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Environmental Health cites staffing shortfalls, SB 445 single-wall tank work and microenterprise kitchen proposal
Summary
Environmental Health briefed the board on core programs, staffing shortages that limit inspections and plan reviews, state requirements to remove single-wall underground storage tanks by 2026, and a forthcoming county decision on whether to opt in to a microenterprise (expanded cottage-food) home-kitchen program.
The county's Environmental Health division described its core public-health programs, urgent staffing needs, and near-term initiatives including SB 445 implementation for single-walled underground storage tanks and a proposed microenterprise home-kitchen option.
Director Marlena Dooley reviewed the division's responsibilities in food safety, recreational health, hazardous materials, water quality and land use. She said that environmental health staff must hold state licensing and that licensing prerequisites and testing narrow the pool of qualified applicants; the department has actively recruited trainees and recent university graduates, and said two staff had completed prerequisites to sit for the state health-inspector exam.
Dooley said the division has 14 staff (including managers and field inspectors) and is actively recruiting for open inspector positions in Ukiah and a senior inspector in Fort Bragg. She emphasized that limited staff capacity constrains inspection coverage: one restaurant inspector was covering coastal inspections at the time of the presentation and the division cannot meet ideal inspection frequency without additional staffing.
The department briefed the board on state law (SB 445) requiring single-wall underground fuel-storage tanks to be removed from service and from the ground by Jan. 1, 2026. Dooley said staff have been notifying site owners, coordinating with the State Water Board and hazardous-material regulation partners, and tracking removals; a county hazmat manager said the county is working with state attorneys to develop an enforcement strategy should facilities refuse to comply.
Environmental Health said it will bring a microenterprise home-kitchen ordinance to the board (to opt in or out of the state-authorized program) in the spring. The microenterprise option expands the cottage-food framework by allowing certain time/temperature-controlled foods produced in domestic kitchens under defined conditions; staff proposed conditions similar to cottage-food rules and reported the item had been discussed in General Government Committee (GGC) outreach.
Dooley also described the division's ocean and freshwater monitoring programs, landfill and closed-site duties, and hazardous-materials oversight; she said the coastal shellfish monitoring and beach sampling program is grant-funded and that staff continue coordination with state agencies on harmful algal bloom and domoic-acid monitoring.
Ending: Environmental Health asked the board to prioritize recruitment and retention steps to restore inspection capacity and said staff will return with the microenterprise home-kitchen opt-in recommendation and updates on single-wall tank compliance as the Jan. 2026 deadline approaches.
