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Home My WebLink About02252015 Steering Committe Special Meeting February 20, 2015 NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING STEERING COMMITTEE ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT SPECIAL MEETING – 9:30 A.M. Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Administration Building 10844 Ellis Avenue Fountain Valley, California 92708 The SPECIAL Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District will be held at the above location, date and time. STEERING COMMITTEE AND BOARD MEETING DATES March 25, 2015 April 22, 2015 May 27, 2015 June 24, 2015 July 22, 2015 August 26, 2015 September 23, 2015 October 28, 2015 November 18, 2015** December 16, 2015** January 27, 2016 February 24, 2016 **Meeting will be held on the third Wednesday of the month STEERING COMMITTEE (1) Roll Call: Meeting Date: February 25, 2015 Meeting Time: 9:30 a.m. Committee Members Tom Beamish, Board Chair……………………………………………… ____ John Nielsen, Board Vice Chair……………………………………….. ____ John Withers, Administration Committee Chair……………………… ____ Greg Sebourn Operations Committee Chair…………………………… ____ Keith Curry, Member-At-Large………………………………………… ____ Lucille Kring, Member-At-Large………………………………………. ____ David Shawver, Member-At-Large……………………………………… ____ Others Katherine Jenson, Special General Counsel……………………..... ____ Staff Jim Herberg, General Manager……………………………………… ____ Bob Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager…………………………… ____ Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance & Administrative Services….. ____ Kelly Lore, Acting Clerk of the Board…………...…………………… ____ Other Staff Present Orange County Sanitation District SPECIAL Meeting of the Steering Committee Wednesday, February 25, 2015 9:30 AM Administration Building Board Room 10844 Ellis Avenue Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (714) 593-7433 AGENDA DECLARATION OF QUORUM: PUBLIC COMMENTS: If you wish to speak, please complete a Speaker’s Form and give it to the Clerk of the Board. Speakers are requested to limit comments to three minutes. NON-CONSENT ITEMS: 1. KLEAN WATERS APPEAL HEARING AND REQUEST FOR CONTINUANCE OF THE SAME A. Steering Committee to hear Klean Waters’ request for a continuance of the hearing; and B. If the Steering Committee grants the request for a continuance, set a new date for the hearing; or C. If the Steering Committee denies the request for a continuance, the Steering Committee is to hear the appeal of the December 11, 2014 decision of the Sanitation District’s General Manager James D. Herberg, imposing: 1) a revocation of Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit No. 52-1-841, and 2) an administrative civil penalty in the amount of $1,190,000. ADJOURNMENT: The next regular Steering Committee meeting, today, Wednesday, February 25, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. 02/25/15 Steering Committee Agenda Page 1 of 2 Accommodations for the Disabled: Meeting Rooms are wheelchair accessible. If you require any special disability related accommodations, please contact the Orange County Sanitation District Clerk of the Board’s office at (714) 593-7433 at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and the type of accommodation requested. Agenda Posting: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2, this agenda has been posted outside the main gate of the Sanitation District’s Administration Building located at 10844 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, California, not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date and time above. All public records relating to each agenda item, including any public records distributed less than 72 hours prior to the meeting to all, or a majority of the Board of Directors, are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board. NOTICE TO DIRECTORS: To place items on the agenda for the Committee Meeting, items must be submitted to the Clerk of the Board 14 days before the meeting. Kelly A. Lore Acting Clerk of the Board (714) 593-7433 klore@ocsd.com For any questions on the agenda, Committee members may contact staff at: General Manager Jim Herberg (714) 593-7110 jherberg@ocsd.com Assistant General Manager Bob Ghirelli (714) 593-7400 rghirelli@ocsd.com 02/25/15 Steering Committee Agenda Page 2 of 2 STEERING COMMITTEE - SPECIAL MEETING Meeting Date 02/25/15 To Bd. of Dir. -- AGENDA REPORT Item Number 1 Item Number -- Orange County Sanitation District FROM: Robert P. Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager SUBJECT: KLEAN WATERS APPEAL HEARING AND REQUEST FOR CONTINUANCE OF THE SAME ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION A. Steering Committee to hear Klean Waters’ request for a continuance of the hearing; and B. If the Steering Committee grants the request for a continuance, set a new date for the hearing; or C. If the Steering Committee denies the request for a continuance, the Steering Committee is to hear the appeal of the December 11, 2014 decision of the Sanitation District’s General Manager James D. Herberg, imposing: 1) a revocation of Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit No. 52-1-841, and 2) an administrative civil penalty in the amount of $1,190,000. SUMMARY Katherine Jenson of Rutan & Tucker, LLP, has been hired by the District to serve as an independent legal advisor to the Steering Committee for purposes of the hearing. Melissa Thorme, of Downey Brand, has been hired by the District to serve as prosecutor representing the District for purposes of the hearing. The law firm of Tucker Ellis LLP will be representing Klean Waters. On February 18th, counsel for Klean Waters submitted an e-mail request for a continuance of the hearing based on a medical condition with attorney Carmen Trutanich. Matthew Kaplan, the partner with Tucker Ellis who attended the January 28th Steering Committee meeting, has indicated that Mr. Trutanich is the lead counsel from the Tucker Ellis firm on this matter. Ms. Thorme has indicated that the prosecution is opposed to the continuance. Mr. Kaplan indicated Klean Waters is waiving its right to have the matter heard within the 65-day time frame required by Section 618.A. of Ordinance No. OCSC-39. In Section 618.A. of Ordinance No. OCSD-39, it states that “A hearing shall be held by the Steering Committee within sixty-five (65) days from the date of the determination Page 1 of 2 granting the hearing, unless a later date is agreed to by the appellant and the Steering Committee.” The first issue the Committee must decide is whether a continuance is warranted under the circumstances. Counsel for Klean Waters will have an opportunity to address the Committee. Ms. Thorme will have an opportunity to state her objection. If the continuance is granted, the Committee must then vote to continue the hearing to another date. If the Committee determines not to grant the continuance, the Committee will then proceed to hear the appeal. As a reminder, the Procedures for the Hearing are as follows: • A quorum of the Steering Committee must be present in order to proceed with the hearing. Only the Committee Members who attend the hearing would be able to act on the matter. • The Committee considers the matter “de novo.” This means that no deference is given to the prior decision and the Committee has the flexibility to modify all or any part of the findings. • A time limit of a maximum of two (2) hours per side was established. The prosecution will proceed first. Klean Waters will then have an opportunity to provide its defense. The prosecution will then close. • The Committee has been provided with an electronic copy of all of the filings and evidence that has been submitted to date in this matter, including the transcript from the prior hearing. In addition, staff has prepared notebooks with the briefs and reference documents, including Ordinance No OCSD-39. If either party wish to submit additional evidence, that party will need to set forth a justification as to why the evidence was not originally submitted to the hearing officer; the Steering Committee can decide whether or not to hear this evidence. • There will be no witnesses; the matter will heard based upon argument of counsel based and the written documents and evidence presented. • The parties have been given the right to submit an additional brief of up to 20 pages. The briefs are due by 5:00 pm on Friday, February 20th, and will be distributed separately. • A decision by the Steering Committee will be made within 65 days of hearing. After the presentations, the Committee may commence deliberation or set another date to reconvene in order to deliberate. It is anticipated that the Steering Committee will reconvene at a later date to render its final decision. ATTACHMENT: The following attachment(s) are included in hard copy with the complete agenda package: • Hearing Notebook (Attached separately) Page 2 of 2