The Solano County Department of Resource Management, Environmental Health Services Division is the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) for all cities and unincorporated areas within Solano County. The legislation that developed the CUPA was created by the State Legislature to minimize the number of inspections and different fees for businesses that use hazardous materials and dispose of hazardous wastes see  Overview. The laws and regulations pertaining to the use and disposal of hazardous materials and hazardous wastes are in the California Health and Safety Code, Chapters 6.5, 6.67, 6.7, 6.75, 6.95, & 6.11 and the California Code of Regulations, Title 19, Title 22, Title 23, & Title 27 found in Health and Safety Code and California Code of Regulations. The public can review information on all the facilities subject to these programs within Solano County and throughout California at CalEPA Regulated Site Portal. 
  
 Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP)

Conducts regulatory oversight (review of plans and inspections) of all businesses including farms, federal agencies, state agencies, and local agencies that handle quantities of hazardous materials  as defined by Health and Safety Code. Hazardous materials are chemicals used for a process that by their nature are hazards to people, property, or the environment or are hazardous wastes that are listed in regulations or have the following characteristics: toxicity, reactivity, ignitability, or corrosiveness. The quantities of hazardous materials that trigger the creation of HMBP are equal to or greater than 55 gallons of liquid, 500 pounds of solids or 200 cubic feet of a compressed gas at any time. You can review HMBP brochure here. To determine if a material is a hazardous material and exceptions to the previously discussed minimum  thresholds  Click here for Flowchart and Full List of HMBP Exemptions. Solano County Agriculture Department conducts inspections on farms under the oversight of the Environmental Health Services Division as the CUPA. Farms must annually into California Environmental Reporting System see FARM HAZMAT FAQ. There are over 1,800 businesses in Solano County regulated by this program. For hazardous materials documents see CUPA Documents.

HMBP program addresses the preparedness for emergency response to incidents involving hazardous materials. The HMBP  includes a chemical inventory of hazardous materials, site diagram, emergency response plan, and employee training plan must be reviewed and annually submitted to the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). Reportable releases in California are any threatened or actual release that poses a potential or actual risk to people, property, or the environment. A facility that needs fire, and/or ambulance response should call 911. Additionally, a facility is required to report actual or threatened  releases of hazardous materials to  Environmental Health Services Division, Hazardous Materials Section as the CUPA at 707-784-6765  8am to 5pm weekdays, and to Solano County Dispatch at 707-421-7090 evenings, holidays, and weekends. See the Release Reporting Regulatory Matrix for additional guidance.

For more information see California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) at www.calepa.ca.gov/CUPA. 

Public Hazmat Facility Information:
CalEPA Regulated Site Portal 
 
Training on Hazardous Materials Business Plan & Release Reporting:

Hazardous Materials Business Plans

Risk Assessment and Release Reporting

Resources To Assist Businesses

Risk Determination Matrix,
Auto Repair Best Management Practices,
Pollution Prevention checklist,
Green Business Seminar,
CUPA documents.

California Environmental Reporting System (CERS)

The State of California enacted Assembly Bill(AB) 2286 and this legislation requires the State's Secretary for Environmental Protection to establish an electronic information management system known as the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). Annually, regulated facilities must report their chemical inventory data, upload their emergency response plans and procedures, their employee training plans,  and site diagrams electronically to CERS. Regulated facilities that have underground storage tanks, treat hazardous waste on site must electronically submit documents to CERS.  A regulated facility will need to save emergency response plans, site diagrams, financial responsibility documentation plans as PDF format or scan hard-copy documents and plans into a PDF format to upload it into CERS. To submit information to CERS, the regulated businesses will need visit CERS Business Link. Currently, the programs that require reporting in CERS include the Hazardous Materials Business Plan Program, the Underground Storage Tank Program, the Hazardous Waste Generator Program, the treatment of hazardous wastes, "Tiered Treatment" and as of April 1, 2019, limited information for APSA. Information and training on CERS can be found on the State website at CERS Training For Businesses and business assistance pages are at CERS Business Assistance. 

For additional assistance see the following links:

HMBP No Change Submittal To CERS

Annual Hazardous Materials Inventory Certification

Adding Your First Business to CERS,

Adding a New User to Your CERS Business,
 
Requesting Access to a Business in CERS. 

To get familiarity, use CERS Business Training Portal.
Do not enter your CERS Submittal in the Training Portal: 

All regulated facilities must file their data electronically in CERS at
CERS Business Link.

More information on CERS and e-reporting is at 
CERS information for Businesses with Multiple Locations, 
E-Reporting link and
Cal EPA Unified Program Policy Memos. 

CERS Training Workshops:

CERS Business Training

CERS Advanced and Intermediate Training

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous Waste is subject to storage time limits, disposal requirements, and labeling and management requirements on containers. Most hazardous waste may be accumulated for only 90 days however there are exceptions for small quantity generators. For small quantity generator exceptions see the following: EPA Identification Number. Hazardous waste generators accumulating small quantities of hazardous waste may transport their hazardous wastes to household hazardous waste facilities that are permitted to receive this waste. For locations of permitted facilities see Recycle Guide and click on business location. Hazardous wastes shall be reported on the chemical inventory forms as part of the Hazardous Materials Business Plan.

In conjunction with the HMBP program, staff inspects businesses for compliance with the Hazardous Waste Control Act. Responds to complaints of illegal disposal of hazardous waste; Issues permits and inspects businesses that treat hazardous waste pursuant to permit by rule, conditional authorization, or conditional exemption laws and regulations.

Questions on this program may be addressed to: the Environmental Health Services Division, Hazardous Materials Section, (707) 784-6765 and see Hazardous Waste Generator Requirements and Manifest Information.  Additional information on hazardous waste disposal and management is available at documents and forms and from Department of Toxic Substances Control at www.dtsc.ca.gov. 

Information on management of Treated Wood Waste can be found on the DTSC website at this link DTSC Requirements for Generators of Treated Wood Waste (TWW) Fact Sheet | Department of Toxic Substances Control (ca.gov)

Public Hazardous Waste Generator Information:

CalEPA Regulated Site Portal. 
  
Hazardous Waste Training:

Hazardous Waste Generator Training

Green Business Program

California Accidental Release Prevention (Risk Management Plan, Programs 1 - 3)

Conducts the review and concurrence of the prevention program and the inspection of businesses that handle acutely hazardous materials:

There are certain regulated substances that require extensive emergency planning. The most common regulated substances found in the county requiring a Risk Management Plan (RMP) are Chlorine gas, aqua Ammonia, and anhydrous Ammonia. There are over 400 other chemicals that require a RMP. Businesses when meeting threshold quantities specified by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) are subject to both State and Federal RMP requirements and shall provide their RMP to both Environmental Health Service Division and the US EPA on the date on which the regulated substance is first present in a process above the federal threshold quantities of the substance.  Facilities that have regulated substances above the State of California thresholds shall submit a RMP to the Environmental Health Services Division on the date on which a regulated substance is first present in a process above the state threshold quantities Every three years the owner must certify compliance of their processes and practices and every five years the owner must update their RMP and reevaluate that their process hazard analysis remains current see Risk Management Plan FAQs and Risk Management Plan Mixture FAQ. 

CalARP Program 4, Regulations

Following the 2012 Chevron Refinery Fire, California created an Interagency Refinery Task Force headed by CalEPA with participation from Department of Industrial Relations, its division Cal/OSHA and 11 other federal, state, and local agencies other departments. Environmental Health Services Division is member of the Cal EPA Refinery Task Force and participated in the safety and prevention working group that developed the new Program 4 Regulations which became effective October 1, 2017  that superseded the existing Program 3 standards to which refineries were previously subject, see this CalARP Program 4 Guidance Document. These new regulations were developed to make California refineries safer for workers and the surrounding communities. During the development of these new regulations, the task force worked closely with Contra Costa County Health Services Hazardous Materials Division which implements the Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) that served as a model for the new Program 4 regulations. This table shows the similarities and differences between the ISO, Program 3, and Program 4 regulations.

RMP regulatory information and additional information on chemical and refinery safety are available in  at Chemical Safety Board Investigations, Executive Order on Chemical Safety and Security, Cal OSHA Refinery Task Force, Cal EPA Refinery Task Force, Cal OES, Contra Costa CAER , and US EPA Risk Management Plan.

Valero Benicia Refinery Information:

Valero Fact Sheet Update. 

Valero Benicia Refinery, Process Safety Performance Indicators:

Process Safety Performance Indicators Calendar Year 2018
Process Safety Performance Indicators Calendar Year 2019
Process Safety Performance Indicators Calendar Year 2020
Process Safety Performance Indicators Calendar Year 2021
Process Safety Performance Indicators Calendar Year 2022

Valero Benicia Refinery, Investigations:
 
VALERO BENICIA REFINERY INVESTIGATION, MARCH 2019
VALERO BENICIA REFINERY INVESTIGATION, JANUARY 22, 2022

REFINERY DEFINITIONS


Valero Benicia Refinery Community Air Monitoring Data:
 
VALERO FENCELINE MONITORING. 

Community Air Quality:
Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Yolo/Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD), and California Air Resources Board (CARB)  are the regional and state agencies who have regulatory authority for community air quality within Solano County. Bay Area Air Quality Management District has regulatory authority for  community air quality in Benicia, Fairfield, Suisun City, and Vallejo, see the following  links for more information:

BAAQMD Refinery Air Monitoring and Guidelines

BAAQMD Community Health Protection

BAAQMD Refinery Flare Minimization Plans

BAAQMD Refinery Flare-Trends and Data

BAAQMD Flare Monitoring

BAAQMD Equipment Leak Monitoring

BAAQMD Sulfur Dioxide

BAAQMD Hydrogen Sulfide

BAAQMD Nitrogen Oxide and Carbon Monoxide

BAAQMD Particulates

BAAQMD Petroleum Refining Emissions Tracking


Yolo/Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD) has regulatory authority for community air quality in Dixon, Rio Vista,  and Vacaville. For information on air quality in these communities here are some links:

YSAQMD General Info Page

YSAQMD Current List of Rules


General CALARP/RMP training:

Common Program Deficiencies of Risk Management Plan Program

Human Factors Training for Process Safety Management

Preparing for US EPA Inspection (Risk Management Plans)

Public CalARP Facilities Information:

Facilities subject the CalARP Program within Solano County & California:
CalEPA Regulated Site Portal. 

Underground Storage Tanks (USTs)

Conducts the permitting and inspection of USTs that store hazardous materials: There are an estimated 190 facilities throughout Solano County that are subject to the regulatory requirements of this program. All UST are subject to monitoring for leakage. Most tanks are double walled and are equipped with electronic systems to detect leaks. All tank permits are issued on for a five year period but are reviewed annually by the hazardous materials staff to verify compliance with state laws, regulations and permit conditions. All new tanks, tank modifications/repairs, and tank removals/closures are permitted by Environmental Health Service Division, Hazardous Materials Section and for more information on tank installation see hazardous materials documents and forms.

For more information on underground storage tank systems see California UST Regulatory Info.

UST Training Seminar:

Final UST Training

Public UST Facilities Information:

CalEPA Regulated Site Portal. 
 
For further information on Site Mitigation: 
Site Mitigation Information

Above Ground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA)

As of January 1, 2008 Assembly Bill 1130 transferred the responsibility for the implementation, enforcement and administration of the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act from the State Water Resources Control Board to the CUPA. This law mandates a CUPA to conduct inspections of all facilities that store petroleum petroleum products in containers of 55-gallons or greater, including above ground tanks, with a total aggregate quantity of at least 10,000 gallons. This law requires all facilities that store an aggregate quantity of at least 1320 gallons of  petroleum/petroleum products including waste oil to submit a storage statment to the CUPA on an annual basis. Facilities that store petroleum/petroleum products that meet or exceed the aggregate quantity of  of 1320 gallons are required to prepare a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan and implement its provisions. The exception to this law is a farm, nursery, construction site, or logging site is exempt from preparing a SPCC under state law unless the tank is equal to or exceeds 20,000 gallons and the cumulative total capacity is more than 100,000 gallons. However, these facilities may be subject to preparing a SPCC plan pursuant to US EPA regulations.  To maintain this exemption under state law, farms, nurseries, construction sites, or logging sites must conduct daily inspections of containers and tanks containing petroleum - petroleum products, allow the CUPA to inspect the facility, and install secondary containment if the CUPA deems it necessary. For fact sheets and guidance information see the following: US EPA SPCC Agricultural Fact Sheet, and US EPA SPCC Summary (bluebrochure). SPCC templates can be found at documents, forms, & templates.  For additional information contact The California Office of State Fire Marshal at OSFM - Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) at US EPA - SPCC Information. You may want to access training on Spill Prevention Countermeasure Control Plans at the following links:

APSA and SPCC training:
 
US EPA Training on SPCC Plans

Final APSA Training

Public APSA Facilities Information:

CalEPA Regulated Site Portal. 
 
Emergency Response

Environmental Health Service Division, Hazardous Materials Section as the CUPA prepares and maintains the Solano County Hazardous Materials Area Plan which is a county-wide contingency plan for responses to spills of hazardous materials. This plan is prepared in consultation with response agencies and the Solano County Office of Emergency Services. The current version of the Area Plan is available via this link Solano County Hazardous Materials Area Plan and contains only formatting changes from previous version, the 2013 version, of the Hazardous Materials Area Plan. 

Environmental Health Service Division is a member of the Cal EPA Refinery Task Force and participates in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Workgroup. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Workgroup is preparing guidance and proposed regulatory language to revise state regulations and enhance Hazardous Materials Area Plan and improve response to incidents at refineries and other high risk facilities. For information on area plan regulatory language see Area Plan Regulations. Environmental Health Services Division attends the Contra Costa CAER meeting, participates in the Contra Costa CAER Emergency Communication subcommittee, attends Contra Costa CAER Safety Summits held on a quarterly basis, and attends the Coastal Region Hazardous Materials Response Organization training. Environmental Health Services Division participates in oil spill response drills/ exercises held by Valero Refinery in Benicia. We also participate in drills/exercises at other  refineries in the San Francisco Bay Area.

For general information on  hazardous materials/hazardous wastes during other disasters see Hazardous Waste Disposal (Earthquakes) and Hazardous Wastes Disposal (Fires) and air monitoring during these disasters at CARPA and at Wildland Smoke Guide . Information from the State Department of Public Health discussing the safe cleanup of ash can be found at Safe Cleanup of Ash. For information on potential radiological health effects call the California Department of Public Health Emergency Preparedness Office at (916) 341-3947 ask to speak to a Health Physicist or review information from the United States Center for Disease Control at Radiation Safety. 

While not a facet of CUPA program, the role of the Environmental Health Services Division at emergency responses involving hazardous materials is to provide technical assistance to the incident commander and the Solano County Interagency Hazardous Materials Team. Our capabilities include some field identification of hazardous materials. The Solano County Interagency Hazardous Materials Team is capable of Level A entry into a hot zone to identify and contain and control the hazardous materials incident. Additional HazMat team resources can be called upon from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection- Napa , University of California Davis or Sacramento City Fire Dept. As part of this role, Environmental Health Services Division continues participate in oil spill response drills/exercises with California Fish and Wildlife-Oil Spill Prevention and Response(OSPR) and the US Coast Guard at various facilities within Solano County providing technical information during the drill/ exercise. The California Fish and Wildlife- Oil Spill Prevention and Response is the lead state agency on responding to oil spills in California. Information on oil spill response can be found at Oil Spill Prevention and Response. Additional information on response to crude oil transported by rail can be found at Hazmat by Rail. For information on the chemical and physical hazards of hazardous materials including crude oil and refined petroleum products you may consult,  Crude Oil Emergency Response Guide, WebWISER, CDC Emergency Information, EXTOXNET, Environmental Health and Toxicology, TOXNET, and  Chemical Hazardous Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM).

Our role also includes acting as the Public Health Officer’s representative at the incident, providing regulatory oversight of cleanup and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes generated spill responses, the inspection of illegal drug labs see the Clan Lab Inspection Report,  Clan Lab WARNING NOTICE,  Clan Lab Clean-up Order, and the proper assessment and cleanup of illegal drug laboratory properties see  Procedures for Meth Lab Assessment and Cleanup & Clan Lab Contractors & Consultants. For contamination in soil and groundwater go to the Site Mitigation Program. 

Illegal Disposal/Complaints

The Environmental Health Services Division responds to hazardous substances complaints. Most complaints deal with illegal disposal of hazardous substances. Investigations are confidential until completion at which time records become public. Contact us at (707) 784-6765 to report illegal disposal of hazardous material and waste. In addition, you may contact the State of California hotline at 1-800-69-TOXIC to report illegal disposal of hazardous waste. For household hazardous waste and small business hazardous waste disposal locations and information see the Recycle Guide, Demolition Wastes, and for paint see PaintCare. Solano County Environmental Health does not regulate the management and disposal of medical wastes. The regulatory authority over medical waste management remains with the California Department of Public Health, Medical Waste Program. For disposal of medical wastes such as syringe needles and fluid blood contact the California Department of Public Health Medical Waste Management Program. For information on cleanup of soil and groundwater impact from hazardous materials releases go to the Site Mitigation Program or call us at 707-784-6765.

Waste Tire Program

Environmental Health Service Division has received a grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board to implement a waste tire program effective July 1, 2008. This program consists of the inspection of waste tire generators, inspection of waste tire disposal facilities, and responding to complaints regarding illegal tire disposal. For more details see the Waste Tire Enforcement Brochure Contact us at (707)784-6765 to report illegal disposal of waste tires. For more information go to Tire Enforcement Program or contact Cal Recycle at 1-866-896-0600.

CUPA and Waste Tire Program Performance Evaluations

Both the CUPA and the Waste Tire programs are evaluated by state agencies. 

File Review Process for Hazardous Materials and Site Mitigation Records.

You may contact this office at 707-784-6765 for an appointment. You may fax in a file review request on your letterhead at 707-784-4805 listing any Assessor Parcel Numbers and/or  addresses/locations for which you request to review. Please provide a prospective date and time you desire for the review. The Department requires appointments to allow staff time pull any paper files, retrieve files for archives, obtain records for the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS), and to review paper files for confidential information that cannot be legally release to the public.  We recommend you consult the following State of California Portals before requesting a file review:

Cal EPA web portal that combines data from multiple sources is the Regulated Site Portal

Separate State of California portals are:
Geotracker
Envirostor
Cortese LIst Portal

Please note, if you desire pubic records duplicated and sent to you then email, [email protected] the department will respond in writing to you within 14 days to let you know if the records are available. There will be a cost of copying, a cost for mailing/shipping, and if applicable a cost for staff to perform the research to provide the requested records.