Remotely Participating in San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board Meetings

 Please check this page regularly and again before the board meeting starts as it will be updated with additional information to facilitate the public’s participation in the meeting.

Note: Following Covid-19 protocol, social distancing and masks are strongly encouraged for all in-person attendees to the Water Board meetings.

 You only need to review this page if you want to comment. Watching the webcast remains unchanged. https://cal-span.org/

In-Person Meetings with a Remote Participation Option

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board meeting will occur in person at its customary location in the Elihu Harris auditorium at 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, CA. The public is invited to participate in person or via remote access. Instructions for participating remotely are provided below, including the process for providing oral comments.

Please Note: Masks are strongly recommended in the Elihu Harris building.

The Board asks for patience and cooperation as we work through the transition during this extended pandemic period. While every effort has been made to streamline the experience and conduct meetings in the manner to which our stakeholders have grown accustomed, there may be technical issues and human error. We will attempt to correct any issues that arise as soon as we can.

Individuals who require special accommodations are requested to contact the Clerk to the Board by email at: WB-RB2-SFBayExecSupport.

Board Meetings are open to the Public

You may participate in person by attending the scheduled meeting at the Elihu Harris State Building, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, CA in the first floor auditorium. If you wish to speak during the board meeting, please register before entering the auditorium. Via the online registration process, you will be asked for your name, organization, and the item number you wish to speak on. The registration will be given to the Board Chair and you will be called on to speak during the appropriate time in the meeting. In addition, if you do not wish to attend in person, you may participate remotely through the following process(es).

If you want to watch or listen to the Board meeting remotely

The webcast can be viewed through most web browsers from this page:  https://cal-span.org/.

Individuals who only want to watch or listen should use this option as it preserves interactive meeting resources for those who are commenting on items.

If you want to provide oral comments via remote access to the Board during the meeting

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board will be using a remote meeting service to host the interactive part of the meeting. With the remote participation option, you can either call in or use a computer or mobile device (e.g., mobile phone or tablet) to participate from a remote location.

Guidelines for Orderly Participation for Those Who Want to Comment During the Meeting

• Remote meetings often lack the same visual and social cues available during public, in-person meetings. Please be respectful and patient so all interested commenters can be fairly heard.
• Join the meeting from your remote location a few minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting to ensure you can resolve any technical issues. You will initially be in a virtual waiting room, and will remain there until the start of the meeting.
• You will be muted until it is your turn to speak. While muted, you will be able to hear the Board meeting and can continue watching via the remote meeting service if you have connected from a computer or mobile device.
• Even though you may only wish to comment on one item, the Board encourages you to participate in the entire meeting via the remote meeting service because there are at times brief delays associated with the webcast, and it may not be synchronized with the interactive meeting.
• Regardless of whether you participate via phone, computer, or mobile device, please participate from a quiet environment so that the Board can hear you when you are called upon. If you are using the internet to connect to the meeting, try to ensure you have a good connection or strong signal.
• It is important to avoid creating acoustic feedback. If there are other devices near you that are tuned into the meeting, please make sure that the speaker volume of those devices is turned down when it is your turn to participate.
• The Board Chair will maintain decorum during the meeting as is customary in public meetings, and individuals who are disruptive may be removed from the remote meeting service or have their connection muted.
• Other public commenters will be able to see your name (which is not unusual because commenters already have to identify themselves for the record before speaking), and if you call in, other commenters will see the last three digits of your phone number unless you have called in anonymously.

Joining the Meeting Remotely if You Want to Participate

• The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board will be using the Zoom meeting service to allow remote participation
• Do not use the webcast if you are participating through the Zoom remote service.
• A password is necessary to join the Zoom meeting and instructions for obtaining a password are below.

Participating via Telephone

• The Zoom remote meeting service allows individuals to dial from a list of California phone numbers.
• General information about using a phone to participate in a Zoom meeting is available here.
• When you are asked to comment during the meeting, the meeting organizer will unmute your phone, but you may also need to press *6 on your phone.

If you want to use your phone to provide comments but follow along with the video presentations (e.g., because you do not have or want to use a computer microphone), you can do so, but the computer or mobile device will need to be connected to the Zoom meeting using the steps below for “Participating via Video Conference.” When connecting to the Zoom meeting through a computer or mobile device select the option that you are participating by phone call. The Zoom service will give you a participant number that you can then enter on your phone.

Participating via Remote Meeting Service

• The San Francisco Bay Water Board will be using the Zoom remote meeting service for those who want to provide comments.  Do not use the webcast if you are participating through the Zoom remote service. You only need to use the Zoom service if you want to provide comment.
• You do not need to create a Zoom account to participate in a Water Board meeting. The Meeting ID and password provided by the Water Board are all you will need to join the meeting, but you will need to enter your name so the Board can identify and unmute you from the speaker queue.
• You do not need to install software on your computer to participate. The Zoom service can run within an existing web browser.
• However, downloading the Zoom software may provide a superior meeting experience for you. You can download the Zoom client in advance at: https://zoom.us/download
• Familiarize yourself with the Zoom features here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697

Requesting to Speak (the “Virtual Green Speaker Card”) and Obtaining the Password

Persons speaking at San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board meetings may be accustomed to filling out a green speaker card. To allow for a more orderly process of identifying speakers in advance, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board will use virtual speaker cards. The virtual speaker card will allow the Board Clerk to identify commenters interested in a particular item, locate them within the Zoom meeting waiting list, and unmute them so they can address the Board at the appropriate time.

To request to speak on an item and to receive the meeting ID and password, By noon, 12:00 p.m. on the day before  the Board Meeting you must submit a virtual speaker card by completing the online registration form via the link below. Please be sure to indicate which item number you wish to speak on (item numbers are outlined in the agenda):

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_64nA9Jf4TEWq43Hvz94BHg

After you submit the online registration form, you will receive an email with the Zoom weblink and phone numbers to participate in the meeting. If you do not receive a confirmation email with the Zoom information after filling out the online registration form, contact the Clerk to the Board by email at: WB-RB2-SFBayExecSupport.

If you do not complete the online registration form by the deadline, 12:00 pm the day before the meeting, please do so as soon as you can. You cannot participate in the Zoom meeting until you receive an email from the Board Clerk with the Meeting ID and password. Until you receive the meeting ID and Password, you may view the webcast without speaking at: https://cal-span.org/.