PFAS, Pipeline Dangers, and Missing Commissioners Define Hazmat Meeting

The Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commission's Operations Committee met March 13 with just four of its members present — the bare minimum to conduct business — and spent two hours cataloging the environmental and safety threats bearing down on refinery-corridor communities. From PFAS-contaminated wastewater to unregulated lithium batteries appearing in backyards, the session doubled as a planning exercise and a frank admission that the commission's own structural problems may undermine its ability to act.

• Rodeo wastewater PFAS levels hit three times the regional average, possibly linked to firefighting foam used during the 2019 NuStar tank farm explosion

• Commissioners cite deadly Mississippi CO2 pipeline leak as they question State Fire Marshal preparedness for local carbon capture projects

• Unregulated home lithium battery kits are being installed in California neighborhoods with no permits, inspections, or safety framework

• Last year's public forum drew almost no residents; commissioners plan a barbecue at the IBEW hall and grassroots city council blitz to rebuild attendance

• Martinez mayor's letter documents 32 unanswered odor complaints and communication failures during a recent refinery incident

• ConFire merger raises alarm: the fire district does not respond to refinery fires, and Phillips 66 no longer maintains its own fire department

Why it matters: PFAS — toxic "forever chemicals" linked to cancer and immune disorders — are showing up at alarming levels in the wastewater system serving a community that sits in the shadow of a major refinery complex, and no enforceable discharge limit exists.