LEA Equipment Loan Program

CalRecycle developed the LEA Equipment Loan Program to support LEA equipment needs and to fulfill the requirements of the Public Resources Code (PRC), Section 43217, which states:

“The board shall provide ongoing training, technical assistance, and guidance to enforcement agencies to assist in their decision-making processes.”

This assistance includes “a program for loaning technical and scientific equipment, to the extent that funds are available to CalRecycle to purchase that equipment.”

Additionally, the program was developed to support LEAs whose financial or technical resources limit their ability to obtain and operate instrumentation and other technical and scientific equipment. The specific goals of this loan program are to:

• Provide a reliable supply of calibrated instrumentation and other technical and scientific equipment for loan to LEAs.
• Provide training and technical support to LEAs.
• Encourage LEAs to adopt and use similar equipment.
• Ensure all loaned equipment meets acceptable levels of quality control and quality assurance.
• Reduce cost by centralizing maintenance and repair for field equipment.
• Increase support and cooperation between CalRecycle and LEAs for field activities.

The loan program is available to all LEAs certified or partially certified by CalRecycle. CalRecycle and the LEAs shall have the following responsibilities:

CalRecycle Responsibilities

• Control, maintain, and issue loaned equipment designated in this program.
• Ensure that all loaned equipment meets acceptable levels of quality control and quality assurance.
• Ship loaned equipment to LEAs.
• Perform limited maintenance on LEA-owned instruments.
• Provide training in the use of loaned equipment.

LEA Responsibilities

• Use loaned equipment only for CalRecycle-related field activities.
• Care for all loaned equipment.
• Return loaned equipment in a timely manner for maintenance and calibration.
• Not loan CalRecycle-owned equipment to a third party.
• Pay for all damages, loss, and lost parts of any loaned equipment while in their possession.
• Pay return shipping costs of the loaned equipment and to retain responsibility for the safe return shipment of the loaned equipment.
• Participate in training as needed to support the use of such equipment.
• Notify CalRecycle’s Equipment Loan Program of any loss/damage/malfunction as soon as possible.

Instrumentation must be properly maintained and calibrated so that it meets acceptable levels of quality control and quality assurance to provide accurate measurements. To ensure this, the maintenance, repair, and calibration of LEA owned instruments is provided free of cost through a factory service certified provider covered under the Program’s repair contract.

Under the service contract, maintenance, repair, and calibration service can include:

• Sensor replacement
• Calibration
• Minor repairs
• Equipment loan during instrument servicing
• Consultation for troubleshooting and interpretation of instrument readings

Instrument repair on LEA-owned instruments may be limited to $400 per instrument with an $800 per LEA maximum. More extensive repairs can be provided at the discretion of the LEA Equipment Loan Program. LEAs will be provided with an assessment of the needed repair or maintenance and the estimated date for return prior to any servicing, repair, or maintenance.

CalRecycle staff has made shipping and receiving instruments convenient for LEAs. Equipment will either be shipped directly, or the LEA can arrange to pick it up. Take a moment to read and understand the following procedures:

Receiving:

• Inspect the package for external damage, and then open it carefully so that shipping materials can be reused.
• Inspect contents against the content list to make sure everything is there. Check identification numbers carefully to ensure that numbers match (case & instrument). If the carrying case/shipping case is damaged or missing components, immediately notify both the carrier and the LEA Equipment Loan Program Coordinator to begin the claim procedure.
• Contact the Program when the shipment has been received and inspected so that it can be logged.
• Save the original shipping container in a safe place-you’ll need it to return the equipment to CalRecycle.
• Check out each instrument’s functioning prior to use. The LEA Equipment Loan Program can answer questions.

Shipping to CalRecycle:

• Inspect items to be shipped to ensure that shipment is complete. Be sure to use the correct shipping materials.
• Select a Carrier-Either UPS, Federal Express, or another private carrier may be used.
• Provide insurance: The LEA is responsible for each instrument/equipment that it ships to CalRecycle.

For purposes of obtaining insurance, please check with the LEA Equipment Loan Program to approximate the cost of replacing the instrument/equipment. Maintenance of a shipping log with all receipts is recommended in case of loss or theft while in transit. Pack instrument/equipment carefully in original shipping materials and ship to:

CalRecycle
Attn: LEA Equipment Loan–Marc Arico
1001 I Street, MS 10A-15
Sacramento, CA 95814

Our staff is available to assist and provide technical support. Please e-mail us at healthandsafety@calrecycle.ca.gov.

Training can be scheduled one-on-one or as a group at no cost to the LEA. Sample topics we can cover a range from:

• theory,
• operation,
• repair,
• calibration of sampling devices,
• hands on instrument training,
• collecting monitoring results and how to report
• and interpret the sampling data.

Remember, information sharing is a vital component of the Program.
Instructional videos are available for specific equipment, as noted.

Instrument Videos and Resources

• RKI Eagle
• GEM 5000