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Community and advocacy groups tell lawmakers DTSC must move faster on Exide, Santa Susana and other toxic sites
Summary
Environmental justice advocates and community members told legislators that DTSC must act faster and more transparently on legacy contamination sites, citing Exide and Santa Susana Field Laboratory and urging expanded authority, more accessible engagement and acceptance of independent science.
Environmental justice advocates, local residents and national public-health groups told lawmakers at a joint oversight hearing that, four years after SB 158, DTSC must accelerate cleanup work and incorporate community-led science.
Angela Johnson Mazaros of Earthjustice sharply criticized DTSC's pace: "DTSC it seems has does not share our feeling of the fierce urgency of now," she said, calling long-delayed permitting decisions "institutional failures." Mazaros urged the legislature to use its oversight tools and consider structural changes to force faster action.
Community members gave detailed local testimony. Melissa Bumstead of Parents Against the Santa Susana Field Lab said her community has tracked "more than 80 children" they believe have developed rare cancers near the Santa Susana site and accused DTSC of approving a deal that lets Boeing "leave more than 90% of the contamination in place on-site permanently." Bumstead asked lawmakers to require DTSC to host more frequent, regionally accessible hearings and to create a public portal for independent science so outside researchers can submit peer-reviewed data for consideration.
Other commenters repeated concerns about Exide and past permitting decisions. Scott Andrews of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project urged that metal shredder feedstock and other hazardous industrial byproducts be reconsidered in classification and management. Several environmental-justice organizations asked that the Board of Environmental Safety's advisory and oversight roles be expanded so the board can have more substantive authority to act on community concerns rather than only advisory input.
DTSC leaders acknowledged community frustration and the agency's limited statutory authority on some issues. Director Katie Butler said DTSC has issued imminent-and-substantial-endangerment orders and is using its enforcement tools in high-risk situations such as Chiquita Canyon, and that the department is improving public engagement through local open houses and a newly launched inspection map. Chair Andrew Raikstra said the board has begun performance evaluations and created an Environmental Justice Advisory Council; he expressed commitment to hearing community voices but noted the board lacks direct enforcement powers.
The hearing record captures both the communities' assertions of continuing harm at specific sites and the agency's description of enforcement actions and program improvements. Several members asked DTSC to provide follow-up briefings and come back with concrete steps on how the department will incorporate community data and accelerate implementation of the hazardous waste plan.
