Environmental Health & Quality

2022-23 Budget

Protecting the environment and enhancing public health by preventing disease, promoting environmental responsibility and, when necessary, enforcing environmental and public health laws.

Budget in Millions

Staff

$60.4M	FY 22-23	333

9.6 %	change from FY 21-22	6.4 %

DEHQ inspects restaurants, markets, and food vendors to prevent foodborne illness, conducts mosquito surveillance and control to help reduce mosquito-borne diseases, inspects businesses to ensure hazardous materials and waste are properly managed, and ensure water is safe for public recreation by collecting water samples at beaches and bays and inform the public when there is a health risk if recreating in the water.

Tackling the Climate Crisis

$0.1M

Reduce Greenhouse gas emissions (fleet and solar) - EV conversions $0.1M

Implement departmental sustainability plans

Implement teleworking and alternate work schedules

Protecting Natural Resources

$2.0M

Protect groundwater quality by reviewing approx. 645 septic system design layouts and issue 303 water well construction and deconstruction permits $2.0M

Create shelter (safety & affordability):

Permit and inspect 187 mobilehome and recreational vehicle parks in unincorporated areas to ensure safe and livable conditions $0.4M

Permit and inspect approximately 1,980 housing sites, including 73,314 apartment and hotel units to ensure safe & healthy housing $0.4M

Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Septic Fee Waivers $0.3M

Provide charitable feeding fee waivers to promote safe food donation to underserved communities and improve food security in the region $0.1M

Inspect over 15,000 food facilities including food trucks and 800 temporary events for safety, conduct average 1,800 complaint and foodborne illness investigations and 700 foodborne illness investigations $15.8M

Test water quality at 45 beaches/sites and provide faster same-day results to protect public health and mitigate potential occurrences of recreational water illness $1.3M

Provide non-profit organizations and veterans permit fee waivers to help support non-profit and community organization compliance with State laws and ensure food safety $0.4M

Empowering & Improving Lives

$0.9M

Train employees on equity, diversity, and inclusion topics $0.5M

Use data to understand and track community needs (Community Needs Assessments) $0.1M

New staff to advance cutting edge policies through collaboration, research and monitoring industry trends and best practices $0.3M

Connecting & Involving More People

$0.5M

Involve the community in our programs through meetings and online options $0.3M

Translate information into eight languages $0.2M

Consumer Confidence and Economic Opportunity

Consumers & Economic Opportunity

$0.2M

Permit and educate applicants on Micro Enterprise Home Kitchens operations $0.2M

Protecting Health

$35.3M

Permit over 14,200 hazardous material facilities and perform more than 7,500 inspections to ensure hazardous materials are properly managed and

provide outreach $13.8M

For Hazardous Incident Response Team (HIRT) to provide emergency response to 400 incidents $2.0M

Collect over 187 tons of household hazardous waste from residents of the unincorporated area $1.2M

Monitor and treat as needed over 1,600 known mosquito breeding sites $13.6M

Conduct 482 solid waste inspections at 61 active permitted solid waste facilities, transfer stations and 54 closed landfills or burn sites to ensure health and safety to surrounding communities $1.2M

Inspect over 4,200 public swimming pool sites to reduce potential for pool drowning or experiencing recreational water illness $2.3M

Conduct over 460 inspections of facilities with radioactive materials/x-ray machines to ensure the safety of the public, workers, and the environment $1.2M