Hazmat Agreement Amendment Final June 2025 — Visalia City Council, July 21, 2025

1 AMENDMENT AND EXTENSION OF

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN

THE COUNTY OF KINGS

THE COUNTY OF TULARE

CITY OF DINUBA

CITY OF EXETER

CITY OF FARMERSVILLE

CITY OF HANFORD

CITY OF LEMOORE

CITY OF LINDSAY

CITY OF PORTERVILLE

CITY OF TULARE

CITY OF VISALIA

CITY OF WOODLAKE

FOR THE

TULARE-KINGS COUNTY INTERAGENCY

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TEAM

2 INTRODUCTION
This Amendment and Extension of the Memorandum of Understanding for the Tulare-Kings County Interagency Hazardous Materials Team ("Amendment”) is entered into between the original parties to the MOU . The participating parties shall be referred to herein as “Agencies” or may be referred to individually as “Agency” in this Amendment.

The Amendment is for the purpose of extending the current MOU for an additional five-year term, while making amendments to strengthen the cost recovery provisions.

1. EXTENDED TERM OF THE AGREEMENT

The Agencies agree that pursuant to Section 7 of the current MOU permitting the MOU to be extended by a writing signed by all Agencies, the term of the MOU shall be extended for an additional five -year term. The MOU, as modified by this Amendment, shall have an effective date of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2030.

All terms of the MOU shall continue in full force and effect.

2. MODIFICATION TO COST RECOVERY AMONG AGENCIES
Agencies agree that the provision for cost recovery among Agencies in Section 6 of the MOU shall be replaced with the following language:

COST RECOVERY AMONG AGENCIES
The City of Visalia shall coordinate and monitor cost recovery efforts. Each Agency shall provide Visalia with the applicable cost recovery rates for its personnel that serve on the Haz-Mat Team. For purposes of cost recovery, the Agencies shall designate City of Visalia, acting through the VFD, as their agent to seek cost recovery of personnel that responded as part of the Haz-Mat Team.

Within thirty days of a hazardous materials incident each Agency shall provide VFD with a record of all costs of resources, personnel, and equipment, deployed to the hazardous materials incident.

The City of Visalia, as the designated agent under this Agreement, shall collect through cost recovery efforts from the responsible party for the incident under applicable state or local laws permitting cost recovery all amounts expended by the Agencies under this Agreement.

Each Agency shall cooperate with VFD in collection efforts for incidents that occur within their respective jurisdictional boundaries. All cost recovery revenue shall be reimbursed to the Agency that incurred the expense. In is recommended Agencies account for Haz-Mat Team expenses incurred by their respective agency in an account separate from other revenues and expenditures.

3 If the responsible party has not reimbursed the expenses incurred under this Agreement within twelve months, Agencies agree to meet at this juncture to review the circumstances of the incident, the costs incurred, and the recovery efforts to date. Agencies are not obligated to reimburse the other Agencies for any cost recovery fees unless a written agreement exists after the agencies have met and all recovery options have been considered.

Agencies with jurisdictional authority do agree, if it is determined to be the most viable cost recovery option, to collect the funds in a matter they deem appropriated and reimburse the Agencies of this Agreement within the next 12 months.

Agencies agree that VFD, as the lead agency (and primary location for Haz -Mat Team equipment) shall establish an administrative per incident fee of $300.00 that will be applied to reimburse VFD the administrative costs of assembling the specific personnel that will be responding to each specific hazardous material incident. This per incident fee will only apply when the VFD coordinates a response by the Haz-Mat Team to a request for assistance.

3. REVISION TO DUTIES ON TERMINATION
Parties agree that Section 8 – Termination of the MOU shall be replaced with the following:

TERMINATION
A Party to this Agreement may voluntarily terminate participation upon one hundred eighty (180) calendar days written notice to all other Parties.

Parties that are in breach of the terms of this Agreement shall be notified in writing and have ninety (90) calendar days from the date of such notice to comply with the terms of the Agreement or its participation will be terminated.

Agencies agree that if notice of termination is provided prior to October 1, when annual contributions of funds or materials are made, then any required contributions under this Agreement may be prorated based on the applicable termination date. All previously contributed fees, materials and any assets purchased in part of contributed fees shall remain with the remaining agencies comprising the Haz-Mat Team. This provision does not include the credit received by the City of Hanford for the contribution of the 2007 Pierce Hazardous Materials Unit, which has specific terms applicable in Exhibit “A” should the City of Hanford terminate participation under this MOU.

Notwithstanding a Party’s withdrawal or termination, that Agency may continue to receive cost recovery reimbursements as provided under this Agreement for costs incurred while the Agency operated under this Agreement and provided personnel or equipment to a hazardous material incident prior to termination.

4. COUNTERPARTS
This Amendment may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

4 5. NOTICES
The Agencies agree that the Notice section of the MOU shall be modified by this Amendment and a ny notice required to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and sent first-class mail to the following addresses:

COUNTY OF KINGS COUNTY OF TULARE Fire Chief Charlie Norman, Fire Chief 280 Campus Drive 835 S. Akers Street Hanford, CA 93230 Visalia, CA 93277

CITY OF DINUBA CITY OF EXETER Greg Chastain, Fire Chief Jason Ridenour, City Administrator 420 E. Tulare Street 100 N. C Street Dinuba, CA 93230 Exeter, CA 93221

CITY OF FARMERSVILLE CITY OF HANFORD Jim Thomas, Fire Chief Daniel Perkins, Fire Chief 909 W. Visalia Road 350 W. Grangeville Avenue Farmersville, CA 93223 Hanford, CA 93230

CITY OF LEMOORE CITY OF LINDSAY Fire Chief Lindsay Department of Public Safety 711 W. Cinnamon Lane 185 N. Gale Hill Avenue Lemoore, CA 93245 Lindsay, CA 93247

CITY OF PORTERVILLE CITY OF TULARE
Bryan Cogburn, Fire Chief Michael Ott, Fire Chief 980 S. Jaye St. 800 S. Blackstone Ave.

Porterville, CA 93257 Tulare, CA 93230

CITY OF VISALIA CITY OF WOODLAKE Daniel Griswold, Fire Chief Anthony Perez, Fire Chief 420 N. Burke Street 350 N. Valencia Ave.

Visalia, CA 93277 Woodlake, CA 93286

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Agencies have caused this Agreement to be executed by their respective authorized officers. The signatories below are hereby affirming, under penalty of perjury, that they have the requisite authority from governing body of the agency they represent to sign this Agreement and bind the local agency that they represent to the terms of this Agreement.

[Signature pages follow]

5 COUNTY OF KINGS

By: _____________________________
Chairperson, Board of Supervisors

ATTEST:

By: _____________________________
Clerk, Board of Supervisors

Approved as to Form

By: _____________________________
County Counsel

6 COUNTY OF TULARE

By: _____________________________
Chairperson, Board of Supervisors

ATTEST:

By: _____________________________
Clerk, Board of Supervisors

Approved as to Form

By: _____________________________
County Counsel

7 CITY OF DINUBA

By: _____________________________
City Manager

ATTEST:

By: _____________________________
City Clerk

Approved as to Form