(a) The Office of Emergency Services shall develop the curriculum to be used in classes that meet the program requirements and shall adopt standards and procedures for training instructors at the California Specialized Training Institute.
(b) The curriculum for the training and education program established pursuant to this article shall include all of the following aspects of hazardous substance incident response actions:
(1) First responder training.
(2) On-scene manager training.
(3) Hazardous substance incident response training for management personnel.
(4) Hazardous materials specialist training that equals or exceeds the standards of the National Fire Protection Association.
(5) Environmental monitoring.
(6) Hazardous substance release investigations.
(7) Hazardous substance incident response activities at ports.
(c) The curriculum development advisory committee described in Section 8588.10 shall advise the Office of Emergency Services on the development of course curricula and the standards and procedures specified in subdivision (a). In advising the Office of Emergency Services, the committee shall do the following:
(1) Assist, and cooperate with, representatives of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges in developing the course curricula.
(2) Ensure that the curriculum developed pursuant to this section is accredited by the State Board of Fire Services.
(3) Define equivalent training and experience considered as meeting the initial training requirements as specified in subdivision (a) that existing employees might have already received from actual experience or formal education undertaken, and which would qualify as meeting the requirements established pursuant to this article.
(d) This article does not affect the authority of the State Fire Marshal granted pursuant to Section 13142.4 or 13159 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) Upon completion of instructor training and certification pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 8574.20 by any employee of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol may deem any training programs taught by that employee to be equivalent to any training program meeting the requirements established pursuant to this article.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 115. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018