Public Comment BOS Agenda Item 5.7 (Continuation of Local Emergency: Robin Lane Sewer Spill)
I am a resident directly impacted by the 2026 Robin Lane sewer spill. While I support continuation of the local emergency, I am concerned that local response alone is no longer sufficient to address the scope, duration, and unresolved uncertainties of this incident.
Many residents remain unable to confidently use their well water for normal household purposes. There is still no clearly published endpoint for when the emergency will be considered resolved, no unified criteria for determining long term water safety, and limited public access to raw testing data and methodology. Communication has been fragmented across agencies, leaving residents to interpret critical health and infrastructure information on their own.
Given the scale of the release, the duration of the failure, the reliance on private wells, and the potential for delayed groundwater impacts, I respectfully urge the Board to formally engage state level oversight and independent review. This should include coordination with appropriate state regulatory and public health agencies to ensure that monitoring, risk assessment, and mitigation meet statewide standards and that accountability is not confined to local jurisdiction.
Continuation of the local emergency should be paired with transparent long term monitoring plans, clear criteria for closure, and a comprehensive final incident report that is publicly accessible. Until residents can rely on consistent, independently reviewed assurances of safety, escalation beyond the local level is both reasonable and necessary.
Thank you for ensuring these concerns are entered into the public record.
Regarding the Robin Lane sewer spill and the ongoing impacts that began January 11, 2026, I have the following questions:
1. Has escalation to state-level emergency or public health oversight been formally requested or initiated beyond local and county response, including review by Cal OES or the State Water Resources Control Board? If so, on what date, and what actions were taken?
2. If state escalation has not occurred, what specific criteria were determined not to have been met, given the prolonged loss of access to safe drinking water for residents and ongoing public health advisories?
3. Under California Health and Safety Code provisions affirming the right to safe and potable water, how is a “reasonable" duration without safe drinking water defined when conditions persist for weeks rather than days?
4. At what point does a prolonged sewage release and groundwater contamination transition from an acute incident to an ongoing public health condition requiring independent oversight?
5. What agency is responsible for determining whether local response capacity has been exceeded, and what documentation supports that determination in this case?
6. If state escalation has occurred and residents still remain without access to potable water, at what point is federal escalation (specifically FEMA assistance) considered appropriate? Has this option been discussed or evaluated, and if so, why has it not been pursued to date, given that conditions are approaching one month in duration?
7. Have any independent assessments been conducted to evaluate response adequacy, infrastructure failure, or compliance with applicable public health standards? If so, please provide references to those findings.
8. Were any inter-agency agreements or determinations made regarding responsibility or risk management when the incident transitioned to Joint Command on January 26, 2026?
Public Comment BOS Agenda Item 5.7 (Continuation of Local Emergency: Robin Lane Sewer Spill)
I am a resident directly impacted by the 2026 Robin Lane sewer spill. While I support continuation of the local emergency, I am concerned that local response alone is no longer sufficient to address the scope, duration, and unresolved uncertainties of this incident.
Many residents remain unable to confidently use their well water for normal household purposes. There is still no clearly published endpoint for when the emergency will be considered resolved, no unified criteria for determining long term water safety, and limited public access to raw testing data and methodology. Communication has been fragmented across agencies, leaving residents to interpret critical health and infrastructure information on their own.
Given the scale of the release, the duration of the failure, the reliance on private wells, and the potential for delayed groundwater impacts, I respectfully urge the Board to formally engage state level oversight and independent review. This should include coordination with appropriate state regulatory and public health agencies to ensure that monitoring, risk assessment, and mitigation meet statewide standards and that accountability is not confined to local jurisdiction.
Continuation of the local emergency should be paired with transparent long term monitoring plans, clear criteria for closure, and a comprehensive final incident report that is publicly accessible. Until residents can rely on consistent, independently reviewed assurances of safety, escalation beyond the local level is both reasonable and necessary.
Thank you for ensuring these concerns are entered into the public record.
Regarding the Robin Lane sewer spill and the ongoing impacts that began January 11, 2026, I have the following questions:
1. Has escalation to state-level emergency or public health oversight been formally requested or initiated beyond local and county response, including review by Cal OES or the State Water Resources Control Board? If so, on what date, and what actions were taken?
2. If state escalation has not occurred, what specific criteria were determined not to have been met, given the prolonged loss of access to safe drinking water for residents and ongoing public health advisories?
3. Under California Health and Safety Code provisions affirming the right to safe and potable water, how is a “reasonable" duration without safe drinking water defined when conditions persist for weeks rather than days?
4. At what point does a prolonged sewage release and groundwater contamination transition from an acute incident to an ongoing public health condition requiring independent oversight?
5. What agency is responsible for determining whether local response capacity has been exceeded, and what documentation supports that determination in this case?
6. If state escalation has occurred and residents still remain without access to potable water, at what point is federal escalation (specifically FEMA assistance) considered appropriate? Has this option been discussed or evaluated, and if so, why has it not been pursued to date, given that conditions are approaching one month in duration?
7. Have any independent assessments been conducted to evaluate response adequacy, infrastructure failure, or compliance with applicable public health standards? If so, please provide references to those findings.
8. Were any inter-agency agreements or determinations made regarding responsibility or risk management when the incident transitioned to Joint Command on January 26, 2026?