Follow up letter from State Water Board Hearing Officer on Delta Tunnel Hearing Cyber Attack
The State Water Board’s hearing platform was the direct target of this cyberattack, everyone in the hearing room or viewing the proceeding on YouTube was harmed.
This is the latest letter I got from the State Water Board Hearing Officer regarding the hacking of Monday's hearing on the Delta Tunnel. Policy statements are postponed until a date in mid-May to be determined. DB
Dear Parties and Interested Persons:
This e-mail is to follow up with next steps about resumption of the hearing on the proposed Delta Conveyance Project on April 3.
First, I want to acknowledge that, although the State Water Board’s hearing platform was the direct target of this cyberattack, everyone in the hearing room or viewing the proceeding on YouTube was harmed. In addition to the obvious disruption and the offensive nature of the content that was forced on us, the slurs and other abhorrent words and images seem to have been calculated to intimidate and inflict particular injury on certain groups and individuals. I find this aspect of Monday’s events particularly disturbing, as I believe many of you do as well. No one should have to risk being subjected to this type of visual and verbal assault when they participate in a government process. The AHO hearing room should be a space in which I can assure that each of you will be safe and treated with dignity – and during Monday’s hearing I could not. I sincerely apologize. I also wish to thank those of you who sent correspondence with information and helpful comments with respect to this incident over the last day.
The Board’s Hearing Team and Department of Information Technology have identified and are implementing significant additional security measures intended to prevent a similar cyberattack from interfering with this proceeding or any other hearing conducted by the AHO. In addition to implementing additional security measures for AHO hearings, the Board’s Department of Information Technology is conducting a forensic investigation of the incident to develop evidence for referral of the matter to law enforcement.
Going forward, the AHO will be conducting its proceedings using the Zoom Webinar platform, which includes increased security restrictions. Participants in the hearing will be required to register for the hearing and will receive individualized access credentials. With the exception of specific hearing dates and times reserved for policy statements by members of the public, only authorized representatives of parties listed on the service list and identified witnesses will be issued credentials to join the hearing. Only those people joining the hearing under the credentials of an authorized representative or as a witness will be allowed to remain in the hearing room. The AHO will circulate detailed information to the service list about these new procedures, and how to register for the hearing, on Friday, March 28. The hearing will continue to be live-streamed and publicly viewable on YouTube.
We will not hear policy statements on April 3. I am, however, committed to providing a fair opportunity for those who intended to deliver a policy statement on March 24 to comment in this proceeding. I will not allow the offensive and disruptive behavior that we experienced to undermine the opportunity for meaningful participation in the public process. The AHO staff are identifying a date in mid-May when a hearing room at the Cal EPA Building in Sacramento is available, and a majority of the Board Members could participate in person to hear policy statements. I will circulate that date within the next few days. We will conduct that day of hearing in hybrid format (in person with a remote option). In case anyone is unable to participate on that date, I will also schedule a subsequent Zoom only day for any remaining members of the public to present policy statements, which will occur at the time Protestants begin presentation of their cases-in-chief later this year. The AHO will circulate more information and instructions as to how interested persons will be allowed to join the hearing on policy statement hearing days and how the Zoom Webinar platform will be monitored to safely receive those statements. Members of the public are also welcome to submit policy statements in writing at any time during this proceeding to: dcp-wr-petition@waterboards.ca.gov.
I look forward to reconvening this hearing, securely, on April 3. Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we implement these new procedures.
Sincerely,
Nicole L. Kuenzi
Presiding Hearing Officer
Administrative Hearings Office
State Water Resources Control Board
