13this meeting has really been invaluable
5:59:15for me because now I would like to know
5:59:17more and I would like to see how how the
5:59:21board and the DTSC is going to uh be
5:59:24able to do more community outreach. So,
5:59:27it's not just about the information
5:59:28that's going to be out there for people
5:59:30to see, but actual information that will
5:59:32be in front of them and um and how how
5:59:35that can be done. And I I see some
5:59:37outlines on the on on goal number goals
5:59:40number two. But um that's the one that I
5:59:43really want us to um to focus on um in
5:59:46addition to uh everything else. But um
5:59:49as a as as part of a organization,
5:59:52there's so many other organizations that
5:59:53I think uh uh the board or NTSC could
5:59:57could tap into to reach out to um
5:59:59directly and uh um and that specific
6:00:04organization can disseminate information
6:00:06to the uh general public community. So
6:00:10um and we would like to know more
6:00:12because we would like to see how we
6:00:13could get involved and and actually uh
6:00:16um uh create more impact for for the
6:00:20programs that they that you guys have in
6:00:22place. Thank you so much. Thank you for
6:00:25your comments. Uh the next uh iteration
6:00:28of commentators, we're going to have uh
6:00:30numbers 26 through 30 up or 25 through
6:00:3430.
6:00:36[Music]
6:00:36[Laughter]
6:00:39The boarding is this way. No. Okay.
6:00:43Um, so next commenter want to come up to
6:00:46the
6:00:47podium. If you'd like to be identified
6:00:49for the record, please state your name
6:00:51and affiliation and you'll have three
6:00:52minutes. Sure. Hi, my name is Cindy
6:00:54Ting. Um, I am here with the Filipino
6:00:57American Chamber of Commerce, part of
6:00:58the National Diversity Coalition. I'm
6:01:00also a special education high school
6:01:02teacher in Orange County, actually just
6:01:04down the street in Anaheim. Um, I'm very
6:01:06active in our community, um, and have
6:01:08actually led students on beach cleanups
6:01:11and research to figure out what our
6:01:13impact is on our, um, on our
6:01:16environment. Uh, I appreciate the board,
6:01:18all the work that you're doing to ensure
6:01:20um that we are meeting the mandates and
6:01:23things that um, we're needing to do for
6:01:25the state of California.
6:01:28Um personally uh I have been impacted by
6:01:31the pollutants um and other hazardous
6:01:34waste materials. My family does have
6:01:37asthma as well as different um forms of
6:01:39cancer have affected our family. Um and
6:01:43we see it um with the increased number
6:01:45of allergies um not only in my own
6:01:47family but in my
6:01:49students. Um as a business owner I also
6:01:52recognize how poorly managed toxic waste
6:01:54can harm community well-being and local
6:01:55economies. Um, and these can make areas
6:01:58less livable and making the housing
6:02:00crunch even more so. Um, with rising
6:02:04prices and unsafe places for our
6:02:06children to grow up in,
6:02:09um, I hope that the Department of
6:02:10Substances Control uh, prioritize real
6:02:13pollution prevention at the source.
6:02:14Simply expanding disposable sites is not
6:02:16a legitimate legitimate solution. It
6:02:18spreads hazards rather than um,
6:02:20eliminating them.
6:02:22Um I hope that the board continues to
6:02:25educate our um our children as well as
6:02:28our public um be transparent and open
6:02:30communication so that our students also
6:02:31can be part of the solution um because
6:02:33this will affect them and for
6:02:34generations to come. So I respectfully
6:02:37ask the board to insist on um strict
6:02:39enforcement of environmental review
6:02:40processes, rigorous oversight and
6:02:42genuine public dialogue before any
6:02:45policy is approved. Let's ensure that um
6:02:47our children and their children can
6:02:48inherit a healthier, more sustainable
6:02:50life.
6:02:52Thank you for your
6:02:54comments. If you'd like to be identified
6:02:57for the record, please state your name
6:02:58and affiliation and you'll have three
6:02:59minutes. Hi. Yeah, my name is Matt
6:03:01Holmes. I'm here with the California
6:03:02Environmental Justice Coalition. I'm
6:03:03sort of Tom's bodyguard. Uh I'm happy to
6:03:06be here. Let's say I was born and raised
6:03:08in Lassen County. I live in Stockton,
6:03:10California. So, I know what it's like to
6:03:11be in secondass California. Enjoy
6:03:14secondass protections. In my role with
6:03:16CJC, I kind of want to talk about three
6:03:18things. I want to talk about content,
6:03:20composition, and conduct. Uh, you know,
6:03:23the the content of this plan is sorely
6:03:24lacking. We were talking about an
6:03:26inventory today that proves the DTSC
6:03:28doesn't know where stuff is. If we don't
6:03:30know where the pollution is, we don't
6:03:32know who the next communities are that
6:03:33are at risk. We had 90 folks in our
6:03:35coalition and we're trying to figure out
6:03:38who do we rally, who do we fund to get
6:03:39here, because certainly none of them
6:03:41live around here, right? And none of
6:03:42them live around Berkeley. Uh, so we
6:03:44couldn't get representative communities
6:03:46who are impacted by this plan to come
6:03:48and and attest to this. Uh, because I
6:03:51guess DTSC doesn't know where the stuff
6:03:53is. So there's no way to recruit a
6:03:55representative population that you want
6:03:56to give thoughtful feedback on this plan
6:03:59until you tell us where all the
6:04:00hazardous waste is. That's the memory.
6:04:02That's the history that's in the body of
6:04:04our state. We need to dig down into
6:04:06that. Okay, that that's how we would get
6:04:08the composition that would actually make
6:04:09this an informed plan. And I want to
6:04:11talk about conduct of these meetings. I
6:04:13was really pleasantly surprised. We had
6:04:15board members telegraph dissatisfaction.
6:04:18I've never seen anything like that. I
6:04:20advised all sorts of BDOS's and agencies
6:04:22and natural resources. Colin's laughing
6:04:24because he knows we've worked together.
6:04:26Uh you know, I barely found my jugular
6:04:28with a straight edge razor earlier today
6:04:30in a in a 4-hour meeting with Carb and
6:04:33that was about heat pumps, right? So,
6:04:35um, I was glad to hear your literacy on
6:04:38on justice and that it's not about not
6:04:40dumping a new pile on poor folks again.
6:04:42You also have a responsibility to do
6:04:44everything you can to look back and to
6:04:47address historic uh concerns. So, I was
6:04:50really dismayed to hear the next
6:04:52comments be about timeliness and that we
6:04:54have to worry about July and all of a
6:04:56sudden there's a clock. And I remind you
6:04:58that the clock is the most classic tool
6:05:00of white cultural institutions to tell
6:05:02poor communities of color that they
6:05:04don't deserve equal protection. So I'
6:05:06I'd encourage you to steal yourselves
6:05:08and be bold in July. Fight for more
6:05:11time. The governor is that not that big
6:05:12a prick. He can he can handle it. Um but
6:05:15I do see directors and leaders on these
6:05:17boards routinely try to insulate that
6:05:20brother from bad news. Uh and they often
6:05:23overreact and overcorrect. So, we got
6:05:25all the time in the world to get this
6:05:26right. We have no time to get it wrong.
6:05:29Thank you. Thank you for your comments.
6:05:31A next commenter, you'll have three
6:05:34minutes. If you'd like to be identified
6:05:35for the record, please state your name
6:05:37and affiliation.
6:05:39Uh hello, uh Catalina Gonzalez. Um I'm a
6:05:42resident of LA County, uh San Gabriel
6:05:44Valley, and I'm here with the Clean Air
6:05:45Coalition today. Um my family has been a
6:05:48resident in East Los Angeles for over 50
6:05:50years and been um you know directly
6:05:52impacted by um all the disastrous
6:05:55effects of exside that we've seen in our
6:05:57communities, our neighbors, our friends
6:05:59for decades. Um and I think we should do
6:06:01everything possible to keep that that
6:06:03situation or anything like that from
6:06:04happening in California ever again. Um
6:06:07I've also um as a in St. Gabriel Valley.
6:06:10I've also worked with organizations that
6:06:12uh were successful in there was a lot of
6:06:14support from community and young people
6:06:16who wanted the Pine Hills landfill to be
6:06:18converted and to be restored to its
6:06:20natural habitat and to be used for
6:06:22recreation um and biodiversity. So, I
6:06:25know for a fact that people in LA County
6:06:27do not want more hazardous waste. Um
6:06:30there's a lot of anxiety and concern now
6:06:32um because of the effects of the
6:06:33wildfires where all where these billions
6:06:36of tons of hazardous waste are going to
6:06:38be disposed. Um having done soil testing
6:06:42throughout San Gabriel Valley um as a
6:06:44volunteer gardener, I got really
6:06:46concerned about, you know, going to a
6:06:49community or a school site and testing
6:06:50that soil and seeing that it wasn't safe
6:06:53to plant vegetables. Um, and I know um,
6:06:56specifically like green vegetables that
6:06:58you know school gardens want to plant.
6:06:59Um, these sites are already not safe.
6:07:02Um, so I'm really concerned about what
6:07:04the unintended consequences of of this
6:07:06plan could create and increasing that
6:07:08exposure to hazardous chemicals. Um, and
6:07:11I just yeah, I have I have concerns that
6:07:13it's going to increase um, this load. I
6:07:16would like to know how many uh,
6:07:18generation facilities there are in LA
6:07:20County. I have not been able to find
6:07:21that information. Um and so I want to
6:07:24thank you for your constructive
6:07:25discussion today and just speak to some
6:07:26some of the re recommendations that I
6:07:28would like to include. Um I think it
6:07:31would be great to have a like folks
6:07:34mentioned have a baseline of what is the
6:07:36current capacity for inspection
6:07:38monitoring and compliance and what are
6:07:40what goals does the plan set forth to
6:07:42increase this or to staff up in the
6:07:44future. Um, I think we could identify
6:07:46the plan could identify specific
6:07:48reduction strategies and make clear um
6:07:52uh and make clear and prioritize
6:07:53environmental justice actions for
6:07:55reduction. Um, I think having uh data
6:07:58collection and transparency to inform
6:08:00decisions um is something that's lacking
6:08:02in the plan. Um, and I think the plan
6:08:05could reflect specific reduction goals.
6:08:08Um, and lastly, I just want to speak to
6:08:10I think the plan is a good place to
6:08:12identify and call out the role of other
6:08:15entities and other state agencies that
6:08:17have a role in this. Um, you mentioned
6:08:19Cal EPA, mentioned air districts,
6:08:21mentioned other state agencies. What is
6:08:23their role? Um, and what what are some
6:08:25of the um decisions that they're making
6:08:27that are related to um hazardous waste
6:08:30reduction?
6:08:32Um yeah, as someone who like wants
6:08:34California to see, you know, uh achieve
6:08:37its climate goals, we're also concerned
6:08:38that we cannot do that. Please wrap up
6:08:40your comments. Yeah, we cannot do that
6:08:42um on the backs of communities that have
6:08:44been uh receiving these impacts. Thank
6:08:46you. Thank you for your comments. Next,
6:08:48while the next commenter comes up to the
6:08:50podium, if there are any additional
6:08:52in-person commenters, uh the number is
6:08:5430 or if you did not receive a number or
6:08:57would like to comment, we we'll go ahead
6:08:59and invite you to line up at this time.
6:09:01Uh please go ahead. You'll uh have three
6:09:04minutes to make your comment. Well, I
6:09:06won't need that long. Won't keep you all
6:09:08long. Uh hi, my name is Anthony Marcato.
6:09:11I'm with the Clean Air Coalition. Uh I I
6:09:14just want to say
6:09:17uh don't we don't want any more
6:09:19pollution. It's uh gone around the the
6:09:23district areas in Laquent area and uh
6:09:27it's just a lot of people I've heard a
6:09:28lot of horror stories and uh you know
6:09:31just I'm concerned about uh my fellow
6:09:34citizens in the area and uh you know God
6:09:38just don't one thing I want to say is
6:09:41please do not keep relicicensing
6:09:46uh quo uh and these other polluting
6:09:50companies. It's
6:09:52uh I don't I don't care how you slice
6:09:54it. It's just no good for anyone. Um so
6:09:58that's it. Thank you for your comments.
6:10:01A next commenter, if you'd like to come
6:10:03up to the podium, if you'd like to be
6:10:05identified for the record, please state
6:10:06your name and affiliation and you'll
6:10:08have three minutes.
6:10:11Thank you. All right. Uh my name is
6:10:14Christine Kansunji and I as a small
6:10:17business owner and community leader with
6:10:18the Filipino American Chamber of
6:10:20Commerce of Critos and Gateway Cities uh
6:10:23and also the National Diversity
6:10:25Coalition. I'm here today to share my
6:10:27concerns about toxic wast um expansion
6:10:30proposal. But first, I'd like to really
6:10:32appreciate you guys. I know this is a
6:10:33thankless job, but somebody has to do
6:10:36it. So, we really do appreciate you guys
6:10:37doing all the research and all the hard
6:10:39work that you guys are doing to make
6:10:41this um happen for us.
6:10:43Um, of course you've heard about the
6:10:45air, you've heard about the water,
6:10:47you've heard and as a gardener, the
6:10:49water is very um is very important to us
6:10:52in regards with of course portable water
6:10:54and also for our agricultural economy.
6:10:57Additionally, I'm actually also
6:10:58concerned in regards to property values.
6:11:00Um they as we all know they are because
6:11:03I asked Google and chat GPT and I said
6:11:06you know what can you give me some
6:11:08stories in regards with toxic ways and
6:11:10also gave me some really good um bad and
6:11:13good but I I saw more bad than good. So
6:11:16it would be great when you when you guys
6:11:17are doing your dissemination information
6:11:19to actually have those success stories
6:11:21as well so people would know about it
6:11:23too. I also urge this board to take this
6:11:27um concern seriously
6:11:30um and ensure that Toro studies and
6:11:31transparent research and genuin public
6:11:34input guide any decisions related to
6:11:36this proposal. Uh proper environmental
6:11:39assessments and open dialogue which you
6:11:41guys are already doing uh to protecting
6:11:43our communities and preventing long-term
6:11:45harm. as my president devin said um let
6:11:49us know how we can be involved uh and
6:11:52then how we can also be part of the
6:11:54solution. Thank you. Thank you for your
6:11:56comments. A next commenter come up to
6:11:59the podium. You'll have three minutes to
6:12:01make your comment.
6:12:05Hi, good uh good evening. Um uh my name
6:12:09is Byron Chan. I'm an attorney at Earth
6:12:11Justice. Um, and I I just wanted to make
6:12:13a comment about goal number one, which
6:12:15is to reduce environmental health
6:12:17impacts. And um, I think it's important
6:12:20for DTSC and the board to recognize that
6:12:23certain hazardous waste facilities are
6:12:25just fundamentally incompatible with
6:12:28reducing health impacts. So, in
6:12:30particular, facilities that consistently
6:12:32violate their permits and hazardous
6:12:34waste regulations. So, enforcement um,
6:12:38is really important. It's an important
6:12:39part of the plan, but for it to mean
6:12:41anything, it has to have real
6:12:43consequences for those violating
6:12:45facilities. And right now, violating
6:12:48facilities are not bearing the
6:12:49consequences of their of their
6:12:51violations. Instead, it's communities
6:12:53that are bearing the consequences of
6:12:55those violations with their with their
6:12:57health and safety. So, DTSC, it has the
6:13:01authority now to shut down violating
6:13:02facilities. It's just deciding not to do
6:13:05so. So for this plan to truly reduce
6:13:09environmental health impacts, DTSC needs
6:13:12to shut down violating facilities and
6:13:14deny their permits. Thank you. Thank you
6:13:17for your comments. Uh for any other
6:13:21in-person commenters in the room, this
6:13:23will be the last call for the in-person
6:13:26commenters. Okay, great. Thank you. I'm
6:13:29going to go ahead and move on to Zoom
6:13:31for our virtual participants. Thank you
6:13:33for bearing with us. We appreciate your
6:13:35patience. We're going to call on the
6:13:37Zoom participants in the order in which
6:13:39their hands were raised. So, our first
6:13:42commenter, Cynthia Babage, we're going
6:13:44to invite you to unmute. Please accept
6:13:47your in our invitation, and you'll have
6:13:50three minutes to make your comment.
6:13:53Thank you. My name is Cynthia Babage,
6:13:54the founder and director of the Damo
6:13:56Action Committee, also the
6:13:58co-coordinator for the Los Angeles
6:13:59Environmental Justice Network. Today I
6:14:03will say thank you to bees for your
6:14:05leadership streamlining and the removal
6:14:07of
6:14:097.2 early workshops under director Lee
6:14:12placed community engagement at every
6:14:15every intersection of creating a
6:14:18plan. Communities are a big part of the
6:14:22solution. I have been involved since n
6:14:25since 2017 on this issue due to
6:14:28stockpile DDT soil on the super fund
6:14:31site adjacent to our community since
6:14:342001 almost 25 years. So my comments on
6:14:38the goals are
6:14:41um following I'm very worried about
6:14:44voluntary agreements to clean up sites.
6:14:47It seems that sometimes it's just a
6:14:49paytoplay and the lack of oversight um
6:14:52from DTSC staff because I don't think
6:14:54they get enough funding really creates a
6:14:57hazardous situation. We had that in our
6:14:59community with ecology controls um
6:15:02industries. Also, community benefits
6:15:05agreements are a great concern for me.
6:15:08Um, communities that are already
6:15:10underserved and impacted by toxic sites
6:15:13lack resources and amenities. And it
6:15:16seems like it's just throwing a bone to
6:15:19a community here. You're going to get
6:15:21this, but in addition, we're going to
6:15:23give you some street lamps and some
6:15:25sidewalk. Those things should be given a
6:15:28given. Uh, enforcement of course is good
6:15:31when it
6:15:33happens. And um on 1.4, four. I thought
6:15:37that this was already being done and I
6:15:39appreciate the board looking for action
6:15:42items on that. Um, number two, I really
6:15:45didn't have much to say on that. Uh,
6:15:47number three, I think is a good idea,
6:15:50but you can't just let these companies
6:15:53self audit themselves. If you're going
6:15:54to let them do any kind of treatment on
6:15:57site or under their oversight, you need
6:15:59to give them guidance on what's
6:16:01acceptable. Incineration is a no-go. We
6:16:05don't create more dioxin, more
6:16:07contamination. So you take it from the
6:16:09soil and then you put it in the air. So
6:16:11we should not be allowing the production
6:16:14of new incinerable waste. Why we still
6:16:16struggle with new technologies like SWO
6:16:19to treat some of the waste that we have
6:16:21now. Um I think that I'll skip a little
6:16:24bit just to talking about fees and
6:16:27people being a little worried about
6:16:29that. Well, some products do need to be
6:16:31discouraged and if fees is a way to do
6:16:34that, then we should impose the highest.
6:16:36And finally, the plan misses going back
6:16:38and looking at the legacy,
6:16:41very first sites that were caused by the
6:16:43redlinining and racism in our
6:16:45communities and the sites that continue
6:16:47to receive more and more of these
6:16:49burdens. Thank you. Good job, BS Bees.
6:16:53Continue the hard work. Thank you. Thank
6:16:56you for your comments. A next commenter,
6:16:59Jane Williams. We're going to uh request
6:17:02for you to unmute. Uh you can state your
6:17:05name and affiliation for the record if
6:17:07you choose and you'll have three
6:17:09minutes.
6:17:12Thank
6:17:15you. Thank you. This is Jane Williams.
6:17:18I'm the executive director of California
6:17:20Communities Against Toxics, which is a
6:17:23statewide network of environmental
6:17:24justice groups that was formed in 1989
6:17:28at the Senate Isabel Church in East LA
6:17:31after a march opposing the construction
6:17:34of a hazardous waste incinerator in East
6:17:37LA. And um so I have done this work now
6:17:40for a very very long time. And one of
6:17:42the first things that I did was stop a
6:17:46hazardous waste burning cement kil in my
6:17:49community where they were burning all of
6:17:51the liquid incinerable hazardous waste
6:17:53in the state right upwind from where I
6:17:56live and um massive pollution
6:18:00unbelievable pollution and public health
6:18:02impacts from that. And so, um, I was
6:18:05very interested to see I'm on the
6:18:07mandatory mailing list for DTSC and I
6:18:09have been now for decades and I did not
6:18:12get any notification of any of the
6:18:13workshops leading up to this hazardous
6:18:15waste plan. So, when I cracked it open
6:18:18and I looked inside of it, it looked so
6:18:20familiar to me and I realized, huh, I
6:18:23went out into my archive building which
6:18:25has like a million pages of documents
6:18:27and I went and I opened the regulatory
6:18:29structure update box. The regulatory
6:18:33structure update was a scheme by
6:18:37Department of Toxic Substance Control
6:18:38back in the early 90s to deregulate
6:18:41hazardous waste across
6:18:43California. And I looked at the
6:18:46appendices to this plan and um except
6:18:49for a couple of them like aluminum dross
6:18:51and a couple other things, they match up
6:18:53almost perfectly. So, I thought that
6:18:56board on environmental safety should
6:18:57understand that for me today is like I'm
6:19:01starring in that movie Groundhog Day.
6:19:05It's like I'm back in
6:19:081996 going to meeting after meeting with
6:19:11industry to try to figure out ways to
6:19:13deregulate hazardous waste in
6:19:15California. Um so California right now
6:19:18is number three in hazardous waste
6:19:21production
6:19:22um behind Texas and Louisiana and it was
6:19:25back in 1996 too. California is also the
6:19:29number six largest open burner of
6:19:32hazardous waste. We open burn hazardous
6:19:35waste in California and we are very good
6:19:37at it. So I don't see anything in this
6:19:40plan that deals with some of the really
6:19:42big ticket items like what are we going
6:19:44to do with percllorinated waste? How are
6:19:46we going to stop the open burning of
6:19:47hazardous waste? How are we going to
6:19:49protect communities that are at the
6:19:50front line of places like Exide and
6:19:53Ecobat and the place in Compton Domin
6:19:56Kun and so I would love the opportunity
6:19:59to engage 15 seconds remaining.
6:20:02I would love the opportunity to engage
6:20:04with bees to actually get at some of
6:20:06these problems that have been facing
6:20:07California now for over three decades.
6:20:10Thank you for the opportunity to speak
6:20:12today.
6:20:13Thank you for your comments. Next
6:20:15commenter, Deja McCaulay, we're going to
6:20:18invite you to unmute. Please accept our
6:20:20invitation. You'll have three minutes to
6:20:22make your comment.
6:20:24Hi, thank you. Um, my name is Deja
6:20:27McCauley and I'm with Physicians for
6:20:28Social Responsibility Los Angeles. I
6:20:32appreciate um everything that's been
6:20:34shared today. Um, I also appreciate the
6:20:36board's insightful discussion and
6:20:38comments and recommendations
6:20:41um made to make the plan stronger. I
6:20:44also agree a lot with what my colleagues
6:20:46have shared that this plan does not
6:20:48adequately address source reduction. The
6:20:51plan lacks vision as so many board
6:20:53members mentioned earlier and the plan
6:20:55does not center EJ or public health and
6:20:57is absolutely not reflective of a
6:20:59circular economy. I'm going to speak to
6:21:01goal one and then um the plan a little
6:21:03bit more broadly. I'll just note that
6:21:06goal one should be amended to focus on
6:21:08actual recommendations for strengthening
6:21:10DTSC's commitment to addressing EJ
6:21:12priorities and their programs and
6:21:14policies. The goal
6:21:16currently states that it will reduce
6:21:18environmental impacts by implementing
6:21:21the C3C initiative. If the plan is going
6:21:24to tout the the C3C initiative as an EJ
6:21:27goal, then there should be some concrete
6:21:29recommendations on how this initiative
6:21:32will directly benefit EJ communities and
6:21:34an analysis of the effects of the
6:21:36program on community health and
6:21:37well-being. I participate in the C3C
6:21:40group. And though I believe it could be
6:21:42a good avenue for integrating community
6:21:44priorities into the DTSC site mitigation
6:21:47and cleanup program, there have not been
6:21:49any direct benefits to EJ communities.
6:21:51The program is relatively new, so I
6:21:53don't know what successes have have come
6:21:56out of it. I'm not saying there won't be
6:21:58any, but but there there hasn't been any
6:22:00concrete benefits to come out of that um
6:22:03that that space yet. And I think C3C is
6:22:07mentioned in both goal goals one and
6:22:10three. And so it'll be important to
6:22:12identify enforcement mechan mechanisms
6:22:15to ensure that EJ goals are achieved if
6:22:17we are going to continue to include the
6:22:19the C3C in these goals. Um I also agree
6:22:23that the mention of the enforcement
6:22:24strategic plan and that goal makes no
6:22:26sense and should either be removed or
6:22:28strengthened to recommend how the
6:22:30enforcement strategic plan is actually
6:22:32going to benefit communities. And then
6:22:34to speak to the plan more broadly, I
6:22:36also want to reiterate that we need more
6:22:38prevention and source reduction. We need
6:22:40a strong actionable plan to reduce how
6:22:42much hazardous waste the state
6:22:43generates. We have to think creatively
6:22:46about this to protect communities
6:22:47health. We need solutions to transform
6:22:49the way that we the generate hazardous
6:22:53waste um and how materials are made and
6:22:58ensuring that materials are doing no
6:23:00harm. We need to reduce waste, protect
6:23:02health, um, and reduce the burden that
6:23:04communities are forced to to experience
6:23:06each day when they have to accept our
6:23:08hazardous waste. Um, I know pollution
6:23:11prevention seconds remaining because
6:23:13we're trying to figure out how do we get
6:23:14people and businesses to pollute less
6:23:16and stop creating toxic products, but
6:23:19DTSC should be thinking about those
6:23:21policies now that could help achieve the
6:23:23goals we want for the future. So, I urge
6:23:26you all to take this plan back and
6:23:28co-create something with communities
6:23:30that actually addresses our concerns.
6:23:32Thank you for your comments. Thank you.
6:23:36Next commenter, Miguel Elator. We're
6:23:39going to request that you unmute. Please
6:23:42accept the invitation and you'll have
6:23:44three minutes to make your comment.
6:23:47Hello everyone. My name is Miguel
6:23:49Laator. I'm the executive director of
6:23:50the Unidos network here in Kettleman
6:23:53City. I just want to um thank you guys
6:23:55again for your patience with us um and
6:23:58and sticking through all this. But I do
6:24:00want to say I want to reiterate a lot of
6:24:02what um some of my colleagues have said
6:24:04and uh say that the 3 minutes is
6:24:07definitely not enough. I don't think
6:24:08that that that's enough to get a lot of
6:24:10our points across. I do want to
6:24:11acknowledge that you guys have been
6:24:12doing a great job in getting into our
6:24:14communities, but I think that we need to
6:24:16further this by doubling down and making
6:24:18sure that we really get into some kind
6:24:21of community forum where we can have
6:24:22those broad discussions and um we can um
6:24:26communicate with you guys without time
6:24:28constraints and make sure that residents
6:24:31have every single question answered and
6:24:33that materials are visual for them. Um,
6:24:36I would like to remind folks that a lot
6:24:38of the people in Kettleman never passed
6:24:39a second grade reading level or a second
6:24:41grade in um, their studies. And so
6:24:44that's something that I wish that people
6:24:46would cater more of the materials
6:24:48towards is um, making it more inclusive
6:24:50for them to understand this entire
6:24:52process. uh making sure that they know
6:24:55uh what are some of the good outcomes
6:24:57that can come out of being a part of the
6:24:59process and where um their lack of uh
6:25:02participation may hurt the process or
6:25:04slow down the process. Um I think um in
6:25:08regards to the hazardous waste uh plan,
6:25:10I think uh without cumulative health
6:25:12criteria really being defined and really
6:25:14having um us as community members help
6:25:17you define uh the metrics that are
6:25:19really important to us, I think that the
6:25:21the plan is of no use to people in
6:25:23Kettleman City. And I think that we
6:25:25should definitely look at at the
6:25:27cumulative health impacts with regards
6:25:29to the different uh pollution burdens
6:25:31that may be outside of the DTSC um scope
6:25:36of work. Like we definitely have a
6:25:38really really bad uh water quality
6:25:40issue. And um that's something that that
6:25:43I feel like we can work on solving
6:25:44together. Um, again I want to reiterate
6:25:47that community engagement is really
6:25:48really important to uh the Unidos
6:25:50network and we look forward to helping
6:25:52you guys bridge that gap and get into
6:25:54the community and make sure that they
6:25:56understand everything and that the
6:25:57materials are all relevant for them. So
6:25:59thank you so much for your patience. You
6:26:00guys have a good one.
6:26:02Thank you for your comments. Next
6:26:05commenter, uh, Veronica's iPhone. We're
6:26:07going to invite you to unmute. Please
6:26:09accept our invitation and you'll have
6:26:12three minutes to make your comment.
6:26:16Hi, good evening. Can you hear me? Okay.
6:26:18Yes, we can hear you. Oh, okay. Um,
6:26:21well, first off, I just kind of want to
6:26:23um start off by uh thanking you,
6:26:24Courtney, um for setting up a very good
6:26:27meeting that we had with uh Member
6:26:30Brolstrom. Thank you so much, Member
6:26:32Brolstrom, for taking time and meeting
6:26:34with us and listening to our concerns.
6:26:36And um I really think that we had a very
6:26:38productive um uh conversation and I
6:26:42really appreciate um that um I also want
6:26:45to thank um you know the efforts and um
6:26:48the possible removal of 7.2 to that was
6:26:51very close um to to my community. But we
6:26:54still have to remember there are very um
6:26:57there are so many more communities and
6:26:59those that have taken the time tonight
6:27:01to express continue to express their
6:27:03concern of the way that this plant
6:27:06affects them and um and I and I want to
6:27:10point out that we we need to take that
6:27:11into consideration. This is a very um
6:27:14serious um you know it it it deals with
6:27:18um you know concerns of our life,
6:27:20concerns for our health and um and I
6:27:23believe this plan is very reckless and
6:27:26um and I'd also like to address you know
6:27:29another comment to um director Katie
6:27:32Butler. You have the authority. You have
6:27:34you as the leader to not let plans so
6:27:38reckless be brought instill fear within
6:27:41communities. Communities like mine that
6:27:44had that fear that we are going to have
6:27:46to deal with toxic waste right next to
6:27:48our homes. Communities like those that
6:27:50are have come and approached today, you
6:27:53know, in public uh during the public
6:27:54comment right there in person. And and I
6:27:57really believe that this plan needs to
6:28:00just go back regardless of what was
6:28:02taken out, regardless of what is is
6:28:04thinking. This has so many terrible
6:28:07implications. And and I really believe
6:28:11that that the director Katie Butler, you
6:28:14really need to stand up for those that
6:28:16you serve. Follow what the mission of
6:28:19the DTS is, DTSC is, and do what it it's
6:28:24supposed to do, and that is protect
6:28:26communities. Protect the communities in
6:28:28California. Thank you.
6:28:31Thank you for your comments.
6:28:34Next commenter, uh looks like the last
6:28:36one with the hand raised uh will be
6:28:39Bethy's iPhone. Uh we're going to invite
6:28:42you to unmute. Please accept our
6:28:44invitation and you'll have three minutes
6:28:45to make your
6:28:47comment. Good evening. My name is
6:28:49Bethany Sternbomb. I'm a resident of
6:28:51Granada Hills. I'm speaking for my
6:28:53community near Sunshine Canyon Landfill.
6:28:55Um I appreciate the removal of goal 7.2.
6:28:59However, I still have some concerns
6:29:01around goal 6.3, which may also open the
6:29:04door to allowing diluted hazardous
6:29:06materials in municipal landfills in the
6:29:08future. Toxicity doesn't disappear with
6:29:11a label change or by just adding water.
6:29:14Uh California has always set the example
6:29:16for other states on environmental
6:29:18issues, raising the bar, not lowering
6:29:20it. As our population grows more
6:29:22unhealthy from its effects, our
6:29:24communities deserve better protection,
6:29:27not more risk. We should be tightening
6:29:29regulations, investing in cleaner
6:29:31alternatives, and preventing hazardous
6:29:34waste at the source. Our health and our
6:29:36environment depend on it. Thank you so
6:29:38much for listening.
6:29:41Thank you for your
6:29:42comments. Uh last call for the Zoom
6:29:46remote virtual participants and want to
6:29:49comment to raise your virtual hand or
6:29:51press star 9 on your phone. and if we
6:29:53can just check with our interpreters to
6:29:55see if there are any Spanish public
6:29:59comments. So, we'll just wait a moment
6:30:01for
6:30:02that
6:30:04information. Okay, there are no Spanish
6:30:07comments. And just a reminder, if you do
6:30:09have additional comments, you can email
6:30:11us at bees info at bees.dtsc.ca.gov.
6:30:21Oh, we did have one more hand raised.
6:30:24Thank you. Um, apologies if I
6:30:27mispronounced his name. Uh, Warhe'll,
6:30:30um, go ahead and invite you to unmute.
6:30:32Uh, please accept our invitation. You'll
6:30:34have three minutes to make your comment
6:30:36and you, if you would like, you could,
6:30:38uh, state your name and affiliation for
6:30:41the record.
6:30:43My name is Brendan Warhe. I live in
6:30:46North Whittier and am active with the
6:30:50Clean Air Coalition. Um, you've heard
6:30:54many comments today from people in
6:30:56communities that are concerned about
6:30:59toxic elements within their
6:31:02environment. You are able to make a
6:31:05difference in this. In this day of so
6:31:10much political upheaval, we need people
6:31:14who have a backbone who can stand up for
6:31:17doing the right thing for the people,
6:31:20the people that they represent, the
6:31:22people that put them in in place and
6:31:26hold polluters
6:31:29accountable. Please do that for us, the
6:31:32people who pay for your jobs. Thank you.
6:31:36Thank you for your comments. Uh, Chair
6:31:39Rickstro, that does conclude the public
6:31:41comment period for agenda item number
6:31:43nine, the DTSC hazardous waste
6:31:47management plan hearing number three.
6:31:51Um, thank you very much.
6:32:22Oh, shoot. I know that was my my bad.
6:32:25Uh, I'll go ahead and repeat the the
6:32:26microphone was not on. I just uh for
6:32:28those online, I was thanking those um
6:32:30both online and in person for um their
6:32:33comments and uh indicating that we'll
6:32:36now turn to Alexis for item 10, which is
6:32:39the review of the action items for for
6:32:40this meeting. Thank you, Chair Rickstra.
6:32:43Um we established a quorum at 12:01 with
6:32:46all members present. Um in item two, in
6:32:49your opening remarks, you invited um
6:32:52interested parties for meetings with you
6:32:54to continue. Um in item three, the
6:32:58executive officer report um there were a
6:33:01number of questions um that we will
6:33:05through our ombbuds follow up with and a
6:33:08request uh to meet with the board uh
6:33:11regarding SB673
6:33:14um and some follow-up questions that we
6:33:16will capture in greater detail through
6:33:18our executive officer and OMBbuds. In
6:33:21item four, there were several which was
6:33:23the DTSC leadership report. Excuse me.
6:33:26There were several requests and
6:33:27questions of director Butler also for
6:33:30followup and we use our ombbudsman
6:33:32position um to track and follow up on
6:33:37that. In item five, which were um our
6:33:42comments regarding metrics for the
6:33:44hazardous waste management
6:33:47program, we made um requests of DTSC and
6:33:51then you will note that we split the
6:33:53subcommittee's effort so that um member
6:33:58Brostrom will continue and bring ideally
6:34:01the hastess waste management program to
6:34:03a close. Chair ragstro and member Batia
6:34:06will um begin
6:34:08the safer consumer products metrics and
6:34:12perhaps convene some front-end workshops
6:34:15around that to get that
6:34:21started. Um, in
6:34:24item nine, the house
6:34:27disast um the board moved to do two
6:34:32things. to revise and finalize the house
6:34:35disast management plan directing DTSC to
6:34:39work closely with our board and to
6:34:42propose revisions to the plan by July
6:34:441st and then to remove um section 7.2
6:34:50two and so that is a summary but Swathy
6:34:55you may have more. Yeah the team the
6:34:57team has been tracking um the detailed
6:35:00uh action items so we have several of
6:35:02them so we will be following up with
6:35:04DTSC and to the um public that made the
6:35:08inquiries and the board members that
6:35:09made the requests. So we will be
6:35:11following up. So we're we're tracking it
6:35:14all.
6:35:16Great. Um so thank you very much uh Vice
6:35:19Chair Truss Hacker and Executive Officer
6:35:20Chararma. Um so we're now on the final
6:35:22item uh which is item 11 um to conclude
6:35:25uh the board meeting today. Um just to
6:35:28again thank you all for taking the time
6:35:31uh and uh uh spending your your Thursday
6:35:35evening again with us. Um we are open to
6:35:39continue to meet um continue to receive
6:35:42public comments to continue to receive
6:35:44feedback um and as um exe executive
6:35:47officer Chararma mentioned um we as a
6:35:49board have a lot of followup to do um to
6:35:52make sure that we are responsive to the
6:35:54comments um that you all are raising as
6:35:57well. So why don't we go ahead and close
6:35:59there. Um thank you all again and this
6:36:02meeting is is closed.
6:36:04Oh, sorry. I Oh, yes. I do have I do I
6:36:07forgot the last page. Okay. Can I have a
6:36:09motion to adjurnn?
6:36:13That we adjourn.
6:36:17All in favor say I. I. Wonderful. Thank
6:36:20you so much. The meeting is officially
6:36:22adjourned at 811. Thank you all.

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