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SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS PROGRAM <br />This survey form is intended to identify businesses which need to comply with the hazardous materials emergency planning and <br />reporting requirements of Chapter 6.95 of the California Health and Safety Code. This statute requires businesses which handle <br />hazardous materials to prepare emergency plans for their employees' use in an emergency. Businesses must submit a copy of this <br />plan, along with an annual inventory of their hazardous materials, to public safety agencies for use in protecting emergency responders <br />and the public. In San Joaquin County, the Office of Emergency Services (OES) has been designated to administer this program. <br />Should you have any questions on this program or this form, please call that office at (209) 953-6200. <br />Please consider the following guidelines when completing the questions on the front of this form. <br />uestion 1: <br />The law defines "hazardous material" for purposes of this program as any material that, because of its quantity, concentration, or <br />physical or chemical characteristics, poses a significant present or potential hazard to human health and safety or to the environment if <br />released into the work place or the environment. This includes, but is not limited to fuels, petroleum products, paints, propane, <br />oxygen, ammonia, chlorine, pesticides, fertilizers, and hazardous wastes. Answer "Yes" if you use a material that meets that <br />definition in any quantity at least once in the year. If you are unsure, contact our office at (209) 953-6200 for assistance. If you <br />answer "No" and at a later date your business, or a tenant on your property, begins handling hazardous materials, you must inform the <br />Office of Emergency Services within 30 days. <br />Ouestion 2: <br />If you answer "Yes", you must meet the requirements of Chapter 6.95 of the California Health and Safety Code. Our office will be <br />contacting you to provide assistance. These requirements must be met prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy. If you answer <br />"No", our office may conduct an inspection after you begin operations to verify your exemption. <br />The statutes establish some modified requirements or program exemptions for certain uses of hazardous materials. If you answered <br />"Yes" to questions 1 and 2, determine whether your business meets one of the following conditions. Then mark the appropriate boxes <br />on the front of this form. Our office will contact you to make a final determination of these exemptions. <br />A. Retail Exemption - Products packaged for direct distribution to the general public are exempt from the program. <br />This exemption may not apply if 1) the quantiy handled creates an unacceptable public hazard, 2) the material is <br />being used directly by the business as part of its operations in addition to being sold to the general public, or 3) the <br />general public does not have ready access to the product as it is stored by the business, i.e., in a warehouse. <br />B. Farm Exemption - Farms, as defined in the question, must meet modified program requirements. The definition of <br />farm in the law does not include businesses providing commercial pest control services, fertilizer application <br />services, product processing services, or packing shed services for farmers. Farms qualifying for the exemption are <br />still required to submit an annual chemical inventory and fee to the County Agricultural Commissioner's <br />Department along with other requirements. Please contact the County Agricultural Commissioner's Department for <br />further information. Businesses operating a commercial business in addition to a farm as defined must comply with <br />the HMMP program for those materials associated with the commercial business. <br />Ouestions 3: <br />The Federal and State governments have defined approximately 366 chemicals as "Acutely Hazardous Materials" (AHM). The most <br />common "AHMs" used in the County include chlorine, ammonia, sulfuric acid, methyl bromide, acrolein, sulfur dioxide, . <br />formaldehyde, nitric acid, vinyl acetate monomer, hydrogen peroxide, and many types of pesticides. Answer "Yes" if you use any of <br />these specific chemicals in any quantity at any one time of the year. Call our office if you are unsure for assistance. <br />Question 4: <br />Answer "Yes" if the boundary of your property or facility will be within 1,000 feet of the boundary of a school (K thru 12). <br />