Hazardous Materials Commission

Agenda (30 items)

• —Chair: Mark Hughes Vice Chair: Aaron Winer
• —Agenda Items: Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the Committee
• 1.Roll Call and Introductions
• 2.CONSIDER approval of the July 23, 2026 Hazardous Materials Commission meeting minutes.26-3734 · Discussion Item ·
• 3.Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers may be limited to two minutes).
• 4.RECEIVE a report from the Operations Committee and CONSIDER accepting their recommendation to postpone the public forum until Spring of 2027.
• 5.RECEIVE a report from the Hazardous Materials Programs.
• 6.DISCUSS additional details regarding the proposed 2027 public forum.
• 7.DISCUSS any updates to the priorities for 2026 and potential guest speakers.26-3735 · Discussion Item ·
• 8.Discuss the rise in chemical accidents and SB 883.26-3736 · Discussion Item ·
• 9.DISCUSS any other upcoming legislative issues of commission interest.
• 10.Announcements from commissioners on items of commission interest.
• 11.Plan next meeting agenda.
• —The next meeting is currently scheduled for September 24, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
• —Adjourn
• —The Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend the Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting. Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by the County to a majority of members of the Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public inspection at 4005 Port Chicago Highway. Suite 120 Concord, CA 94520, during normal business hours. Staff reports related to items on the agenda are also accessible online at www.contracosta.ca.gov. If the Zoom connection malfunctions for any reason, the meeting may be paused while a fix is attempted. If the connection is not reestablished, the committee will continue the meeting in person without remote access. Public comment may be submitted via electronic mail on agenda items at least one full work day prior to the published meeting time.
• —For Additional Information Contact: Adam Springer at 925-655-3216
• —The meeting was called to order at 4:19 PM.
• —Commissioners Present: Aaron Winer, Mark Hughes, Frank Qin, Eduardo Martinez, Ron Chinn, Maile Chinn, Maureen Brennan, Jamin Pursell, Lou Flores, Tim Bancroft, Jim Payne, Marielle Boortz Commissioners Present: Madeline Kronenberg Public Present: Cheryl Sudduth, Jennifer Quallick Staff Present: Adam Springer, Nicole Heath
• —The commissioners present voted to approve the July 23, 2026 Hazardous Materials Commission meeting minutes with minor revisions. Motion: Jamin Second: Eduardo
• —There were not any comments made by members of the public.
• —Commissioner Boortz shared a report on the Operations Committee for this month. The meeting primarily focused on drafting a syllabus for future student interns and discussing plans for hosting a public forum. The committee discussed a list of expectations for interns, providing a list of topics for the students to present on versus allowing them to choose their own, and logistics for interns moving forward considering the transfer of hazardous materials programs from health services to CCCFPD. The committee unanimously voted to postpone the public forum to spring of 2027 as they did not feel they were prepared to hold a quality event: speakers were not secured, there were issues securing the venue for insurance reasons, and there was not enough time left to finalize details and advertise adequately.
• —There were no major updates to share and therefore nothing to report from the hazardous materials programs.
• —The commissioners agreed that they did not feel adequately prepared to hold the event in September and that postponing would be the best call. Staff will work to compile a list of county venues to consider for the event where insurance will not be an issue. Suggestions from the Operations Committee meeting included sending an electronic survey out to determine topics of interest for the public, tying in the forum event with Earth Day, and developing an forum planning ad hoc committee of the full commission to allow a larger number of participants. The prior ad hoc committees were from the Operations Committee which limited them to a maximum of three members; they encountered some conflicts with such a small group and felt a larger group would improve diversity of opinions and improve attendance/participation.
• —The commissioners present discussed the current priorities and made some suggestions on presentations from guest speakers they would like to have over the next few months. The group suggested presentations from Raven, Department of Conservation and Development, Pipeline Safety Trust, and someone to speak on VOCs (volatile organic compounds) vapor intrusion.
• —Commissioner Flores requested this item on the agenda, he shared that this bill is a direct response to the chemical disaster in Garden Grove. He noted that one of the articles he linked states that the number of chemical accidents, explosions, fires, and other emergencies that release chemicals into the atmosphere were up 51% since 2021. He noted that SB 883 would prohibit approval of building permits for new reactive chemical storage facilities with the potential for an explosion that could cause injury or death.
• —Commissioner Flores mentioned SB 954 which modifies CEQA by tightening and revising exemptions for advanced manufacturing facilities, day care centers, and family day care homes, adding new environmental and community-benefit requirements.
• —Commissioner Winer shared that there may be some changes in representation for Business Seat #1 coming in the future, but does not have any other official updates to share on it as of now.
• —The meeting was adjourned at 5:26 PM.
• —Full meeting recording can be found here: https://contra-costa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx