(a) Membership. There is hereby continued an Industrial Waste Review Board which shall consist of five members who have had not less than five years of professional experience related to water pollution abatement. Members of the Board will serve on call on a per diem basis. The General Manager shall make succeeding four-year appointments at the expiration of the existing appointments. The members so chosen will be the voting members of the Board. The Manager of the Bureau of Water Pollution Control, or a designated representative, shall be an ex officio member of the Board, participating in the deliberations of the Board without vote or compensation. The General Manager shall appoint a member of his or her staff to act as Secretary of the Board.
(b) Compensation. The voting members of the Board shall receive compensation of $30 per hour during the time that the Board is convened.
(c) Quorum. Three voting members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. Any decision of the Board shall require three concurring votes.
(d) Powers of the Board. The Board shall hear and decide appeals from the General Manager's denial, issuance, renewal or modification of a permit pursuant to Section 125, and from the General Manager's decision on a variance pursuant to Section 128. The Board shall not have jurisdiction to hear appeals of orders issued pursuant to Sections 121 or 132. Upon hearing an appeal taken pursuant to this Section, the Board may, subject to the same limitations that are placed upon the General Manager by this Article, approve, disapprove or modify the decision appealed from, in conformity with the following requirements:
(1) In the case of a variance application, the Board shall specify in its findings, as part of a written decision, facts sufficient to establish why the application meets or does not meet, as the case may be, the requirements set forth in Section 128, and if the requirements are deemed to be met, the Board shall prescribe the details and conditions of the variance.
(2) In the case of any permit denial, issuance, modification or renewal, if the determination of the Board differs from that of the General Manager, it shall state in writing any specific error or errors in interpretation of the provisions of this Article, abuse of discretion on the part of the General Manager, or any other basis for revision. The Board shall specify in its written findings the facts relied upon in arriving at its determination.
(e) Appeal.
(1) Filing an Appeal. Appeals shall be filed with the Secretary of the Board within 15 days after receipt of the decision of the General Manager under Section 129. The Board shall not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal filed after the 15-day period has passed. The Board shall not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal of the denial, issuance, renewal, or modification of the permit if a General Manager's hearing was not requested in accordance with Section 125. A filing fee of $350 made payable to the General Manager shall accompany the filing of an appeal.
(2) Standing. Any person that presented evidence or testimony at a General Manager's hearing on a variance may appeal the General Manager's variance decision to the Board. Appeals of the General Manager's decision on a permit may only be filed by persons authorized pursuant to Section 125(e).
(3) Contents of Appeal. The appeal must specifically set forth the alleged error, abuse of discretion or any other basis for the appeal and contain relevant arguments and documentation in support of the appellant's claim.
(4) Hearing. The procedure and requirements for the transmittal of the record, notice of hearing, and the record in connection with any appeal under this Section shall be prescribed by the Board.
(f) Hearing Procedure. Hearings by the Board shall be held at the call of the Secretary of the Board and at such times as the Board may determine. Hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the following procedure:
(1) The date of the hearing shall not be less than one week nor more than four weeks after receipt of filing the appeal by the Secretary of the Board.
(2) The General Manager will present evidence and a recommendation for resolution. The Board shall hear evidence from the appellant, but appellant may present relevant information not previously submitted to the General Manager only if its failure to present such information to the General Manager was caused by events beyond its control or the Board determines that introduction of such information is essential to the fair resolution of the controversy.
(3) The Board shall make a final decision within 90 days from the date of filing the appeal, and shall communicate its decision to the General Manager, all appellants, and the discharger. No response from the Board within 90 days will constitute approval of the General Manager's final decision.
(4) The General Manager shall designate a certified court reporter as official reporter of the Board. The reporter shall attend all hearings of the Board and report all testimony, the objections made, and the ruling of the Board. The fees for the reporter for reporting all of the proceedings and testimony as outlined above shall be a legal charge against the City. The fees for transcripts of the proceedings shall be at the expense of the party requesting the transcript as prescribed by Government Code Section 69950, and the original transcript shall be filed with the Secretary at the expense of the party ordering the transcript.
(Added by Ord. 19-92, App. 1/23/92; amended by Ord. 116-97, App. 3/28/97)