Supervisors authorize local oversight of voluntary hazardous-waste cleanups

Supervisor Mirna Melgar’s Land Use and Transportation Committee on Oct. 24 unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the county health officer — or the officer’s designee — and the Department of Public Health’s environmental health director to enter into voluntary remedial-action agreements and oversee remedial investigations at hazardous-waste release sites.

Veronica Slattingren, principal environmental health inspector in the Department of Public Health’s site assessment and mitigation program, told the committee the Voluntary Remedial Action Program, or VRAP, is a voluntary, property-owner–initiated process the city uses when the state elects not to supervise a cleanup. "The goal of the VRAP program is to really protect the human health, clean up environment, and return property back to productive use," Slattingren said.

Slattingren said the city’s VRAP work dates to the 1990s and that the department’s database includes cases as early as 2001; she described a current total of about 241 local VRAP cases. She cited state law changes, noting that the program was authorized in local practice after state legislation and that Assembly Bill 304 (effective Jan. 1, 2022) requires a local health officer’s authority to be granted by the city or county governing body — the resolution updates the city’s authorization to align with that change.

Melgar asked about enforcement if a responsible party enters an agreement and then fails to complete a cleanup. Slattingren replied the Health and Safety Code does not give local enforcement authority; instead the city can refer cases to the state, which retains enforcement power.

The committee recorded a motion moved by Supervisor Dean Preston and seconded by Supervisor Aaron Peskin; the roll call recorded Peskin aye, Preston aye and Melgar aye, and the motion passed (3–0).

The committee’s approved resolution directs the local public-health officers to enter VRAP agreements and oversee remedial investigations where appropriate; final actions are expected to appear on the full Board of Supervisors agenda unless otherwise noted.