Supplemental Environmental Projects

1. Community-based Online Environmental Health Education for Low-Income Residents – City of Richmond

Project Summary: The proposed project provides low-income adults with tools and skills needed to access, understand, and utilize online information and resources to improve individual, family, and community health. The primary objectives of the program are to:

1. create and maintain web-based curriculum that teaches basic digital literacy skills with specific guidance for how to find, evaluate, and use online environmental and health websites from local, regional, state, and federal agencies and organizations;
2. provide instructor-led digital health literacy classes at community sites to support low-income adults with limited literacy skills in accessing and utilizing the web-based trainings;
3. distribute laptops to program graduates to enable their continued access to essential online information and resources; and
4. convene disadvantaged residents, community-based organizations, and public agencies to foster social cohesion and community partnerships to address health and digital literacy challenges.

These activities synergistically improve health literacy, bridge the digital divide, and promote health equity. The same populations that are most vulnerable to adverse health outcomes are also the least likely to have the basic health and digital literacy knowledge to address their environmental and health information needs. By providing low-income adults with the skills and resources they need to find, understand, and use essential online information (e.g. daily air quality measures, guidance for how to prepare for and respond to emergencies, contact information for local service providers and agencies, and online forms to submit or request additional information) the project empowers low-income adults to improve the health of themselves, their families, and the broader community. Public health research demonstrates that a sense of control and agency in one’s life improves an individual’s overall health status, and facilitates improved community health.

Project Category: Public Health, Environmental Compliance Promotion, Emergency Planning and Preparedness

Estimated Cost: $120,000

2. Reducing and Preventing Marine Debris along Richmond Shorelines and Watersheds, and the San Francisco Bay – City of Richmond

Project Summary: Litter is a significant problem observed in the City of Richmond. Annually, City staff and volunteer groups collected approximately 5.5 million tons of litter along Richmond shoreline and local creeks (Garrity, Baxter, and Castro Reach). While the City stormwater collection system is routinely maintained, litter continues to make its way to City storm drains, local creeks, and the bay. This poses threats to aquatic life and other beneficial uses of the watersheds, and impairs water quality. The City proposes a two part program to address the litter issue. Part one is to plan, purchase, and install trash capture screens in 150 storm drains to trap litter, enabling maintenance crews to remove them before they reach waterways. Trash screen implementation will focus in areas with the highest litter accumulation, which corresponds with Richmond’s disadvantaged neighborhoods. Part two of the program, Adopt-A-Storm-Drain, is to connect interested residents with City staff, via outreach with Neighborhood Councils, social media, and the City website, to help keep storm drains functioning properly, especially during large storm events. Residents will receive tools including gloves, rakes, and bags, along with training from City staff to safely maintain storm drains. The project outcome will be measured through the quarterly storm drain assessments. Data will be collected via coordinated trash clean-up events, consistent with City staff’s current data tracking strategy. This data will be compared to data collected prior to the implementation of the project to evaluate program effectiveness. The proposed program will improve the health and wellness of the target areas by keeping litter and debris from reaching local waterways. The program will also encourage residents to become physically experience and become more cognizant of litter’s impacts on local and global water quality.

Project Category: Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction

Estimated Cost: $100,000 (Variable; $100,000 is the base cost for implementation and can grow with expanded opportunity)

1. Pesticide Education & Exposure Prevention – Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies FBO Valley Latino Environmental Advancement & Policy Project

Project Summary: While other similar types of programs have been researched and written in the past they typically are larger regional programs which do not focus on individual local small rural agricultural city communities. This project will research and develop a comprehensive plan to address three areas:

1. How city planning policies, project evaluation, project design and residential building codes can help prevent and reduce public, worker and children pesticide exposure.
2. Residential home assessment and home improvement ideas for the prevention and reduction of family and children pesticide exposure.
3. Family life style assessment, planning and activities that can help prevent and reduce family pesticide exposure and improve family health

LEAP will research and identify other adopted city and county planning policies, evaluation methods, construction designs and building codes that can be adopted by Huron. LEAP will further research governmental agency, university and other non-profit organization studies, reports and recommendations. LEAP will research and create a family home assessment survey form and home improvement brochure with creative ideas on how to make your home pesticide proof and a healthier environment. LEAP will research and create a family life style assessment survey form and family life style safety improvement brochure with creative ideas on how to live more safely in a toxic environment.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Assessments and Audits, Environmental Compliance Promotion, Enforcement Enhancement

Estimated Cost: $40,000

1. Kings IVAN Youth LEAP –  Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies FBO Valley Latino Environmental Advancement & Policy Project 

Project Summary: The Kings County IVAN is a multi-stakeholder problem solving collaboration that reduces pollution by strategically addressing complex, multi-jurisdictional environmental issues that pervade Kings County in the San Joaquin Valley. The Task Force is part of the statewide IVAN (Identifying Violations Affecting Neighborhoods) network. It brings together government agencies, businesses, and community members and allows problems to be collaboratively addressed, empowers residents, conserves resources, and solves environmental problems with real-life consequences. As Kings County has many local pollution sources and many non-English speaking residents, we seek resources to increase the Task Force’s scope and effectiveness in preventing and reducing environmental pollution impacts in this low-income community composed mainly of people of color.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction, Environmental Restoration, Environmental Compliance Promotion, Enforcement Enhancement, Emergency Planning and Preparedness

Estimated Cost: $60,000

2. Kettleman City Asthma Intervention Program – Central California Asthma Collaborative

Project Summary: This project will fund the implementation of an at-home asthma intervention program for residents of Kettleman City including targeted outreach to community residents. The SEP will be administered by Central California Asthma Collaborative (CCAC). CCAC’s intervention program, the Asthma Impact Model, reduces the number of asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations by reducing at-home asthma triggers and providing client education around asthma management and resources. CCAC’s team of community health workers will perform initial at-home visits to identify potential asthma triggers. CCAC will then work with families to connect them with resources, including working with contractors for needed repairs, supplying families with allergen-reducing vacuum cleaners, humidity monitoring equipment, and other materials. CCAC community health workers will continue to visit families and then check in monthly via telephone. Participating families can continue to use CCAC as a resource indefinitely. In Fresno, the CCAC intervention program participants saw asthma related hospitalizations and ER visits decrease by 70-80%. The SEP includes outreach and community engagement by CCAC, El Pueblo, and Greenaction with a short-term stipend for two community residents to intern with CCAC. Outreach will including partnering with local schools, health centers.

Project Category: Public Health

Estimated Cost: $65,000

1. Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons – Asian Health Services FBO CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative

Project Summary: To reduce the exposure of vulnerable nail salon workers to harmful chemicals, Asian Health Services proposes to work in partnership with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative to implement “Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons.”

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention

Estimated Cost: $50,000

2. Healthy Environment = Healthy Communities & Schools – Community Initiatives FBO California Safe Schools

Project Summary: Through this project California Safe Schools (CSS) will address the exposure to pesticides and herbicides and other toxic chemicals regulated by DPR which may threaten environmental justice communities and Title I schools throughout the greater Los Angeles County area. The target locations include schools and communities within the Los Angeles Unified School District, which spans 28 cities, 740 square miles and is 2nd largest school district in the nation.

Project Category: Hazardous waste, Public Health

Estimated Cost: $28,600

3. Identification of Toxic Chemicals & Pesticides Near Public Schools in The LA Harbor Area – Community Initiatives FBO California Safe Schools

Project Summary: The California Safe Schools (CSS) plans to identify all sources of Toxic Chemicals and Pesticides that are imported through the Port of Los Angeles, sold or stored by retailers & distributors, stored and used by manufacturers near public schools in the Los Angeles Harbor area communities of San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City and Carson. CSS will partner with the Coalition For A Safe Environment a Port of Los Angeles environmental justice organization for this project. There has never been a public school children safety study that has focused on the potential exposure to toxic chemicals and pesticides emanating as cargo from the Port of Los Angeles and other retail, distributor and manufacturer sources near public schools which transit through the LA County massive freight transportation system. Many imported products at the Port of Los Angeles require container fumigation with methyl bromide which has been banned by 90% of all countries. Many toxic chemicals and pesticides pose significant life and public health impacts to students. CSS intends to research governmental agency data bases to determine private business or governmental agency locations and storage of Toxic Chemicals and Pesticides and prepare a GIS Map, identify and GIS map all public schools in San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City and Carson communities, identify and GIS map all business transportation streets, roads, highways, freeways , bridges, truck and train freight corridors near public schools and prepare a report with findings and GIS Maps. The CSS study information will be used to validate compliance to applicable chemical storage, handling & transportation regulations, public health & safety requirements, reduce student & children exposure to toxic chemical & pesticides, reduce public health impacts, educate residents on the dangers of toxic chemicals and pesticides, identify public safety & mitigation measures and to conduct community awareness.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Assessments and Audits, Environmental Compliance Promotion, Enforcement Enhancement, Emergency Planning and Preparedness

Estimated Cost: $55,000

4. Listening Session – Community Initiatives FBO California Safe Schools

Project Summary: California Safe Schools will host TWO listening sessions in Los Angeles to hear directly from students about their environmental awareness and concerns. These sessions will provide the students with the opportunity to communicate directly with California Safe Schools to present their perspectives on the environmental priorities from their communities, as well as regionally, nationally, and globally. This outreach on the part of California Safe Schools is intended to help inform the enforcement agencies about the region’s environmental priorities from the viewpoint of younger citizens whose lives and the environment they will be living in future will be affected by decisions being made today. The sessions will provide students the opportunity to discuss their environmental priorities and why these issues are of particular concern to them and to their peers. The students should come prepared with an understanding of their priority environmental issues and be able to engage in a discussion with California Safe Schools and the other students about teachers about these issues and the impacts they have on their lives. The project will provide collaborative partnerships between residents, regulatory agencies, environmental health researchers, students and school district administrators.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction, Environmental Restoration, Environmental Compliance Promotion, Enforcement Enhancement

Estimated Cost: $10,000

5. Nurturing Students with Nature – Community Initiatives FBO California Safe Schools

Project Summary: City parks, greenways, and naturalized school grounds can be a crucial antidote to these unhealthy trends. They can motivate young people to learn through the natural environment (which includes learning about the natural environment), bringing environmental education into the mainstream of state-mandated instructional programs. The informal learning, non-formal programs, and formal instruction associated with parks can reinforce each other, enhancing academic achievement. The exploration is “hands on” and fosters deep, emotional and intellectual connections that bring classroom curriculum to life.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction, Environmental Restoration

Estimated Cost: $7,000

6. Your Life is Now – Community Initiatives FBO California Safe Schools

Project Summary: CSS proposal is for “Your Life is Now” Symposium for more than 300 attendees. The event, which will occur in Fall of 2017 will bring together the world’s leading medical experts, regulators, and academia. Guests will include members of the public, regulatory agencies, local, state, and federal officials, and medical experts. The annual summit will be the culmination of prior CSS task force meetings, workshops and presentations with students, teachers, and task force members. In addition to speakers, and arts displays. and science displays by environmental leaders and students at the event, there will award presentations to all student participants. Students will have the opportunity to interact with government officials and regulatory enforcement agencies, and mentorships and apprentice programs will be available. The event will also encourage follow up discussions and lesson plans that encourage working toward solving environmental issues in their communities and beyond.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction, Environmental Restoration, Environmental Compliance Promotion, Enforcement Enhancement

Estimated Cost: $12,000

7. Community Health Awareness – Del Amo Action Committee

Project Summary: People living in EJ communities experience anxiety. They experience a lower quality of life because they co-exist with industrial facilities, freeways and rail yards. They live in circumstances they don’t have the knowledge to understand. Our Health Awareness program will aid in increasing their knowledge and enabling them to do more to protect their communities and their health. Materials created under the three community modules will be developed in partnership with Cal State Dominguez Hills and public health experts DAAC trusts. They will be available for use in all environmental justice communities. Health Fair: The fair would mark the opening of a neighborhood park. The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust is creating the park. DAAC and community members are helping to plan the park. Because the park will be created on property where homes were removed and people were relocated great care is being taken to insure that the park is safe. The fair will be a celebration for the Del Amo community. Health Seminars: The second module is a series of community selected health education seminars. The Chair of the Del Amo Action Committee (former DTSC EJ program coordinator) helped to organize a highly successful set of seminars on topics selected by community organizations in the City of Maywood. Similar seminars are planned for the Del Amo Community. They could be funded individually or as a set of programs. Toxicology Training: We strongly believe that the proposal under this module will be useful to community members and to the government representatives they work with. In the early 90’s the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) provided the Del Amo Community with an education program on toxicology. DAAC will complete a more accessible training and present it in the Del Amo community.

Project Category: Public Health, Environmental Restoration Enhancement, Emergency Planning and Preparedness

Estimated Cost: $60,000 total ($20,000 per)

8. Toxic Crusaders – Community Initiatives FBO California Safe Schools

Project Summary: “Toxic Crusaders” is a pre-existing flagship program of DTSC that was originally developed to introduce students in grades 9-12 to careers at DTSC, such as industrial hygienists, hazardous substances engineers, research and environmental scientists, and public participation specialists. Students in this STEM program have the extraordinary advantage of gaining knowledge about how real-world problems are addressed through a comprehensive science-based curriculum. The 6-week program includes the unique opportunity to use field and laboratory equipment and experience techniques under the supervision of DTSC experts at the laboratory in Pasadena, California. Students discover how products are analyzed for toxic chemicals and how scientific evidence is used to shift manufacturing processes to safer alternatives. Students can use the information to effectively engage and educate their peers and communities to make informed choices. Importantly, the program has inspired many students to pursue a career in government environmental agencies such as DTSC.

Project Category: Other (Public Education)

Estimated Cost: $100,000

1. Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons-Asian Health Services FBO CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative

Project Summary: To reduce the exposure of vulnerable nail salon workers to harmful chemicals, Asian Health Services proposes to work in partnership with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative to implement “Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons.”

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention

Estimated Cost: $50,000

1. Sacramento Health Coalition – California School Based Health Alliance

Project Summary: The California School-Based Health Alliance (CSHA) aims to improve the health and academic success of children and youth by advancing health services in schools. We have an established policy presence in Sacramento and are frequently turned to as experienced experts on starting and running effective school-based health centers. We provide training, technical assistance, and policy advocacy to support best practices and emerging innovations with the potential to strengthen child and youth outcomes and well-being. This project will use SEP funds to bring together school districts and community health providers to support new health services in schools in the greater Sacramento County area, including Rancho Cordova, City of Sacramento and Elk Grove. CSHA has an established relationship with both Folsom Cordova Unified School District and Sacramento Unified School District, as well as multiple health providers in the area, including Elica Health Centers and Sacramento Native American Health (both currently provide health services in schools). CSHA will use the Student Health Index (SHI) to help prioritize school sites with the most need for SBHCs.

Project Category: Hazardous Waste

Estimated Cost: $300,000-$1,000,000

2. Keep Rancho Cordova Beautiful – Keep California Beautiful

Project Summary: Keep California Beautiful (KCB) partners with communities to create locally-based programs to eliminate litter, reduce waste, and beautify their environment. The funding of the project for the initial two years will allow KCB to directly engage and provide staffing support for local board development and training and recruitment. Funding also covers initial NGO startup costs, directly fund the equivalent to three staff, and full program development and implementation including building the localized network in the City of Rancho Cordova and developing sustainably funding capacity for the program to become stand alone. KCB, its sponsors and partners, and a growing network of affiliates, assist new communities to partner with their civic leaders, businesses and residents; taking action to engage, energize, and educate others to care for their communities. Communities can use the structured process to define their concerns and the related environmental issues of air and water pollution, solid waste and hazardous waste handling, including pesticides. They may also identify educational needs for pollution prevention, promoting alternatives, or issues surrounding blight including litter, illegal dumping, graffiti, abandoned lots and buildings. By providing direct assistance to convene community stakeholders to develop a local affiliate program the community can realize synergies in leveraging in-kind donations networking, training and research, and recognition of achievements.

Project Category: Assessments and Audits, Environmental Restoration, Hazardous Waste Reduction, Other (Public Education)

Estimated Cost: $400,000

3. American River Basin Stewardship Program (Rancho Cordova) – Keep California Beautiful

Project Summary: This project includes expansion and ongoing implementation of the American River Basin Stewardship and Citizen Science Program, including the use of citizen science for quarterly data collection and cleanup programs. A major project component includes technical support and maintenance of decision support tool that includes data collected by citizen scientists utilizing an app designed using ArcGIS software that has customizable features including 1-4 spatial trash assessment, identification, maps based on different options, photos, and description of source of trash. Training support and in field assistance is provided for community members. The City of Rancho Cordova and community members have piloted the program at two community locations, the Cordova Park Neighborhood and Lincoln Village Drive during a grant funded pilot phase in 2021-2022. If funding is available, the project will continue and expand to include up to up to 6 total sites within the City of Rancho Cordova. This tool informs decisions made by partner agencies and the community; for example, environmental nongovernment organizations could use the tool to identify priority areas for future volunteer cleanup efforts (hot spots with large amounts of trash identified by the tool), local government waste management departments could use the tool to track where and what types of trash exist within their service area and then redistribute resources (such as additional trash cans or more frequent trash pickup) in response and local government water quality/stormwater departments could use the tool to identify potential water quality areas of concern and install preventative infrastructure such as sewer screens or filters. The education component of the project provides outreach is proper disposal of solid and hazardous waste commonly found during data collection and cleanups, including pesticides and safer alternatives.

Project Category: Environmental Compliance Promotion, Assessments and Audits, Environmental Restoration, Hazardous Waste Reduction, Other (Public Education)

Estimated Cost: $300,000

4. Keep California Beautiful Youth Ambassadors (Rancho Cordova) – Keep California Beautiful

Project Summary: The purpose of the project is identifying a school within the Folsom Cordova Unified School District and work to improve the condition of a high school campus and its surrounding community streets and nearby creeks by implementing a “Litter Free” Places program. This will be accomplished by utilizing Keep California Beautiful Youth Initiatives Programs to broaden the activities of the school’s current “Green Team” to include a program that measures changes in the amount of litter on the school campus and surrounding public places and implements strategies to reduce litter. Funds would help cover costs to establish the program on the campus/public space including litter audit tools, data collection, trash/recycling receptacles; promotional costs, clean-up supplies including durable/reusable items for future cleanup events, and volunteers’ incentives. This project will provide an opportunity for student action which connects to their local community as well as to state and national initiatives. 

Project Category: Environmental Compliance Promotion, Assessments and Audits, Environmental Restoration, Hazardous Waste Reduction, Other (Public Education)

Estimated Cost: $135,000

1. Household Lead Assessment and Remediation in Westside National City – Environmental Health Coalition

Project Summary: Westside National City is the most disadvantaged community in the City of National City – itself the poorest city of San Diego County. The census tract that contains Westside ranks at the 90th percentile in CalEPA’s screening model for cumulative impacts, CalEnviroScreen. The area contains housing that dates to the early 1900’s, along with many autobody and repair shops and miscellaneous industry. An environmental remediation project is in the planning phase for soil in an unvegetated area west of Paradise Creek; the soil contains lead, other metals, and PCBs widely distributed throughout the site, which will be redeveloped into a park and community garden for this park-poor community. The soil remediation will also include paving of a block of Harding Avenue which is currently unpaved and fronts a number of homes. However, the project will not include any assessment or remediation of contaminants in these homes, which seem likely to have high levels of dust and lead. We propose to assess the levels of lead in house dust in these homes, before and, if possible, after the soil remediation. Homes that are found to have elevated levels of lead would be offered lead remediation and Healthy Homes services (further remediation of dust and moisture). We also want to offer lead assessment and remediation services to a small number of the other homes on the Westside; virtually all homes are older than 1978 and may contain lead. The project can be scaled to a larger or smaller number of homes, depending on the funding available. The cost per home is $12,750, a total that includes lead assessment, lead remediation, Healthy Homes remediation, lead clearance, outreach and education, and 10% for administration.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction

Estimated Cost: $12,750 per household

1. Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons-Asian Health Services FBO CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative

Project Summary: To reduce the exposure of vulnerable nail salon workers to harmful chemicals, Asian Health Services proposes to work in partnership with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative to implement “Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons.”

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention

Estimated Cost: $50,000

2. Bayview Hunters Point Environmental Justice Response Task Force Project – Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice

Project Summary: The Bayview Hunters Point Environmental Justice Response Task Force is a multi-stakeholder problem solving collaboration that reduces pollution by strategically addressing complex, multi-jurisdictional environmental issues that pervade the Bayview Hunters Point community in San Francisco, California. The Task Force is part of the statewide IVAN (Identifying Violations Affecting Neighborhoods) network and brings together local, regional, state and federal government agencies, businesses, and community members to collaboratively address pollution issues, empower residents, conserve resources, and solve environmental problems with real-life consequences. We seek resources to increase the Task Force’s scope and effectiveness in preventing and reducing environmental pollution impacts in this low-income community, primarily of people of color. Since 2015, the Task Force and its easy reporting tools have fostered a problem-solving collaborative process that has addressed more than 135 community-reported complaints. We propose to elevate the civic engagement and on-the-ground, successful pollution reduction aspects of the Task Force and share this successful model, by:

1. Increasing Task Force effectiveness in reducing and preventing pollution and ensuring environmental compliance and enforcement. We will increase Task Force participation and pollution complaint reporting by 20-25% and achieve a 25% improvement in response time to complaints through increased staffing, coordination, and outreach;
2. Engaging youth in the Task Force by grooming 6 youth leaders through an intensive Youth Leadership Academy. Youth will also attend two Task Force meetings and develop plans for future youth outreach;
3. Conducting community outreach to inform residents how to file complaints about illegal dumping of solid and hazardous wastes, illegal diesel vehicle idling, and particulate and dust emissions – and conducting special Task Force work sessions on these community concerns.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction, Environmental Compliance Promotion, Enforcement Enhancement

Estimated Cost: Please contact us for additional details.

1. Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons-Asian Health Services FBO CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative

Project Summary: To reduce the exposure of vulnerable nail salon workers to harmful chemicals, Asian Health Services proposes to work in partnership with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative to implement “Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons.”

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention

Estimated Cost: $50,000

1. Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons-Asian Health Services FBO CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative

Project Summary: To reduce the exposure of vulnerable nail salon workers to harmful chemicals, Asian Health Services proposes to work in partnership with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative to implement “Healthy Workers, Healthy Nail Salons”.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention

Estimated Cost: $50,000

1. California Compliance School for Hazardous Waste Generator: 1 Day Course – California Compliance School/Kern Community College District

Project Summary: The goal of the (California Compliance School) CCS hazardous waste generator one-day training is to educate businesses that generate a hazardous waste. CCS conducts “Performance-based” training, in which students learn the skills needed for business operations. CCS classes are kept small (20-25) to afford time for student questions to be answered, and for small-group timed exercises. CCS offers instruction only by experienced instructors. The CCS class will cover the common generator violations- leaks, lids and labels. Topics covered are; why compliance is needed and is your waste hazardous or not, on-site hazardous waste management requirements, accumulation time/vol. limits, container and tank requirements, Hazardous Waste Manifests and labels preparedness, prevention, training generator on-site audits.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Assessments and Audits, Environmental Compliance Promotion

Estimated Cost: $2,000-$4,000

2. California Compliance School for Hazardous Waste Generator: 3 Day Course – California Compliance School/Kern Community College District

Project Summary: The goal of the (California Compliance School) CCS hazardous waste generator three-day training is to educate businesses that generate hazardous waste. CCS conducts “Performance-based” training, in which students learn the skills needed for business operations. This keeps businesses in compliance, maintains our communities’ health by reducing improper hazardous waste management and exposure, saves money through waste reduction, and protects our water and valuable resources. CCS classes are kept small (20-25) to afford time for student questions to be answered, and for small-group timed exercises. CCS offers instruction only by experienced instructors.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Assessments and Audits, Environmental Compliance Promotion

Estimated Cost: $10,000-$12,000

3. California Compliance School for Hazardous Waste Transporters: California Compliance School/Kern Community College District

Project Summary: The goal of the (California Compliance School) CCS hazardous waste transporter training is to educate businesses that transport hazardous waste. CCS conducts “Performance-based” training, in which students learn the skills needed for business and transportation operations. This keeps hazardous waste transporting businesses in compliance, maintains our communities’ health by reducing improper hazardous waste management and exposure, and protects our water and valuable resources by ensuring the wastes are transported to the correct destinations. CCS classes are kept small (20-25) to afford time for student questions to be answered, and for small-group timed exercises. CCS offers instruction only by experienced instructors.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Assessments and Audits, Environmental Compliance Promotion

Estimated Cost: Up to $53,000

4. Commercial Waste Reduction – California Product Stewardship Council

Project Summary: Despite state mandates requiring waste diversion and special handling of universal and hazardous wastes, many cities, counties, special districts and other agencies find it difficult to comply due to resource constraints and lack of expertise. The absence of convenient and affordable diversion opportunities leads residents to improperly flush such wastes, pour them down the drain, dispose of in storm drains, or even dump them by the roadside. Mitigating such damage is far more expensive than providing proper disposal options. The California Product Stewardship Council has a long and successful track record of developing and implementing safe, convenient and affordable waste diversion and disposal programs for California cities and counties. Successful programs have addressed such problematic products as carpet, mattresses, batteries, fluorescent lamps, paint, pharmaceuticals, sharps, mercury thermostats and more. CPSC experts will assess the needs of the designated agency and recommend options for consideration, with carefully numerated costs and environmental outcomes. Programs can be designed on scales ranging from the needs of a small town to large, multi-agency programs serving numerous cities and counties or even statewide. Available services include assessment and analysis, development of relevant local ordinances, fostering connections with existing diversion programs and stakeholders, and implementation of new programs and public education campaigns, depending on needs and available resources.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction, Assessments and Audits, Environmental Compliance Promotion, Enforcement Enhancement

Estimated Cost: $10,000-$100,000

5. Pharmaceutical & Sharps Collection & Promotion – California Product Stewardship Council

Project Summary: The purpose is to increase the safe collection and disposal of medications and sharps to reduce potential for poisonings and abuse and prevent environmental contamination. California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) has a long record of success assisting governments, hospitals and others in setting up medicine and sharps collection programs that comply with the complex regulations governing these products, and most importantly, collect large amounts. To date, CPSC has established 40 medicine collection bins in California that have collected over 7 tons of medications since 2014. With our expertise and network, we will recruit new collection locations and conduct public education campaign(s) resulting in increased awareness and thereby collections through a variety of media best suited for the region. Public education will emphasize: 1) the negative impacts of improper storage and disposal such as flushing; and 2) where and how to properly dispose of meds and sharps. CPSC will work to overcome the disparity disadvantaged communities face in regards to this issue, providing focused outreach and educational methods and materials that address multi-language messaging, and outreach to low income community centers, community health clinic offices, religious entities, etc. We will also organize one-day collection events to increase the number of disposal opportunities for meds and sharps and increase awareness about proper disposal. We will work with public officials and other aligned organizations to champion this cause, emphasizing increased awareness in disadvantaged communities. Success will be measured by the number of new locations collecting, the amount of medicines and sharps collected, reductions in the number of sanitation workers stuck, and performance of media outreach by impressions, likes, shares, and other tracking tools.

Project Category: Public Health, Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction

Estimated Cost: $7,000-$100,000

6. Refuel Your Fun Campaign Promotion – California Product Stewardship Council

Project Summary: The purpose is to help push a paradigm shift from disposable 1lb propane gas cylinders to refillable for 10 years, which greatly reduces GHG emissions, waste generation, costs to manage, and fires from improperly disposed gas cylinders in trash and recycling streams. The cost of a disposable 1lb cylinder at 80% for the package and 20% for the gas is extremely inefficient for packaging. Everyone is used to refilling 5lb BBQ tanks and it should be easy to convert people to using refillable 1lb cylinders if we can make it convenient by recruiting enough retailers to sell and refill them in California. That takes time, education, and promotion. We have gone from zero retailers in CA in 2014 to almost 200 but we want to make selling and refilling them the norm by 2020 in hopes we can push disposables out of the market for good. We will recruit retailers to sell, refill and/or exchange the 1lb propane gas cylinders, promote those locations to the public through a variety of media best suited for the area and vendors, and even promote safe disposal and collection of the used cylinders by purchasing and distributing safe collection receptacles for high use areas such as parks and marinas. We also want to do one-day exchanges where we give people a refillable 1lb propane cylinder in return for 2 or more disposables, which we will properly dispose of. We can keep track of progress by the increase of number of retailers selling, refilling or exchanging, the number of refillables given away at exchanges and disposables collected at the exchange events and receptacles, and will track performance of media by impressions, likes, shares, and other media tracking tools.

Project Category: Pollution Prevention, Pollution/Hazardous Waste Reduction

Estimated Cost: $5,000-$100,000

7. Improving Mercury Thermostat Collection to Protect Disadvantaged Communities-Product Stewardship Institute

Project Summary:  In an effort to reduce the impact of mercury-containing products on the environment and public health, PSI will develop and implement a pilot incentive and outreach project in three disadvantaged California communities. This initiative will supplement the mercury thermostat Consent Order signed earlier this year by thermostat manufacturers and DTSC by:  focusing on disadvantaged communities; testing a retail financial incentive; and amplifying current outreach efforts. Multi-family housing and commercial/industrial property managers, contractors, homeowners, and retail collection sites will earn financial incentives ($5/thermostat returned) for collecting mercury thermostats for proper disposal.

Project Category: Pollution Prevention, Environmental Compliance Promotion

Estimated Cost: $75,000

8. Safely Managing Fluorescent Lamps to Protect Disadvantaged Communities-Product Stewardship Institute

Project Summary:  This project will mitigate the environmental and public health impacts of mercury throughout commercial properties in disadvantaged communities by, increasing awareness of California’s law and proper fluorescent lamp management practices; increasing capacity to collect and recycle fluorescent lamps; and increasing fluorescent lamp recycling.

Project Category: Pollution Prevention, Environmental Compliance Promotion

Estimated Cost: $100,000

9. Environmental Enforcement Training-Western States Project

Project Summary: The project provides 2 trainings in California annually that DTSC and CUPA staff attend:

1. Introduction to Criminal Environmental Enforcement. This is a 3 day basic environmental investigation course designed to give participants a basic understanding and working knowledge of the process and requirements for successful environmental crimes investigations. Attending this course may qualify as a prerequisite for the Advanced Environmental Crimes Training Program.
2. Introduction to Environmental Enforcement. This 3 day course is scenario-driven and introduces regulatory inspectors and attorneys to administrative, civil, and criminal environmental enforcement options, strategies and processes from the initiation of an inspection to the conclusion of a case.

Project Category: Enforcement Enhancement

Estimated Cost: $5,000/training