Delta Tunnel hearing cancelled after hacker takes over Zoom platform
The hearing was regarding the pending petitions for a change in water rights by the California Department of Water Resources
A large number of people were scheduled on Monday to testify and comment on the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), potentially the most environmentally destructive public works project in California history, when a bizarre hacking incident occurred on the Zoom platform that the California State Water Resources Control Board was using for a hearing.
The hearing was regarding the pending petitions for a change in water rights by the California Department of Water Resources that are required to move forward with the Delta Tunnel. The project is opposed by a coalition of Tribes, fishing groups, environmental organizations, Delta counties, Delta water districts, Delta farmers, Southern California water ratepayers and the public.
When the hearing started, one of the attendee windows displayed a graphic obscene video with a synthetic or altered voice saying loudly, “Shut this Zoom Call Down.” The hacker took over the audio so the Hearing Officer could not speak, so she shut the hearing down.
I had tried to get on the call myself, but it had been shut down before I could access their Zoom platform.
Delta Tunnel opponents expressed their concern that the Zoom link hadn’t been secured enough to stop the hacking from occurring.
”We are extremely concerned that this meeting was hacked after we have worked for one month to turn out ppl for policy statements,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla in an email at 9:27 a.m. “If the water board insists on doing virtual meetings, they must secure their online platforms. Organizing for today has cost Restore the Delta tens of thousands of dollars. We do not get to recoup from these kinds of errors. We are waiting right now to hear from the Water Board what is going to happen for today’s meeting.”
On Facebook, Barrigan-Parrilla added later: “For those who wanna know the hearing was hacked and loaded up with extreme porn, pornographic images, swastikas and racist language. The state board failed to take it down quickly. They then gaslit us about whether the hearing was going on later in the afternoon and they had no regard for the fact that this was our community day. We spent tens of thousands of dollars organizing this effort and now they think we’re gonna rush it and redo it in eight days when our members are traumatized.”
In response to the platform hacking, the Water Board finally sent out two emails to those on the list to speak at the hearing. The first, sent from the Administrative Hearings Office at 11:53 a.m., indicated the hearing would be rescheduled for 1 pm the same day.
“The AHO is consulting with the Board’s internet security team to determine whether and how the hearing can be safely reconvened on the Zoom platform. At this time we intend to attempt to reconvene at (and no sooner than) 1 p.m. Additional security measures will likely be required so entry into the Zoom teleconference may not be immediate. If any interested person who intended to make a statement today is not able to join this afternoon, the AHO will provide another opportunity for making those statements.”
But then the second email, sent out at 1:04 p.m, said the hearing had been cancelled for March 25 and April, 2025 — and will reconvene on April 3.
“After meeting with the Board’s Division of Information Technology, I am cancelling the hearing days in this proceeding scheduled for today (March 24), March 25, and April 1,” wrote Nicole L. Kuenzi, Presiding Hearing Officer, Administrative Hearings Office State Water Resources Control Board. “The AHO will reconvene the hearing at 9 a.m. on April 3. The Zoom account and host credentials used to conduct AHO proceedings were compromised, and I will not reconvene these proceedings until the matter has been fully investigated and the virtual hearing space is secure.”
“The assault on this public proceeding was vicious, cowardly, and abhorrent,” Kuenzi continued. “We will conduct a fair and open hearing, and it will be conducted respectfully and with civility. I personally ask each of the parties and their representatives for your support in ensuring that end.”
“The AHO will follow up with additional information this week about accessing the Zoom platform and any additional security measures that may be required,” she concluded.
The Delta Conveyance Project is Governor Gavin Newsom’s multi-billion dollar project to build a 41-mile long tunnel that would divert water from the Sacramento River at Hood and Courtland before it flows through the Delta for use by San Joaquin Valley corporate agribusiness interests and Southern California water agencies.
The tunnel would hasten the extinction of Sacramento River spring-run, winter-run and fall-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other imperiled fish species. It would cause immense harm to Delta communities, coastal fishing communities, Tribal cultures and Southern California water ratepayers.
Specifically, the State Water Resources Control Board Administrative Hearings Office is holding the public hearings on the pending Petitions for Change of Water Right Permits 16478, 16479, 16481, and 16482 (Applications 5630, 14443, 14445A, and 17512, respectively) of the Department of Water Resources.
