Joint Request Related to Mercury Amendments Apr 20, 2017 Comment Letters Agency: State Water Resources Control Board Subject: Water Association Request for Revised Schedule for Mercury Amendments and New Water Quality Beneficial Uses Letter excerpt: ACWA, CWA, and CMUA also respectfully request acceptance of written, rather than solely verbal, comments on the revised provisions of the Final Staff Report and Final Beneficial Uses and Mercury Provisions, particularly given the very limited amount of time that was originally available to review, analyze, and prepare written comments on the January 4 Draft Staff Report. Allowing only oral comments and prohibiting additional written comments deprives the State Board of much needed information regarding the very serious impacts of the proposed regulations on provision of quality water, recycled water, and waste water treatment services and operations. Further, the severely compressed public review and comment schedule, and the prohibition of written public comments on the final regulatory documents is so procedurally insufficient that it risks depriving the regulated community of procedural due process. See Cal. Communities Against Toxics v. U.S. E.P.A., 688 F.3d 989, 993 (2012) (noting that the absence of documents in the index “might violate an interested party’s right to meaningfully comment” under the Administrative Procedure Act); see also Naturist Action Committee v. Cal. State Dept. of Parks & Recreation, 175 Cal.App.4th 1244, 1250 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009) (finding that the Department of Parks and Recreation violated the California Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide an opportunity for public comment). Download joint comment letter
