TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Joe DeFrancesco, Interim Public Works Director
Gilbert Gamboa, City Engineer
Sean Roberts, Field Operations Manager
Nicky Petroff, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Downtown Hazardous Spill Emergency Response Report (Unbudgeted) (Interim Public Works Director DeFrancesco).
RECEIVE AND FILE
Body
_________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file this report regarding the May 20, 2026, downtown hazardous spill emergency response.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The emergency hazardous spill response and cleanup effort has resulted in costs associated with hazardous material containment, roadway treatment, environmental mitigation, traffic control, waste disposal, and emergency response operations.
The City currently maintains an on-call Professional Services Agreement with Hunter Consulting, Inc., dba HCI Environmental & Engineering Services (“HCI”), with an existing contract authority of $74,900. At this time, staff have not received final invoices for the emergency response and cleanup operations, and as a result, they are unable to assess the overall financial impact of the incident. In the event the services performed by HCI exceeds the remaining funds in the contract, staff will seek ratification from the Council at a future meeting.
Staff will continue to monitor incident-related costs and seek cost recovery from the owner of the commercial vehicle, the business from which the cooking oil originated, or their respective insurance carriers.
BACKGROUND:
On May 20, 2026, two 55-gallon drums of used cooking oil detached from a commercial vehicle and ruptured in the downtown Manhattan Beach area, releasing a substantial quantity of oil onto public roadways. The spill created an immediate hazardous condition impacting roadway safety, pedestrian access, traffic circulation, and potential environmental resources, including nearby storm drain infrastructure and coastal waters.
The incident required immediate response and temporary roadway closures along portions of Manhattan Avenue, 12th Street, and Ocean Drive. The Police and Fire Departments coordinated the overall incident response while the Public Works Department led the containment and cleanup operations.
Due to the immediate threat to public health, safety, property, and the environment, the City activated HCI under the City’s existing on-call hazardous waste removal agreement to provide emergency response services, including containment, absorbent application, roadway cleaning, hazardous waste removal, environmental mitigation, and related cleanup activities.
DISCUSSION:
The emergency hazardous spill response required immediate action to safeguard public health, safety, property, essential public services, and environmental resources. The used cooking oil created hazardous roadway conditions, including significant traction hazards for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. It posed a potential threat to the City’s storm drain system and nearby coastal waters. As a result, immediate emergency response actions and specialized cleanup services were necessary to contain and mitigate the incident.
To facilitate emergency response efforts, the Interim Public Works Director requested authorization from the City Manager on May 20, 2026, to proceed with emergency response actions and incur expenditures associated with the hazardous spill incident pursuant to the authority delegated by the City Council to the City Manager pursuant to State law, the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code, and Council Resolution No. 12-6422. Resolution No. 12-6422, adopted by the City Council on December 4, 2012, delegates authority to the City Manager to take action in emergencies. Public Contract Code § 1102 defines the term “emergency”:
“’Emergency,’ as used in this code, means a sudden, unexpected occurrence that poses a clear and imminent danger, requiring immediate action to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, property, or essential public services.”
The City Manager authorized the emergency response actions via email on May 20, 2026.
The City currently maintains an on-call Professional Services Agreement with HCI for hazardous waste removal and related emergency response services, with contract authority of $74,900. Due to the scale of the incident and ongoing cleanup requirements, the total response costs may exceed the existing contract authority. However, final invoices and associated costs have not yet been received.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
The City issued a Major Incident Notification regarding the hazardous spill response, associated roadway closures, and traffic impacts, and published this report in full compliance with applicable law, including the Brown Act, and in accordance with the City’s Sunshine Policy.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the project qualifies for the statutory exemption for Emergency Projects pursuant to Section 15269 of the State CEQA Guidelines because the emergency response actions are necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency involving hazardous roadway conditions and potential environmental impacts. Thus, no further environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 12-6422
2. Major Incident Notification dated May 20, 2026
3. Email Authorization from the City Manager dated May 20, 2026