CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

Committee Meeting Minutes - Final

Illegal Dumping Ad Hoc Committee

11:00 AM

Thursday, February 20, 2025

30 Muir Rd, Martinez |

3361 Walnut Blvd, Ste 140, Brentwood

Zoom: https://cccounty-us.zoom.us/j/82338224673 | Call in: 1-888-278-0254 Access code: 198675

Supervisor Diane Burgis, Chair

Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston

Agenda Items: Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the

Committee

Roll Call and Introductions

Call to Order

Committee Member Burgis called the meeting to order at 11:00am

Also in attendance were Stacey Grassini, District Attorney’s Office; Tim Kraus, Environmental Health

(EH); Kristian Lucas, EH; Chris Lau, Public Works (PWD); Capt. Craig Brooks, Sheriffs Office (SO);

John Kopchik, Conservation and Development (DCD); Deidra Dingman, DCD; David Brockbank,

DCD; Joe Losado, DCD; Dylan Chiu, DCD;

Diane Burgis, and Shanelle Scales-Preston

Present

RECEIVE and APPROVE the Meeting Minutes for the September 12, 2024 Illegal

Dumping Ad Hoc Committee Meeting.

Meeting Minutes September 12, 2024

Attachments:

Aye:

Burgis, and Scales-Preston

Passed

Result:

RECEIVE status update regarding implementation of the illegal dumping strategies and

PROVIDE direction to staff as appropriate.

CCC Illegal Dumping Initiative Dashboard February 2025

Table 1 - Illegal Dumping Initiative Strategy Table - February 2025

Updates

Attachments:

Figure 1 - Requests for Illegal Dumping Clean-Up Received by Pub

Works and CHDC in 2024

Attachment 1 - Public Outreach Campaign

Figure 2- RV, Trailer, Boat Abatement Locations in 2024

Figure 3 - Waste Tire Amnesty

Attachment 2 - Surveillance Cameras and Fencing

Table 2 - Requests for Illegal Dumping Clean-up Received versus

Pick-Ups in 2024

Attachment 3 - Budget Tables

Data, Reports Maps, Metrics

John Kopchik, Conservation and Development Director, mentioned that Supervisor

Scales-Preston had received a briefing from various departments to bring her up to date on

illegal dumping issues within the County.

Dylan Chiu, Conservation and Development Planner, briefly presented the Illegal Dumping

Initiative Dashboard and Strategy Tables, noting that they summarized some of the updates

that would be presented verbally later in the meeting.

Dylan then shared Figure 1: “Requests for Illegal Dumping Clean-Up Received by Public

Works and CHDC in 2024” with the committee. This map shows where clean-up requests

were received in 2024 by Public Works and the Community Housing Development

Corporation (CHDC), a nonprofit based in North Richmond. Dylan pointed out that the

2023 and 2024 maps shared similar hotspot dumping locations, including North Richmond,

El Sobrante, Bay Point, Bear Creek/Pinole Valley Road, Deer Valley Road, the area south

of Brentwood, and Knightsen.

He clarified that the high number of pick-up requests in North Richmond is due to Republic

Services being required to maintain a “Hotspot Crew” under a County land use permit. The

“Hotspot Crew” consists of a two-man team with a truck that works full time cleaning up

illegal dumping in North Richmond. This means they respond not only to pick-up requests

but also to illegal dumping they see while driving around.

Dylan also presented Table 2: “Requests for Illegal Dumping Clean-up Received Versus

Pick-Ups in 2024,” an updated version of the table shown in the September 2024 meeting.

He explained that the top chart shows that countywide requests and pick-ups have increased

each year. However, if North Richmond data is excluded, requests went down while

pick-ups increased slightly. Supervisor Burgis suggested this could reflect greater

awareness about how to report illegal dumping.

Deidra Dingman, Conservation and Development Deputy Director, added that the gap

between requests and pick-ups could be due to multiple reports for the same site or

situations where the waste was gone when crews arrived. Dylan noted that the bottom chart

shows North Richmond data, where requests and pick-ups were kept the same for

simplicity, since the Hotspot Crew primarily conducts non-referral pick-ups. He highlighted

that North Richmond accounts for 70-80 percent of the County’s total requests and

pick-ups. Although pick-ups increased from 2023 to 2024, tonnage decreased because the

Hotspot Crew was doing more frequent pick-ups of lighter items, often referred to as

“blow-and-flow” litter.

Public Outreach Campaign - Strategy #5

Dylan shared that the County partnered with Steven Groner Associates (SGA) to run a

public outreach campaign from September to December 2024. The campaign focused on

how to report illegal dumping and how to properly dispose of waste. It featured both digital

and physical ads. Digital ads included YouTube, Spotify, radio, and social media, while

physical ads included billboards and bus benches. The bus bench and shelter ads featured

QR codes linking directly to the County’s Illegal Dumping page and promoted the

1-800-No-Dumping phone number.

Dylan played a sample video ad highlighting the website and phone number. He then

presented Google Analytics data showing that traffic to the County’s Illegal Dumping page

rose significantly during the campaign, with 38,000 active users. He also shared a chart

showing the reporting methods used. During the campaign, reports by email and phone

nearly doubled compared to previous months.

Derelict RV/Boat/Trailer Abatements - Strategy #40

Joe Losado, Conservation and Development Code Enforcement Manager, presented Figure

2: “RV/Trailer/Boat Abatement Locations in 2024.” He noted that most abatements

occurred in central County, with fewer in the eastern areas, and thanked the Sheriff’s

Department for their work. Supervisor Scales-Preston asked about an apparent increase in

abatements in Bay Point and District 5. Joe clarified that the numbers had not increased, but

that Bay Point typically has a high level of abatements each year. He also explained that

derelict vehicles are found more often in cities now as people realize these vehicles in

unincorporated areas are being towed. Supervisor Burgis asked whether staff have been

coordinating with cities. Joe said he has been in contact with some cities which are

exploring funding options. He added that other jurisdictions have expressed interest in the

County’s abatement program. David Brockbank, Conservation and Development Solid

Waste Manager, added that Alameda County is also pursuing abatements. He explained that

abandoned vehicles often attract dumpers who fill them with trash.

Supervisor Burgis asked if federal funds were used. John Kopchik responded that the

program has been state funded with Measure X and Clean California grant funds.

Waste Tire Amnesty - Strategy #14

Kristian Lucas, Director of Environmental Health, shared that Environmental Health

applied for a grant through CalRecyle to be able to support the existing clean-up efforts that

are going around the County. Tim Kraus, Environment Health Solid Waste Supervisor,

mentioned in the fall of 2024, they hosted 4 waste tire amnesty events in conjunction with

community clean-ups in Knightsen, Richmond, Bay Point, and Pacheco. They collected a

total of 2,980 tires and about 2,200 of them were from Knightsen alone. For future events,

they will be limiting the capacity of receiving tires as staff were overwhelmed at the

Knightsen clean-up. Environmental Health plans on having 4 more Tire Amnesty events in

the spring.

Enforcement - Strategy #45

Craig Brooks, Sheriff’s Office Captain, shared they are continuing with efforts to combat

illegal dumping, but haven’t been able to do targeted enforcement with the overtime due to

staffing issues. Stacey Grassini, Assistant District Attorney, highlighted that the amount of

enforcement done now has increased significantly then what it was 6 years ago and they

will continue to move forward. Supervisor Burgis asked how we are holding the illegal

dumpers accountable. Stacey responded that it depends on the situation, but he knows there

is a lot of effort on the Sheriff’s side of things to follow up on these cases and sometimes

they can get dumpers to go back and pick up their waste. He further mentioned that if the

file case is fairly egregious, they get filed, and it’s a matter of leaning on the courts to enact

the punishment. Supervisor Scales-Preston asked how many people have been fined for

illegal dumping in 2024. Dylan Chiu showed the Contra Costa County Illegal Dumping

Dashboard to highlight the stats provided by the Sheriff’s and the District Attorney’s office.

From August 2024 to January 2025, there were 72 Mobile Citizen App reports for clean-up,

36 Litter/Illegal Dumping reports written, 14 Cases submitted to DA for filing, and 6

citation issues. In 2024, there were approximately 36 illegal dumping cases received by the

DA for review. Stacey clarified that his office only handles misdemeanor cases, which

involve more than one cubic yard of waste. Smaller violations are handled as infractions in

Traffic Court.

Fencing - Strategy #6

Chris Lau, Assistant Public Works Director of the Maintenance Division, shared they

installed 4,300 linear feet of fencing along 3 roadways which include San Pabo Dam Road,

Frank Canyon Road, and Crockett Blvd. The project cost about $350,000 and created a

physical barrier to prevent dumping.

Surveillance Cameras - Strategy #46

Chris Lau reminded the committee that 10 mobile surveillance units were first deployed in

September-October 2024. Most were initially in District 1, with redeployments every 90

days. They are currently in Districts 3 and 5. Each unit has three PTZ cameras monitored

24/7 by a private company using AI to set up alert zones. Units cost $2,500 per month or

$30,000 annually each.

Chris presented slide of what the video monitoring system looks like and the capabilities to

review old footage to gather evidence to send to the Sheriff’s Office.

Chris shared three videos with the committee. The first video shared was of a potential

illegal dumper pulling into the alert zone and throwing garbage off the side of the road. The

second video was of a vehicle pulling over to illegally dump on the side of the road which

led to the agent monitoring the camera to use the loudspeaker function to dissuade the

illegal dumper from dumping more trash. The last video showed another vehicle pulling

over to dump garbage under a freeway overpass and in this situation the cameras were able

to get a license plate. The information was provided to Sergeant Haley with the Sheriff’s

Office, who was able to contact the perpetrators and have them return to retrieve their

items. Supervisor Burgis asked if these cameras have helped with any other type of

investigation. Captain Brooks responded that he isn’t aware of these cameras helping, but

typically all cameras do help when investigating any type of crime. Chris Lau shared that

areas where the cameras were deployed showed a significant drop in dumping, but when

the cameras were removed the dumping would return.

Budget Reallocation Update

Dylan presented Attachment 3: Budget Tables, outlining a three-part budget change

proposal. The first part reallocates about $200,000 of FY 24/25 Measure X funding from

the Sheriff’s Overtime strategy to Public Works strategies. The second part prioritizing

spending down the remaining General Funds approved in 2019 for the pilot program before

Measure X funds. The third part dedicates most of the FY 25/26 Measure X budget to

Public Works strategies. Dylan noted that despite these changes, Public Works still faces a

shortfall of $130,000-$180,000 to fund all their proposed projects. Supervisor Burgis asked

if there is a plan to cover it. Dylan replied that options are still being explored. Deidra

Dingman added that proposed future projects are conceptual and will not move forward

without identified funding.

Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda

(speakers may be limited to two minutes).

Committee Comments:

Supervisor Burgis stated she is proud of staff and the collaboration among departments in addressing

illegal dumping.

The next meeting is currently scheduled for September 4, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.

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 30 Muir Road in Martinez, during normal business hours. Staff reports

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: Dylan Chiu, Committee Staff

Phone: (925) 655-2912, Fax: (925) 655-2750, Email: Dylan.Chiu@dcd.cccounty.us