Hazardous Materials Commission

Agenda (29 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 April 23, 2026 Hazardous Materials Commission meeting minutes.26-2268 · 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.
• —NEW BUSINESS
• 6.DISCUSS the May 26, 2026 Internal Operations Committee meeting.26-2269 · Discussion Item ·
• —OLD BUSINESS
• 7.DISCUSS any updates to the priorities for 2026 and potential guest speakers.26-2270 · Discussion 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 June 25, 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 4:00 PM.
• —Commissioners Present: Aaron Winer, Mark Hughes, Andrew Graham, Eduardo Martinez, Soheila Bana, Ron Chinn, Maureen Brennan, Jamin Pursell, Lou Flores, Lisa Martell, Tim Bancroft, Commissioners Present Online: Madeline Kronenberg, Amy McTigue Staff Present: Adam Springer, Nicole Heath Public Present: Shoshana Wechsler, Jennifer Quallick
• —The commissioners present voted to approve the April 23, 2026 Hazardous Materials Programs meeting minutes. Motion: Aaron Winer Second: Eduardo Martinez
• —There were not any comments made by members of the public on items not on this agenda.
• —During their last meeting the Operations Committee primary focused on reviewing and revising existing documents used by their committee for duties such as commissioner and student intern interviews. They also worked on developing new documents to outline the procedures and workflows followed by the committee for interviews and forum planning.
• —As the Hazardous Materials Programs transition from the Health Department to the Fire Protection District there are a lot of items going to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. The Hazardous Materials Programs have been working very closely with Cal EPA on the amended application and on July 17th Cal EPA will be having a public hearing on that amended application.
• —A proposal to potentially sunset the commission was presented by the Hazardous Materials Programs at the Internal Operations Committee meeting; the Board members suggested that staff refine this proposal before bringing it forward again. Director Nicole Heath clarified that the proposal was not specifically related to the transition of hazardous materials programs to Contra Costa Fire Protection District, but rather an evaluation of workflow efficiency and potential duplicative efforts across different committees. Commissioners expressed strong concerns about the proposal, emphasizing the unique value and diverse representation of the commission, which includes community members, business representatives, environmental organizations, and technical experts. The discussion noted that while some overlap exists with other committees like the Industrial Safety Ordinance committee and Sustainability Commission, the commissioners present felt that the Hazardous Materials Commission provides essential expertise and community representation that would be lost if dissolved. Commissioners suggested alternative approaches including formal advisory roles to other committees and improving communication with the Board of Supervisors through regular reports and updates. The conversation ended with agreement that staff would gather more information about the other committees' operations and work with the fire chief before developing a refined proposal for the Internal Operations Committee.
• —There were not any updates to discuss during this meeting.
• —There were not any upcoming legislative issues discussed.
• —The meeting was adjourned at 5:53pm.
• —Full meeting recording can be found here: https://contra-costa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx