Public commenters at the State Water Resources Control Board’s Aug. 19 meeting pressed the board on several issues ahead of formal agenda items, raising funding‑coordination proposals for drinking water, worker-safety and civil-rights concerns at regional waste facilities, and a request from tribal representatives to reschedule hearings.

Funding coordination and disadvantaged communities
Bob Gorham (Guoco Group) urged the board to take a more active convening role to coordinate dozens of state and federal funding sources, reduce administrative friction across programs and prioritize drinking-water projects for disadvantaged communities, particularly in the Central Valley. Gorham said coordination could “multiply the money” by aligning funding rules and lowering administrative costs.

Worker safety, environmental contamination and civil-rights requests
Jeff Ellsworth, representing the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Napa Valley waste workers advisory committee, described alleged long-term problems at Upper Valley Disposal Service Clover Flat Landfill (Napa County) including exposure to contaminated wastewater, fires and an uninvestigated Latino worker fatality in 2013. Ellsworth said LULAC adopted a national resolution addressing the issue and asked the State Water Board to agendize the matter with sworn testimony at the earliest opportunity.

Ray Tahir raised multiple governance and open‑meetings concerns, naming statutory provisions and alleging the board has been evasive in answering specific records and ex‑parte communication questions; he requested written responses within ten days.

Tribal scheduling and civil-rights complaint status
Gary Mulcahy, speaking for tribal interests, asked the board to revisit hearing dates for the Bay-Delta plan and related water-right hearing dates because the board’s scheduled Sept. 26 date coincides with California Native American Day and numerous tribal ceremonies. Mulcahy also asked the board to act on a Title VI civil-rights complaint that has been on board agendas for more than a year and a half, saying tribes need the board to either resume negotiations with EPA investigators or otherwise move the complaint toward resolution.

Commission staffing and oversight
Walter Lam of the Biden Wetlands Land Trust asked the board to investigate whether state water board staff failed to disclose written guidance to the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission that influenced a vote to remove terms such as climate change and environmental justice from a work plan; Chief Counsel Michael Laufer said staff had started preparing a factual summary and shared a draft transmittal with staff and that Mr. Lam should expect a follow-up from the board.

Board response
Chair Joaquin Esquivel and staff acknowledged the requests. Esquivel said the board tracks shifting federal and state funding and that DFA has invested broadly; Chief Counsel Michael Laufer and staff indicated follow-up would be provided on specific items including Mr. Lam’s request and records-related inquiries. For tribal scheduling concerns, board members said they would reconvene internally to consider alternate hearing dates and noted they had already extended comment deadlines on related items to improve opportunity for tribal participation.

Ending
The public forum concluded and the board proceeded to its agenda. Speakers’ requests that the board agendize worker-safety claims and the long-standing civil‑rights complaint were recorded in the public record for potential future board action.