SR 06:209 - Laserfiche WebLink

The Union Pacific / Southern Pacific and Western Pacific Railroads conduct rail operations in the Pleasanton Planning Area. Cargoes of electronics, fabricated metals, plastics, precision machinery, agricultural chemicals, construction materials, rock/ sand/gravel aggregates, and other hazardous materials are also shipped over the rail lines. A spill of bulk hazardous materials could result in fire, explosion, toxic cloud, or direct contamination of people and property. The effects may involve a local site or many square miles. Health problems may be inunediate, such as corrosive effects on skin and lungs, or may be eventual, such as the development of cancer from a carcinogen. Damage to property could range from inunediate destruction by explosion to permanent contamination by a persistent hazardous substance. The 1-580 corridor affords a large amount of truck movement from the Bay Area to the Central Valley. At its eastern end, it connects to Interstate 5, the major north-south route through California, and at its west end, Interstate 80, the major east-west route through Northern California. The weigh station operated by the California Highway Patrol at Vasco Road reports that, on a month-by-month basis, an average of 25,000 trucks pass through that facility. About eight percent of those trucks, or 2,000 trucks per month, display hazardous materials placards. Assuming each vehicle had an average load weight of 35,000 pounds that would convert to approximately 35,000 tons of placarded material a month moving through the 1-580 corridor. Regulatory Agencies A range of federal, State, and local agencies heavily regulate hazardous materials in Pleasanton. One of the primary hazardous materials regulatory agencies is the California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). DTSC is authorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce and implement federal hazardous materials laws and regulations, which are equally stringent or less stringent then State hazardous materials laws and regulations. DTSC has responsibility for oversight of Annual Work Plan sites (commonly known as State Superfund sites), sites designated as having the greatest potential to affect human health and the environment. The Hazardous Materials Division of the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department (LPFD) has primary responsibility for enforcing most regulations pertaining to hazardous materials in the City of Pleasanton. To better serve these needs, the LPFD has been cerrified by California EP A to be a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUP A) which is charged with administrating six environmental regulatory programs locally. The LPFD also acts as first responder to hazardous materials incidents within the city and fields a hazardous materials response team which can handle moderate chemical emergencies. The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department maintains a Hazardous Materials Area Plan. This Plan satisfies the requirements of Health and Safety Code Division 20, Chapter 6.95, Article 1 and serves as the PublH: Safety 082~. dean V-24 City Council 8/29/2006