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  Hazardous Materials Section Overview. The CUPA provides regulatory oversight for the following program activities:

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/ hazardous waste greater than or equal to 55 gallons of liquid, 500 pounds of solids or 200 cubic feet of a compressed gas at any time; The Solano County Agriculture Department conducts inspections on farms under the oversight of the Environmental Health Services Division as the CUPA. There are an estimated 1,700 businesses in Solano County regulated by this program.

HMBP program addresses emergency response to incidents involving hazardous materials. The HMBP  includes a chemical inventory of hazardous materials (click here to go to Solano County Hazardous Materials Forms) which is reviewed annually and if necessary updated. 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. Reportable releases in California are any threatened or actual release that poses a potential or actual risk to people, property, or the environment. A person should report a release of hazardous materials to 911 and to Environmental Health Services Division, Hazardous Materials Section at 707-784-6765  8am to 5pm weekdays, and to Solano County Dispatch at 707-421-7090 evenings, holidays, and weekends. 

For more general information on the CUPA Program available from California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) at www.calepa.ca.gov/CUPA.  

You may also want to access training on HMBP and hazardous waste regulations, risk assessment and release reporting at the following links:

 Introduction to HMBP and  Hazardous Waste Regulations training

 Risk Assessment and Release Reporting Training

To assist businesses to be in compliance with the regulatory requirements of the CUPA Program, the Hazardous Materials Section has included a compliance calender, resource list, and a risk matrix, see  Hazardous Materials Compliance Calender, Hazardous Materials Resource List and Risk Determination Matrix. For additional compliance assistance including pollution prevention checklists, see the following: Auto Repair Best Management Practices, Pollution Prevention checklist and  Self Audit Water Quality Checklist.

Businesses may also be interested in Solano County's Green Business program.  Training on this program may be accessed through the following link: Green Business Seminar. For documents that detail pollution prevention measures that can be used to for meeting green business program click here to go to Solano County Hazardous Materials Forms).

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 but there are exceptions for small quantity generators. Hazardous wastes are 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,   Manifest Information, and  Hazardous Waste Accumulation.  Additional information on hazardous waste disposal and management is available from Department of Toxic Substances Control at www.dtsc.ca.gov.

California Accidental Release Prevention (Risk Management Plan)

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 gaseous chlorine and anhydrous ammonia. There are over 400 other chemicals that may require a RMP. Businesses that meet 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. The RMP regulations and additional information are available at http://www.oes.ca.gov and www.epa.gov. For questions and specific information regarding this program contact the Hazardous Materials Staff at 707-784-6765.

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 go to the  permit application.
 
Under a contract with the State Water Resources Control Board, the Environmental Health Services Division conducts the Local Oversight Program, to oversee the abatement and cleanup of releases of hazardous substances from underground storage For further information check out the Site Mitigation Program.

Above Ground Petroleum Storage Act (AST)

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 see  Aboveground Petroleum Act Program Brochure. 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 unless the tank is equal to or exceeds 20,000 gallons and the cumulative total capacity is more than 100,000 gallons. However, 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 more information see Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act, California EPA Scope of CUPA Implementation, Cal EPA Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act FAQs, SPCC Guidance Regional Inspectors, Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasure Plan Requirements, and  Summary of Federal SPCC Regulations. For additional information contact Cal EPA at www.calepa.ca.gov/CUPA/Aboveground. For cleanup of a release from a petroleum aboveground go to the Site Mitigation Programs.

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 reponses 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 dated 2008 and is available by calling 707-784-6765. For general information on hazardous materials incidents see Hazardous Materials Disaster Response Precautions, Hazardous Waste Disposal (Earthquakes) and, Hazardous Wastes Disposal (Fires)

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.

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   Clan Lab Inspection Report,  Clan Lab WARNING NOTICE,  Clan Lab Clean-up Order, and  the regulatory oversight of the proper assessment and cleanup of illegal drug laboratory properties see  Procedures for Meth Lab Assessment and Cleanup and Clan Lab Contractors & Consultants. For contamination in soil and groundwater view go to the Site Mitigation Programs. 

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 or after hours at (866) 329-0932 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 information on cleanup of releases of hazardous materials go to the Site Mitigation Programs.

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 attached brochure Waste Tire Enforcement Program Contact us at (707)784-6765 or after hours at (866) 329-0932 to report illegal disposal of waste tires. For more information go to www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Tires/Manifest/Participants/Generator.htm.