DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LOCATION

N/A

DISCUSSION

Resolution 97-O27 delegates authority from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to the Executive Director.

The attached draft resolution restates this delegation and adds an additional delegation to the Executive Director.

This new delegation would authorize the Executive Director to formulate and issue a decision or order by settlement of the parties pursuant to Government Code section 11415.60. Adjudicative proceedings before the SWRCB are governed by SWRCB regulations and chapter 4.5 of the Administrative Procedure Act (commencing with Government Code section 11400). Section 11415.60 allows an agency, including the SWRCB, to issue a decision by settlement of the parties without conducting an adjudicative proceeding. The settlement may be on any terms the parties deem appropriate so long as the settlement does not violate any state or federal laws. The settlement may be made before or after issuance of an agency pleading, except that in an adjudicative proceeding to determine whether an occupational license should be revoked, suspended, limited or conditioned, a settlement may not be made before issuance of the agency pleading. A settlement may be made before, during, or after the hearing.

For administrative efficiency it is advisable to delegate to the Executive Director the authority to issue a decision by settlement of the parties. This authority is within the scope of the existing delegation to the Executive Director to conduct and supervise the day-to-day activities of the SWRCB. For purposes of clarity, however, it is best to specify that the Executive Director has authority so as to avoid any question as to whether the Executive Director may approve a decision by settlement of a matter that has been the subject of an evidentiary hearing before a Board member or members.

SWRCB regulations found in Title 23, California Code of Regulations, section 2065 provide that for petitions challenging an action or inaction of a Regional Water Quality Control Board filed under Title 23, section 2050 informal disposition by stipulation, agreed settlement, consent or default cannot become effective until acted upon by the SWRCB in a public meeting. Therefore, the proposed delegation to the Executive Director exempts petitions filed under section 2050 from its provisions.

POLICY ISSUE

Should the SWRCB adopt the proposed resolution?

FISCAL IMPACT

These activities are budgeted under the SWRCB’s activities. No additional fiscal impact should occur.

RWQCB IMPACT

None.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION

The SWRCB should adopt the proposed resolution.

D R A F T                                              April 23, 1999

WHEREAS:

1. The Executive Director is the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB or Board) exempt employee pursuant to California Constitution article 7, section 4(e).
2. The Board is authorized to delegate authority to the Executive Director to conduct and supervise the day-to-day activities of the Board.

1. The Executive Director of the SWRCB is delegated the authority to conduct and supervise the day-to-day activities of the SWRCB.
2. Such day-to-day activities include, but are not limited to, noticing Board meetings and hearings, management of the staff, meeting with other agency officials, implementation of the Board's policies and regulations, meeting with Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) Executive Officers, approval of 205(j)(2) project final products and 205(j)(2) grant closures, and the actions identified in 6 through 11, below.
3. The Executive Director may further delegate his functions, in writing, as the Executive Director deems appropriate.
4. The SWRCB may revoke in whole or in part any specific or implied delegation to the Executive Director.
5. Except as provided in 6 below, the Executive Director is specifically precluded from taking the following actions:

• adopting regulations,
• adopting state policy for water quality control,
• adopting or approving water quality control plans or plan amendments,
• any action pursuant to Water Code section 13320, subdivision (c) finding that an RWQCB action was inappropriate or improper, or
• application to the Attorney General for judicial enforcement, except in cases of specific delegation or requiring immediate action.

6. The Executive Director is delegated the authority to issue a final written determination on an appeal filed by a project applicant, under Public Resources Code section 71035.6, subdivision (e)(3).
7. The Executive Director may issue a decision or order by settlement of the parties under Government Code section 11415.60 except for petitions filed under Title 23, California Code of Regulations, section 2050.
8. The Executive Director may set aside an SWRCB decision or order, in whole or in part, as commanded by a peremptory writ of mandate issued to the SWRCB.
9. The Executive Director may amend, modify, rescind, or revoke any permit, waste discharge requirements, decision, or order if an appellate court opinion published in the official reports establishes that the Board has a ministerial duty to do so.
10. The Executive Director, after consultation with the Board Chairperson, may select the hearing officer for hearings and investigations covered under Water Code section 183.
11. Board Resolutions 70-2, 75-14, 79-14, 90-15, and 97-027 are revoked.

The undersigned, Administrative Assistant to the Board, does hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true, and correct copy of a resolution duly and regularly adopted at a meeting of the State Water Resources Control Board held on May 20, 1999.

Maureen Marché
Administrative Assistant to the Board