Annual HMBP Submission Automation - Compliance Made Easier

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

Assembly Bill 2286, effective on January 1, 2013, brought a new challenge to Certified Unified Program Agencies throughout the state, including the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health, Hazardous Materials Management Branch. The Bill required all regulated Hazardous Materials facilities to submit Hazardous Materials Business Plans electronically, for annual certification, to the statewide information management system known as the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). For a more efficient method of verifying compliance with the statute, the Riverside County Hazardous Materials Branch managers and Information Technology staff worked diligently to create, test and refine an automation package that would perform virtually all of the necessary components with very minimal user interaction. Months of testing and double checking of results led to the confidence of an effective system that began in June 2017. The automated submission system has resulted in cost savings to the Department without increasing staff workloads, and most importantly, it is producing results in the form of facility compliance with the Hazardous Materials Business Plan statute. The Department looks forward to the continued benefits of the successful new system.