About Us 

Within the El Segundo Fire Department (ESFD), the Environmental Safety Division oversees the regulation of hazardous materials through a statewide framework called the Unified Program. Under the Unified Program, the Environmental Safety Division is also known as a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA). 

The ESFD CUPA oversees the following programs:

• To protect the community and environment from hazardous conditions.
• To implement the State of California Health and Safety Code (HSC) regulations for all qualifying businesses.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Inspecting businesses/facilities to ensure compliance with state-mandated regulations. 
• Supporting hazardous materials mitigation and response.
• Enforcing regulations when necessary and appropriate.
• Overseeing annual billing and processing of required permits for regulated activities.
• Receiving and responding to Environmental Safety public records requests.
• Providing real-time facility chemical information for emergency responders.
• Providing public outreach and education programs for the community and regulated businesses.
• Providing redevelopment and site cleanup information and support to interested parties.

Prior to 1993, the regulation of hazardous materials in California was spread out across several state and local agencies, sometimes causing redundancy and confusion. In 1993, the State of California established a Unified Program to streamline the regulation of hazardous materials. The Unified Program contains the following programs:

• Hazardous Materials Release Response Plan and Inventory*
• Hazardous Materials Management Plan / Hazardous Materials Inventory Statement*
• Underground Storage Tanks (UST)
• Hazardous Waste Generator and Hazardous Waste Treatment
• Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA), including Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans
• California Accidental Release Prevention (CalARP)

*The first two bullet points are consolidated into the Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP) program. 

The Unified Program has a decentralized operating structure. It delegates the duties of inspections, enforcement, permitting, and payment collection to local municipalities. The representative unit in each municipality is called a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA).

The jurisdiction of a CUPA tends to span over either a county or a city. The City of El Segundo has its own CUPA managed by the El Segundo Fire Department, Environmental Safety Division (“ESFD CUPA”).

For more information on CUPAs, the Unified Program, and hazardous materials, please visit CalEPA's HMBP FAQ webpage. 

Where are the code references for this authority?

The authority for CUPAs to operate is codified in the California Health and Safety Code (HSC) and in the California Code of Regulations (CCR): 

General Authority

HSC, Division 20, Chapter 6.11

HMBP

HSC, Division 20, Chapter 6.95, Article 1

CCR, Title 19, Division 5, Chapter 1

UST

HSC, Division 20, Chapter 6.7

CCR, Title 23, Division 3, Chapter 16

Hazardous Waste

HSC, Division 20, Chapter 6.5

CCR, Title 22, Division 4.5

APSA

HSC, Division 20, Chapter 6.67

CalARP

HSC, Division 20, Chapter 6.95, Article 2

CCR, Title 19, Division 5, Chapter 2

Emergency Alerts

To receive critical notifications for various types of emergencies and events, please visit the City of El Segundo's Emergency Alerts webpage. Example categories of alerts/advisories include:

• Air Quality
• Chevron El Segundo
• Earthquake Warnings
• Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant
• LAX
• Los Angeles County Emergency Notifications
• Scattergood Generating Station (LADWP)
• SoCal Edison, SoCalGas