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

Environmental Health and Quality

2023-24 Adopted Budget $63.9M

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.

• Protect groundwater quality by reviewing approx. 750 septic system design layouts, conducting 874 installation inspections, and issue 296 water well construction and deconstruction permits $3.4M
  

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

• Housing Support: Permit and inspect 187 mobilehome and recreational vehicle parks in unincorporated areas to ensure safe and livable conditions $0.5M
• Housing Support: Permit and inspect approximately 1,976 housing sites, including 74,132 apartment and hotel units to ensure safe housing $0.4M

• Housing Support: Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Septic Fee Waivers $0.4M
• Non Profit Organizations and Veterans Permit Fee Waivers $0.4M
• Charitable Feeding Fee Waivers $0.1M

• Permit over 14,000 hazardous material facilities and perform more than 6,400 inspections to ensure hazardous materials are properly managed and provide outreach $14.0M
• For Hazardous Incident Response Team (HIRT) to provide emergency response to 472 incidents $2.2M
• Conduct 479 solid waste inspections at 60 active permitted solid waste facilities, transfer stations and 52 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 $3.1M

• 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
  
• Monitor and treat as needed over 1,600 known mosquito breeding sites $15.0M
• Test water quality at 45 beaches/sites and provide faster same-day results $1.6M
• Inspect over 15,700 food facilities including food trucks for safety, 530 temporary events, conduct 1,200 compliant investigations and 520 foodborne illness investigations $15.0M