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Residents press for answers after hazardous-waste ad; commission says item continued
Summary
At the Feb. 12 Rio Vista Planning Commission meeting, residents raised questions about a proposed hazardous-waste facility—who would respond to spills, what waste would be stored, and allegations about the applicant’s DOT record—while staff said the matter was continued for additional outreach and remains pending.
Residents used the public-comment period at the Feb. 12 Rio Vista Planning Commission meeting to press for more information about a proposed hazardous-waste facility referenced in a newspaper ad.
Kathy Anne Yackel told commissioners an ad about a hazardous-waste site prompted questions about what types of hazardous materials would be at the facility and whether approval would be decided by the planning commission or the city council. Staff directed residents to the prior meeting packet posted on the city website, saying the applicant’s materials — including descriptions of regulated substances and involved regulatory bodies — were part of last month’s agenda packet.
William Chapman said he has experience on emergency-response teams and expressed alarm that the nearest dedicated hazardous-materials response team he could identify is in Vacaville, which he said would be more than an hour away in some cases. "That's not something that would be even close to acceptable for a hazmat response," Chapman said; staff acknowledged the concern and said the fire chief participated in previous discussions.
Martin Wesley, identifying himself as a managing member of Rio Vista Farms, told the commission he reviewed government DOT records and said he found multiple violations associated with the applicant (referred to in public comment as Costera). Wesley said staff and the applicant had previously represented the company as having a clean record; he cited "eight DOT violations" over the past two years in varying severity levels and asked staff to dig into the record and post it online.
The commission and staff did not reach a decision on the matter at the meeting. Staff said the item had been pushed to a later meeting to allow the city to do additional community outreach. The moderator reiterated that no final action has been taken and the item is still pending.
Commissioners encouraged residents to review the prior meeting packet on the city website and said staff would return with additional information; staff specifically noted that the planning commission issues recommendations and the city council makes final land-use decisions.
