CSPA is a party in numerous water rights hearings in California. Much of your donation to CSPA goes to staff time before and during hearings. It also pays legal fees for attorneys who appear in these hearings. CSPA staff work with the attorneys to develop arguments. CSPA staff also testify as witnesses in water rights hearings and conduct cross-examination on technical and factual issues.
Here is a brief guide to understanding more about the process of a water rights hearing and how CSPA staff and attorneys work within the process.
In California, a water rights hearing is a formal process. Such a hearing takes place before the State Water Resources Control Board (the Board) or before the Board’s Administrative Hearings Office (AHO). There are three types of water rights hearings:
- Informational
As in the California legislature, an informational hearing is utilized to gather information about the subject of the hearing. Such hearings are usually conducted because legislators are considering new legislation or changes in legislation.
- Rulemaking
A new state regulation or a change in state regulation has been proposed. The hearing covers the proposed action and the concerns of parties that object to it.
- Evidentiary hearings
Parties present evidence and arguments related to a dispute. An evidentiary hearing may conclude with a trial.
This discussion largely centers on evidentiary hearings. Evidentiary water rights hearings are quasi-judicial adjudicative proceedings. This means the hearing is overseen by an administrative or executive officer who assumes the position that would be filled by a judge. In the past, a Board member was appointed to conduct each evidentiary hearing. Since 2019, this function has been delegated to the Administrative Hearings Office. An impartial AHO hearing officer conducts each hearing. The hearing officers end hearings by issuing draft orders or submitting proposed orders for consideration by the Board. There are six different types of evidentiary hearings, including applications and petitions, enforcement and reconsideration.
Before a hearing takes place on an application for a new water right or a petition to change an existing water right, these steps are usually followed:
1. Water rights application or petition. A party submits an application or petition regarding a project, like the Sites Reservoir.
2. Protest, meaning a formal entry of opposition to the application or petition. There can be multiple protestants of an application or petition. CSPA frequently acts as a protestant of proposed water projects, along with partner organizations such as Friends of the River and San Francisco Baykeeper.
3. Protest resolution discussions. The party proposing the project and the protestants engage in discussions to determine whether they can resolve outstanding disputes. Such discussions can result in settlements. These are essentially agreements. They are not like settlements in legal actions that involve the payment of a fee to parties voicing a concern.
4. Pre-hearing conference. The parties appear before the AHO to share what has happened until this point. They relate their goals and what they want to occur.
5. Hearing
Please let the CSPA team know whether you have questions about the steps that precede a water rights hearing by emailing Jessica at jessica@calsport.org. Our next article on hearings will cover the steps in an evidentiary hearing. Thank you for reading, your input and your donations.