Encouraging Cooperation, Coordination and Education of Environmental Crime Investigations

Our Purpose

The California Hazardous Materials Investigators Association (CHMIA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit and public benefit corporation, was established in 1985 by state and local law enforcement and other regulatory agency representatives who saw a benefit in sharing information on environmental crimes and the enforcement thereof.

CHMIA’s purpose and overall mission is to:

  • Encourage the cooperation and coordination of environmental crime investigations conducted by law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state and local level.
  • Facilitate and promote educational programs related to environmental laws and regulations; environmental enforcement; and environmental crime investigations.

Member Qualifications

REGULAR MEMBERS of this Corporation include and are limited to:
Peace Officers; Environmental Regulators and Investigators; Public Health Officers; Hazardous Materials Technicians and Hazardous Materials Specialists of a Public Health Agency, Environmental Health Agency, or Fire Department; Environmental Prosecutors and Circuit Prosecutors; and other government employees whose duties are related to the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations and who are employed by the Federal Government, the State of California, the Counties and Municipal Subdivisions of the State of California or, of any other State.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS of this Corporation include and are limited to:
Persons in some branch of law enforcement or, some closely allied pursuit, who actively participate in criminal detection, apprehension and prosecution; and whose occupation or profession causes them to have contact with and/or coordinate with Regular Members of this Corporation in the performance of their duties. Associate Members shall also include former Members who retire honorably from employment and whose continued Membership is desirable to this Corporation. Associate Memberships must be reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors on an annual basis.

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AGENCY ADMINS of this Corporation include and are limited to:
AGENCY ADMINS are restricted for Agency Administrators, Agency Training Coordinators, and Agency Administrative Secretaries whose job duties include maintaining memberships for their agency employees and/or registering their agency employees for the annual training conference. Agency Admins are permitted to submit BULK MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION requests, BULK MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS, BULK EVENT REGISTRATION, and bulk payments related to those categories. Agency Admin accounts are not subject to annual membership dues and therefore are not allowed to attend the annual training conference nor do they have membership voting powers. If you are a REGULAR member whose job duties also include submitting bulk registration and bulk payment for training events and/or membership renewals (i.e., Agency Training Coordinators and/or Administrative Secretaries), you must use a different email address to create your free Agency Admin account. Regular members cannot register for a free Agency Admin User Account under the same email address associated with their paid membership user account. Please note that CHMIA reserves the right to verify the status of all Agency Admin users at any time to ensure they meet eligibility requirements. Click here to request Agency Admin account.

Request AGENCY ADMIN Account

Training Activities

  • CHMIA hosts an Annual Training Conference for which “Total Conference Scholarships” are available to qualified members only. See CHMIA’s Scholarship & Tuition Reimbursement Policy or, contact info@chmia.com for more details. NOTE: You must be logged into the Members Only area of the website in order to access CHMIA’s policies and other membership-related forms and guidance. 

  • CHMIA’s Regional Directors are responsible for coordinating and hosting at least two Regional Trainings per year in their designated CHMIA Region. CHMIA members are encouraged to submit training requests to their designated Regional Director for consideration. For a list of REGIONS and REGIONAL DIRECTORS, go to the BOARD page.

  • CHMIA provides Tuition Reimbursement to qualified members to cover the cost of tuition for non-CHMIA sponsored trainings events, such as the Western States Project (WSP), the CUPA Conference and the Continuing Challenge Workshop. See CHMIA’s Scholarship & Tuition Reimbursement Policy or, contact info@chmia.com for more details. NOTE: You must be logged into the Members Only area of the website in order to access CHMIA’s policies and other membership-related forms and guidance. 

  • CHMIA participates with federal, state and local agencies in the development, coordination and delivery of environmental enforcement training for law enforcement, regulators, and emergency response personnel.
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