RESOURCES

Meeting Procedures

General Meeting Rules

The Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region (Regional Board) and staff welcome information on issues and matters within the Regional Board’s jurisdiction, but comments and submittals at the meeting should be concise and directed to specifics of the item under discussion to enable the Regional Board to be fully informed and take appropriate action.

Persons wishing to speak at the meeting are asked to complete an attendance card and provide it to staff. Although filling out the attendance card is voluntary, we do appreciate receiving a card from all persons in attendance.

Any person planning to make a presentation to the Regional Board that requires the use of visual aids (such as overheads, slides, or video projector) should contact the assigned staff person to make arrangements before the meeting date in order to avoid unnecessary delays during the meeting.

All interested persons may speak at the Regional Board meeting, and are expected to orally summarize their written submittals. Testimony should be presented in writing prior to the meeting and only a summary of pertinent points presented orally. Oral testimony (i.e., direct testimony or comment, as well as cross examination and closing statements) will be limited in time by the Board Chair (typically, for direct testimony, no more than 10 minutes for designated parties and 3 minutes for other interested parties). A timer may be used and speakers are expected to honor the time limits. Oral testimony must be relevant. Where speakers can be grouped by affiliation or interest, such groups will be expected to select a spokesperson and not be repetitive.

Any person may submit comments in writing on any agenda item. Written comments shall not be read into the record unless allowed by the Regional Board Chair. Persons who want to submit written comments, testimony, or evidence on any agenda item must provide such written documents to the Regional Board office in advance of the meeting, which must be by the date and time specified in the applicable Notice of Public Hearing or Meeting. Comments received by the noticed deadline will be included in the administrative record before the Regional Board. Staff may provide responses to comments. Written testimony or comments or evidence submitted after the noticed deadline will not be accepted and will not be incorporated into the administrative record. This rule may be modified at the discretion of the Regional Board Chair, for example, where a party demonstrates that application of the rule would create severe hardship, or where doing so would not prejudice any party. Written materials or other documents submitted at the Regional Board meeting must be provided first to Regional Board counsel who will advise the Regional Board regarding acceptance into the record.

Procedure For Uncontested (Consent) Agenda Items (see also 23 CCR 647.2(f))

Uncontested or consent agenda items are items for which there appears to be no controversy and which can be acted upon by the Regional Board with no discussion. Such items have been properly noticed and all interested parties consent to the staff recommendation. The Regional Board Chair will recognize late revisions submitted by staff and will then call for a motion and vote by the Regional Board.

If any Regional Board member or member of the public raises a question or issue regarding the item that requires Regional Board discussion, the item may be removed from the consent calendar and considered in its numerical order on the agenda, or in an order determined by the Regional Board Chair. Anyone wishing to contest a consent item on the agenda is expected to appear in person at the Regional Board meeting and explain to the Regional Board the reason the item is contested.

Procedure For Information Items (see also 23 CCR 649 et.seq.)

Information items are items presented to the Regional Board for discussion only and for which no Regional Board action or vote normally is taken. The Regional Board usually will hear only a presentation by staff, but comments by interested persons shall also be allowed. Members of the public wishing to address the Regional Board on the topic under discussion should submit an attendance card beforehand indicating their request to speak to the Regional Board. Comment from the public should be for clarification or to add to the Regional Board’s understanding of the item; such comment must not be testimonial in nature or argumentative, as speakers are not under oath and the proceeding is not adversarial. Time limits may be imposed on interested persons.

Procedure For Contested Agenda Items

Contested agenda items are items to which the parties involved have not consented and the staff recommendation is in dispute. The procedure that applies to such items depends on the nature of the matter. Matters before the Regional Board may be quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial (adjudicative proceedings). Such items may require a public hearing and all interested persons will be provided an opportunity to make comments. Contested agenda items that are adjudicative, not quasi legislative, are governed by the rules for adjudicative proceedings. SWRCB regulations setting forth the procedures for adjudicative proceedings before the SWRCB and RWQCB are codified in Title 23 California Code of Regulations Division 3. Adjudicative proceedings before the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the nine regional water quality control boards (RWQCB) are governed by SWRCB regulations as authorized by chapter 4.5 of the Administrative Procedure Act (commencing with section 11400 of the Government Code). SWRCB regulations further provide that, with certain exceptions, adjudicative proceedings will be conducted in accordance with sections 800-805 of the Evidence Code and section 11513 of Chapter 5 of the Government Code. (Other provisions of chapter 5 do not apply to adjudicative proceedings before the SWRCB and RWQCB). A copy of those regulations and chapter 4.5 of the Administrative Procedure Act, section 11513 of the Government Code, and sections 801-805 of the Evidence Code can be found at www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_laws/index.html#adjudicative.

An adjudicative proceeding is a hearing to receive evidence for determination of facts pursuant to which the SWRCB or a RWQCB formulates and issues a decision. A decision determines a legal right, duty, privilege, immunity, or other legal interest of a particular person or persons. Examples of adjudicative proceedings include hearings to receive evidence concerning the issuance of waste discharge requirements or National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits; concerning decisions or orders on water right applications, petitions or complaints; concerning cease and desist orders; and concerning orders setting administrative civil liability. Adjudicative hearings are not conducted according to the technical rules of evidence, and the Regional Board will accept any evidence or testimony that is reasonably relevant. The Notice of Public Hearing will set for the process for the hearing.

When the hearing is formal (as opposed to informal), participants in contested agenda items are either “designated parties” or other “interested persons”. Only designated parties will have the right to cross-examination, and may be subject to cross-examination. Interested persons— i.e., nondesignated parties — do not have a right to cross-examination, but may ask the Regional Board to clarify testimony. Interested persons may also be asked to clarify their testimony at the discretion of the Regional Board.

The designated parties include:

Staff of the Regional Board
Discharger or Responsible Party
Persons directly affected by the discharge

All other persons wishing to testify or provide comments for a formal hearing item are “interested persons” and not “designated parties”. Such interested persons may request status as a designated party for purposes of the formal hearing by submitting such request in writing to the Regional Board no later than the date specified in the Notice of Public Hearing. The request must explain the basis for status as a designated party and, in particular, how the person is directly affected by the discharge.

All persons testifying must state their name, address, affiliation, and whether they have taken the oath before testifying.

The order of testimony for formal hearings generally will be as follows, unless modified by the Regional Board Chair:

Testimony and cross-examination of Regional Board staff
Testimony and cross-examination of discharger
Testimony and cross-examination of other designated parties
Testimony of interested persons
Closing statement by designated parties other than discharger
Closing statement by discharger
Closing statement by staff
Recommendation by Executive Officer (as appropriate)
Close hearing
Deliberation and voting by Regional Board

Closing statements shall be for the purpose of summarization and rebuttal, and are not to be used to introduce new evidence or testimony, or to restate direct testimony. After considering evidence, testimony, and comments, the Regional Board may choose to adopt an order regarding a proposed agenda item. All Regional Board files, exhibits, and agenda material pertaining to items on the agenda are made a part of the record. Persons wishing to introduce item exhibits (i.e., maps, charts, photographs) must leave them with the Regional Board's Assistant Executive Officer. Photographs or slides of large exhibits are acceptable.

Quasi-legislative matters include rulemaking and some informational proceedings. These matters may include hearings for the adoption or amendment of regulations; water quality control plans or state policy for water quality control and hearings to gather information to assist the SWRCB and RWQCB in formulating policy for future action. They are not adjudicative proceedings and are subject to different procedures. (See Procedures For Information Items , above, and Cal. Code Regs., title 23, § 649 et. seq.)

Any person affected adversely by certain actions or failures to act of the Regional Board may petition the SWRCB according to California Water Code section 13320 and Title 23 California Code of Regulations section 2050 et seq. The petition should be addressed to the Office of Chief Counsel at the SWRCB and must be filed within 30 days of the action of, or the failure to act by, either the Regional Board or the Executive Officer of the Board. The SWRCB must receive the petition within 30 days of the date of the Regional Board meeting at which the action or failure to act occurred. Copies of the law and regulations applicable for filing petitions (and cited above) will be provided upon request and are available at www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_laws/.

Any questions or comments regarding these procedures may be directed to Kiran Lanfranchi-Rizzardi, Executive Assistant, at 11020 Sun Center Drive, #200 Rancho Cordova, CA 95670 phone (916) 464-4839 or e-mail:
klanfranchi-rizzardi@waterboards.ca.gov