CA COVID-19 wastewater surveillance

State of California - Health and Human Services Agency
Tomas J. Aragon, M.D. Dr. P.H
Director and State Public Health Officer California Department of Public Health Gavin Newsom, Governor




Thank you for contacting the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to obtain public records.
Your Public Records Act (PRA) request dated May 08, 2022, is being processed.  Reference Number P015783-050822 has been assigned for tracking purposes.  Please refer to this reference number for use when accessing the CDPH Public Records Center Portal to monitor the progress of your request.
CDPH strives to answer all requests for public records in as timely a manner as possible.  Under California law, CDPH must respond to your inquiry no later than ten calendar days from receipt of the request to notify you whether records will be disclosed.   Note that some records are exempted from disclosure.  If the requested records are exempt, we will inform you in writing as to why.
The Public Records Act (see Govt. Code §6250 et. seq.) provides that CDPH may extend the response period for up to 14 calendar days should it be necessary to search for records located at off-site facilities or if the request involves a voluminous amount of records.  We will notify you within 10 days of receipt of your request if a 14-day extension is necessary.  If fees are involved, CDPH will need to collect the fees before releasing the records.  However, there is typically no fee for records released electronically through the Public Records Center Portal.
The 10- and 14-day response periods are to allow CDPH time to determine how long it will take to disclose the requested records.  Depending on the number of records requested or other factors, a response may take longer.  CDPH will do its best to provide documents on a rolling basis as they become available and to keep you informed as to the timing and type of records to be released.
Please visit the CDPH Public Records Center Portal to monitor request progress, communicate with CDPH staff processing your request and to submit future requests.
California Department of Public Health

May18, 2022 RE:Public Records Act Request, Reference Number P015783-050822 Dear BetsyLadyzhets, TheCalifornia Department of Public Health (CDPH) received your Public Records Actrequest on May 8, 2022, for the following: 1)Any applications and/or related documents submitted by the CaliforniaDepartment of Public Health to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’sNational Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for funding to conduct COVID-19surveillance in California wastewater/sewersheds. 2)For all sewersheds/wastewater treatment plants that are conducting COVID-19surveillance in the state, all documentation that describes the endpoint ofthat information, e.g. a database, and all documentation about the layout ofthe database’s tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of anyfield names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database. CDPHhas identified records that are potentially responsive to your request. We arein the process of reviewing the records and due to the need to review therecords for any applicable exemptions and/or redactions prior to disclosure,this request will require additional time to process. We will provide you withan update by June 8, 2022. Asa reminder, if your request asks for information subject to the various privacylaws that apply to CDPH records, we will need to redact or withhold records.Some records may be subject to other exemptions under the Public Records Act,such as exemptions for records reflecting attorney work product orattorney-client privileged communications (Evid. Code, § 954), specificexemptions under federal or state law, and records that reveal the deliberativeprocess of the leadership of CDPH (these exemptions are in the Public RecordsAct at Gov. Code, § 6254, subd. (k), and Gov. Code, § 6255). Other exemptionsmay also apply. Wethank you for your patience and look forward to providing you responsivedocuments as quickly as possible. Thankyou.

June9, 2022 RE:Public Records Act Request, Reference Number P015783-050822 Dear BetsyLadyzhets, TheCalifornia Department of Public Health (CDPH) received your Public Records Actrequest on May 8, 2022, for the following: 1)Any applications and/or related documents submitted by the CaliforniaDepartment of Public Health to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’sNational Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for funding to conduct COVID-19surveillance in California wastewater/sewersheds. 2)For all sewersheds/wastewater treatment plants that are conducting COVID-19surveillance in the state, all documentation that describes the endpoint ofthat information, e.g. a database, and all documentation about the layout ofthe database’s tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of anyfield names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database. CDPHhas identified and reviewed records that are responsive to your second request,and they are now ready for you to download. Specifically, CDPH has uploaded alldocumentation in our possession related to the endpoint of wastewater data submittedto the CDC national wastewater surveillance system (NWSS), including datadictionaries, data templates, submission instructions, guides and codes (names)of specific wastewater treatment plants submitting data to the CDC NWSS viaCDPH. CDPHis continuing to identify and review records responsive to your first request.We will provide you with an update by June 22, 2022. As a reminder, CDPH issubject to many privacy laws. As CDPH reviews documents that may be responsiveto your request, we may need to redact or withhold records if your request asksfor information subject to the privacy laws. Some records may be subject toother exemptions under the Public Records Act, such as exemptions for recordsreflecting attorney work product or attorney-client privileged communications(Evid. Code, § 954), specific exemptions under federal or state law, andrecords that reveal the deliberative process of the leadership of CDPH (theseexemptions are in the PRA at Gov. Code, § 6254, subd. (k), and Gov. Code, § 6255;other exemptions may also apply). Wewill provide responsive documents as we are able to identify them and reviewthem. Thankyou, ChloeGuidera

June22, 2022 RE:Public Records Act Request, Reference Number P015783-050822 Dear BetsyLadyzhets, TheCalifornia Department of Public Health (CDPH) received your Public Records Actrequest on May 8, 2022, for the following: 1)Any applications and/or related documents submitted by the CaliforniaDepartment of Public Health to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’sNational Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for funding to conduct COVID-19surveillance in California wastewater/sewersheds. 2)For all sewersheds/wastewater treatment plants that are conducting COVID-19surveillance in the state, all documentation that describes the endpoint ofthat information, e.g. a database, and all documentation about the layout ofthe database’s tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of anyfield names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database. CDPHhas previously released documents responsive to your second request. CDPH iscontinuing to identify and review records responsive to your first request. Wewill provide you with an update by July 6, 2022. As a reminder, CDPH is subjectto many privacy laws. As CDPH reviews documents that may be responsive to yourrequest, we may need to redact or withhold records if your request asks forinformation subject to the privacy laws. Some records may be subject to otherexemptions under the Public Records Act, such as exemptions for recordsreflecting attorney work product or attorney-client privileged communications(Evid. Code, § 954), specific exemptions under federal or state law, andrecords that reveal the deliberative process of the leadership of CDPH (theseexemptions are in the PRA at Gov. Code, § 6254, subd. (k), and Gov. Code, §6255; other exemptions may also apply). Wewill provide responsive documents as we are able to identify them and reviewthem. Thankyou.

June30, 2022 RE:Public Records Act Request, Reference Number P015783-050822 Dear BetsyLadyzhets, TheCalifornia Department of Public Health (CDPH) received your Public Records Actrequest on May 8, 2022, for the following: 1)Any applications and/or related documents submitted by the CaliforniaDepartment of Public Health to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’sNational Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for funding to conduct COVID-19surveillance in California wastewater/sewersheds. 2)For all sewersheds/wastewater treatment plants that are conducting COVID-19surveillance in the state, all documentation that describes the endpoint ofthat information, e.g. a database, and all documentation about the layout ofthe database’s tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of anyfield names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database. CDPHhas identified and reviewed records that are responsive to your first request,and they are now ready for you to download. Thisconcludes your request. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thankyou.
To monitor the progress, update this request, or download responsive records, please log into the Public Records Center. (https://u8387778.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=6HtRfOYLt5fXvpttM-2FU1HQ1R6mDyNr08rZ6Xr876D-2FAqPXFcBVlfxZdsY52OWGxydElcrBJmPTDf-2BFIPimFP1qPiK-2FVBJr7LRSnbyKfu-2BxsjgkrW43qz2J721OMSfO5eMTAy_sM4gmiLvb6OO4EsKApcQdbMKlQrY52gyg44-2BE-2BDUy9Hhq085c0mEej4qxPdJ3-2FW49LB-2Fkwb-2FE35Uuji5t7FboHU0B6ZcFPcYI1UalTDtmCuVVuR0MqihSb60gV4bWIo1KGUcM9fTjJTIRlt-2BYZIvCceHhfNz84zewN2sd4ZM2dOku1ZPVuPYdBTjRS6LuHdtr3ATeANIHc66Pz9-2BhY3SbL1Kd1qKR9Rc-2FdjckK8GuRp06wPG4BLOoVV6jlegpFD-2BVpimjuF4aYHTLw1WUIyzGfJna0poFe6GkOMCCf-2Fg38JuhF3t9x4oRDuZsLUStrJSZqnXDjZvHUdofsVSwQEW2OfCQoScRd1KETF0WK2UtX1RBHRV95yHzpZv2-2BJ394b-2F)