Hazardous Materials Commission

Agenda (28 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 May 28, 2026 Hazardous Materials Commission meeting minutes.26-2848 · 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.
• 5.RECEIVE a report from the Hazardous Materials Programs.
• 6.DISCUSS any updates to the priorities for 2026 and potential guest speakers.26-2849 · Discussion Item ·
• 7.DISCUSS DTSC's decision to not proceed with the Manifest Exemption rulemaking package.26-2850 · Consent Item ·
• 8.DISCUSS any upcoming legislative issues of commission interest.
• 9.Announcements from commissioners on items of commission interest.
• 10.Plan next meeting agenda.
• —The next meeting is currently scheduled for July 23, 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 4:04 PM.
• —Commissioners Present: Aaron Winer, Mark Hughes, Frank Qin, Eduardo Martinez, Soheila Bana, Maureen Brennan, Jamin Pursell, Lou Flores, Lisa Martell, Tim Bancroft, Marielle Boortz Commissioners Present Online: Marisol Rubio, Madeline Kronenberg Public Present: Carl Smith, Shanise Thomas, Cheryl Sudduth, Alejandra Jauregui, Jennifer Quallick Staff Present: Adam Springer
• —The commissioners present voted to approve the May 28, 2026 Hazardous Materials Commission meeting minutes. Motion: Aaron Winer Second: Maureen Brennan
• —A comment was made by Carl Smith regarding the Marathon refinery strike by USW Local 5 members citing safety concerns, unqualified workers inside the facility, a lack of reporting, unfair labor practices and a lack of bargaining. The refinery workers are on their 60th day of striking and are currently locked out of the facility. The commissioners present requested this topic to be added to the next meeting agenda so it can be discussed further.
• —At their last committee meeting, the Operations Committee reviewed the list of priorities for 2026 and discussed guest speakers they are interested in having present to the full commission as well as inviting to the public forum. They are interested in having the carbon capture guest speakers at the forum and new speakers of interest include Raven and Zone 7 representatives to speak on PFAs. The committee continued their work planning and preparing for the September 17th public forum which is scheduled from 6-8PM at the IBEW Union Hall in Martinez. The committee also did a final review of their procedure and process documents with a some additional revisions.
• —Earlier that day there was a CalEPA public hearing regarding the transfer of the Health Department CUPA regulatory authority to the Fire District. There were not any public comments shared aside from one written comment submitted in favor of it so it is expected to pass. There were not any updates to share regarding the proposed dissolution of this commission.
• —The commissioners present reviewed the priorities list and discussed leads on guest speakers to present. Commissioner Martinez noted that he has connected with Raven and they are ready and willing to present to the full commission. Commissioner Brennan shared that she recently attended a webinar on e-fuels which would combine two of the Operation Committee priorities: hydrogen and carbon capture from the air to create fuel; she expressed that she would love this to be a broader discussion among the committees and full commission. Commissioner Martell noted that this sounds like the technology that they learned about from Twelve Co last year; Commissioner Martinez noted that Raven could speak on this topic to provide better insight.
• —The commissioners present discussed this item to gain better clarity. Staff explained that the decision made by DTSC is in relation to manifest exemptions for waste consolidation; essentially stating that waste from two separate facilities cannot be moved across the street and combined and shipped off for disposal together but instead must be shipped off from the two separate locations. This pertains to any business that generates hazardous waste and has to ship it off.
• —There were not any new legislative issues or updates to existing legislative issues shared for this item.
• —Commissioner Bana shared that the Richmond Shoreline Alliance is organizing tours of the Zeneca site on Saturday and Sunday, June 27th and 28th and that you can sign up online. Commissioner Flores shared the Martinez Refining Company Oversight Committee recordings can be found on the commission's website and that on their May 18th meeting there was a presentation from ERG on their findings and recommendations from their full facility audit as a result of the 2023 fire; he was curious if we could expect a similar report due to the current Marathon strike. Staff noted that there will be a 45-day public comment period to follow up on the February 1, 2025 MRC fire and that there will be a zoom webinar on this topic on July 1st from 5-7pm.
• —The meeting was adjourned at 5:31 PM.
• —Full meeting recording can be found here: https://contra-costa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx