Environmental Health

Hazardous Waste

Site Mitigation Program

The Site Mitigation Program maintains staff that provides oversight of the mitigation (improvement) of contaminated sites in the City and County of San Francisco. These sites include:

1. Sites impacted by leaking underground storage tanks (LOP)
2. Sites being developed in areas of known historical landfill (Maher Program)
3. Sites with known contamination that are being mitigated on a voluntary basis (VCP)

Staff will work with business and property owners, developers, and institutions after they find out their underground storage tanks have leaked or before the sale or development of property.

Prior to the final selection of a site, project developers are recommended to contact the Department of Public Health to review site files @ (415) 252-3962. The type of site files available for review include records of hazardous materials storage and use, underground storage tank information, and site mitigation activities.

Upon the selection of a site, the Department of Public Health will be notified by the Department of Building Inspection or Department of City Planning. There are two routes through which the Department of Public Health will be notified.

The first route is through the Department of Building Inspection. Upon submittal of an application for a permit from the Department of Building Inspection, applicants for projects within designated areas of the City, which will disturb at least 50 cubic yards of soil, are required to contact the Department of Public Health. The applicant is required to conduct an environmental investigation and submit the documents and certifications for review and approval by the Department of Public Health prior to issuance of the permit from the Department of Building Inspection.

 The second route is through the Department of City Planning. City Planning will refer project applicants to the Department of Public Health if it is determined that it is likely that hazardous constituents are present at the site. The applicant is required to conduct an environmental investigation and submit the assessment and mitigation documents and certifications for review and approval by the Department of Public Health.