To: Board of Supervisors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: Budget Amendment - Hazardous Materials Equipment
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing board of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, APPROVE Budget Amendment No. BDA-25-00063 authorizing revenue in the amount of $75,000 from Contra Costa Health to the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and appropriating it for the purchase of hazardous materials equipment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
100% settlement funds from Contra Costa Health
BACKGROUND:
On September 4, 2024, a hazardous materials incident occurred at the Corteva manufacturing facility in Pittsburg, resulting in an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement action. As part of the resolution, settlement funds were directed to County Health. Given that both County Health and Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Hazardous Materials Response Teams responded to the incident and provided mitigation efforts, County Health is sharing a portion of the funding with the Fire District to support equipment needs.
The Fire District is in need of updating their chlorine monitors. The transferred funds will be used to support the purchase of new chlorine detection equipment, including area monitors and handheld units for deployment with the Fire District’s Hazardous Materials Response Team.
With the dissolution of Corteva’s on-site fire brigade and their internal HazMat team, the Fire District is now the primary responder to hazardous materials incidents at the facility. This equipment upgrade will significantly improve the Fire District’s ability to respond independently and in a timely manner to the specific hazards that will exist at the remaining facilities adjacent to the Corteva property.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this action is not approved, the Fire District will not possess updated chlorine detection equipment, potentially hindering its ability to respond promptly and effectively to certain hazardous materials incidents.