Environmental Health received 480 complaints and 40 Hazardous Materials Emergency Response requests in 1998. 80% of these complaints were investigated in 1998 with the remainder still under investigation. The total number of complaints has increased by 25% in the past 5 years. These complaints are filed by type of complaint, and the following sections break these out for 1998:

Land Use Complaints

• The number of land use complaints in Mendocino County have remained relatively steady over the past 5 years at about 275 per year with garbage and sewage complaints representing 60-70% of all complaints in 1994-1998.
• Solid waste complaints are those registered by the public about alleged illegal garbage accumulation and disposal. Since 1994, over 1/3 of land use complaints are related to garbage.

Consumer Protection Complaints

• The total number of complaints filed against food facilities was 95 for 1998, up from the past 4-year average of 76.
• Food-borne illness complaints varied from a high of 48 in 1993, 17 in 1994, 12 in 1995, 22 in 1996, and 23 in 1997. The number of food-borne illness complaints rose to 44 in 1998.
• An outbreak of Shigella in Willits prompted 318 people to report intestinal illness after eating at a local restaurant, 62 of whom tested positive for the Shigella bacteria. A salsa served at the restaurant was epidemiologically linked to the outbreak by the State Department of Health Services, Division of Communicable Disease Control.

Redwood Empire Hazardous Incident Team (REHIT)

• REHIT responded to 40 hazardous materials incidents in 1998. An incident is a spill or improper disposal of an unknown material that is suspected to be a hazardous waste and may represent an environmental or public health hazard. REHIT does not respond to incidents that can be handled by a local fire agency, usually small amounts of a known material that does not pose a serious environmental or public health threat.
• All HazMat (Hazardous Materials) incidents are investigated and some prove to be environmental crimes. An environmental crime is defined as an incident where criminal or civil charges are filed with the District Attorney against the alleged responsible party. 5-6 of these are handled through the DA’s office each year.

Rehit Contact Information:

Address (Ukiah): 501 Low Gap Road, Room 1326
Phone: (707) 463-4466
Address (Ft Bragg): 790 South Franklin Street
Phone: (707) 961-2714

Fee: Cost of recovery to Responsible Party

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