County looking for public support in CUPA appeal

EL CENTRO — Imperial County is appealing the California Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to reject its fire department’s application to become a Certified Unified Program Agency.

The appeal is scheduled for July 17 at 1:30 p.m. at the Imperial County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 940 W. Main St.

Imperial County Supervisor Ray Castillo said if its fire department is not allowed to be the CUPA, the result would be that farmers and other businesses that use hazardous materials would be billed twice for the same work.

The CUPA oversees regulatory issues related to hazardous wastes and underground storage tanks in businesses throughout Imperial County.

Since 2005, the Department of Toxic Substances Control has been designated as the CUPA and is responsible for implementing regulatory oversight.

On Aug. 31, 2018, the Imperial County Fire Department submitted an application to CalEPA to become the CUPA for Imperial County, and at a public hearing in December asked the agency to consider the County of Imperial’s application.

After consideration of over 90 written comments and 17 public comments made at the hearing, CalEPA in March issued a denial of the county’s application.

Castillo said the fire department will still be doing some of the same work that the Department of Toxic Substances Control is in charge of, because if there were to be a fire, firefighters would need to know where the hazardous materials are stored.

The farmers or businesses would be responsible to pay both the CUPA and the fire department for essentially the same work, he said.

“It’s an unfair policy to have the business people and the farmers to pay twice for the same inspection,” he said.

When Castillo was first named county supervisor in 2011, he said a farmer approached him to complain about having to pay for the same inspection twice.

He added that it makes little sense not to allow the fire department to be the oversight agency because it has been doing — and will continue to do — inspections, as this protects firefighters and anyone else close by when a fire approaches an area where hazardous materials are stored.

Castillo believes this is likely be a key argument in the appeal.

“Since this started, it has affected a lot of businesses that work with industrial products,” Castillo said.

The supervisors and the county is hoping for a large turnout at the appeal hearing, thinking this could sway CalEPA’s ruling.