Residents raise safety and traffic concerns over proposed hazardous-waste facility; allege operator DOT violations

Multiple residents used the public-comment period at the Feb. 12 Rio Vista Planning Commission meeting to press city staff for more information and to oppose a proposed hazardous‑waste facility. Speakers asked what hazardous materials would be stored, who would approve the project, and whether the city would require environmental-impact studies.

Kathy Anne Yackel identified herself as a Trilogy resident and said she had come because of a newspaper ad about a hazardous-waste site. She asked what types of hazardous waste would be handled and whether approval would come from the commission or the city council. Staff directed members of the public to the packet from the prior meeting, posted on the city’s website, for detailed application materials and regulatory information.

William Chapman, who said he has 40 years of emergency-response experience, told the commission the closest hazardous-materials response team he knew of is in Vacaville and that response times from there would be unacceptable for a serious spill. "The response from Vacaville is over an hour," he said, adding that a trained local response team is not in place.

Martin Wesley, identifying himself as a managing member of Rio Vista Farms, said the Planning Commission was not given a full picture of the applicant’s compliance history. "If you go to the DOT government web site and search on Costera, you'll actually see over the past 2 years 8 DOT violations," he said, and asked staff to investigate and post records to the city website.

An online commenter urged commissioners to listen to residents who live in Rio Vista and said the community should not become "a dumping ground" for additional truck traffic.

City staff and the chair responded during public comment that the matter had been continued from a prior meeting to allow more community outreach and that detailed information — including application materials and discussions with regulatory bodies — are available in the prior meeting packet on the city's website. Staff said they would follow up with more information and indicated that the final decision rests with the City Council after the commission’s recommendation.

No final decision on the hazardous-waste facility was made at the Feb. 12 meeting; the item remains pending and, according to staff, has been continued for additional outreach and review.