Drought of Appointees Plagues Water Boards

An recent series of 11th-hour appointments by Gov. Gray Davis ensured that the state’s water quality boards will have enough people to hold meetings next month--but just barely, putting the boards that play an increasingly important role in the state in danger of being unable to carry out key functions.

Having room for comfort in case of an unforeseen absence or conflict of interest is a chronic problem with the water boards, which have recently become the guard dogs of water quality enforcement, after years of being criticized as weak and ineffectual.

The domain these water officials must protect is immense, including some of the touchstones of California’s identity: the Pacific Ocean, Lake Tahoe, the Salton Sea, Mono Lake.

Yet incomplete boards are the rule, not the exception.

“From our perspective, it appears the Davis administration has been more deliberate in the appointment process,” said Kurt Berchtold, assistant executive officer for the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. “Maybe that translates into being more thorough. I know all the appointments we’ve gotten have been excellent.”

At least five governor-appointed board members must be present for a meeting, or to vote on an issue. Boards have a capacity of nine members. However, even if members show up, other factors could endanger votes on issues. Ordinarily, board members recuse themselves from a vote if there’s a conflict of interest.

The San Diego board, the North Coast board in Santa Rosa and the Lahontan board in Lake Tahoe have only six members; the Santa Ana board, seven. Only the Central Valley and San Francisco boards are filled to capacity after Davis’ appointments.

Aides say the governor is trying to strike a balance as he appoints members to the unpaid, four-year terms.

“The governor is very aware that the process has caused issues with quorums and boards, and he’s working very hard to act as quickly as he can, while getting quality people on the boards,” said Roger Salazar, a deputy press aide for Davis.

Under Davis, state water officials have taken tough stands against polluters. Cities have been ordered to stop sending urban runoff into waterways, and unprecedented fines for sewage spills have been levied.

“[Davis] has been very deliberate on this process,” Salazar said. “But the results speak for themselves.”

In the past two years, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board in Santa Rosa missed several meetings because of a lack of quorum. Earlier this year, the Santa Ana and Los Angeles boards had to cancel meetings. The San Diego board missed a meeting last year. And the Palm Desert-based Colorado River Basin regional board, responsible for trying to clean up pollution in the Salton Sea and pollution coming from Mexico, missed several meetings last year and this year, as did the board that tries to keep Lake Tahoe sapphire clear.

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Up until last week, the only reason most of the boards still had quorums was because most of the members whose terms expired Sept. 30 agreed to stay for two additional months, said John Robertus, executive officer of the San Diego regional board.

There are other potential problems associated with not having a complete board, water officials said. Diversity of interests and expertise are among them.

“The board is designed to have a range of representation,” Berchtold said. “If you don’t have all the spots filled, you don’t have the full range of viewpoints.”

In addition, some issues require at least five affirmative votes to pass. Some boards would require a nearly unanimous vote to pass an item, greatly reducing room for disagreement. And although board staff can investigate a polluter, in order to collect a fine, a board vote is required.

Board positions do not pay beyond a $100 per meeting stipend, an amount that hasn’t changed in years. The terms last four years, and there can be about 10 meetings a year, daylong affairs that can be tense and emotional.

Board members must read through thick volumes of material and do research because they’ll often delve into issues that are “deep into science,” Robertus said. They vote on punishing environmental violators. They vote on permits for development. They create policy.

The importance of this mission requires much thought before putting a board together, Salazar said.

“It would be easy for the governor to just pick names out of a hat,” he said. “But for him, the priority is to have quality people for these positions.”