From the State Water Board:
The State Water Resources Control Board Administrative Hearings Office will conduct a supplemental day of hearing on the pending petition for Assignment of State-filed Application 25517 and accompanying water right Application 25517X01 and the Petitions for Release from priority of State-filed Applications 25513, 25514, 25517 (unassigned portion), 22235, 23780, and 23781 in favor of water right Application 25517X01 of Sites Project Authority.
Procedural ruling:
With its comments on the Draft Decision and Draft Permit submitted on May 22, 2026, the Authority submitted: (1) a technical memorandum prepared by Jacobs Engineering (2026-05-22 Sites Comments on Draft Decision-Draft Permit, Attachment A, p. 91), associated CalSim 3 model files, and a spreadsheet containing the CalSim 3 model results, and (2) a technical memorandum prepared by MBK Engineers, “Water Supply Effects of Draft Water Right Permit Terms 23, 30, and 31” (Id., Attachment B, p. 111) and an associated Historical WAA Tool spreadsheet. …
In its comments, the Authority relies on results from these additional model runs and analyses in support of changes to the Draft Permit that it asserts are in the public interest. The Authority proposes that the proffered analyses be considered by the Board in conjunction with the Authority’s comments and included in the evidentiary record without otherwise reopening the evidentiary record. (2026-05-22 Sites Comments on Draft Decision-Draft Permit, pp. 13-14, fn. 5.)
On June 5, 2026, San Francisco Baykeeper, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Friends of the River, and Water and Climate Trust (NGO Protestants), filed an objection seeking to strike Attachments A and B as new evidence, and strike the arguments and assertions in the comments that reference or rely upon the analyses or conclusions contained in the memoranda.
Read the full ruling below:
