Article 1. General Provisions of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 26. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 8. >> Article 1.

There is continued in existence and shall be, in each district, one or more hearing boards consisting of five members each, as specified in Section 40801, appointed by the district board. The district board may also appoint one alternate for each member. The alternate shall have the same qualifications, specified in Section 40801, as the member for whom such person is the alternate. The alternate may serve only in the absence of the member, and for the same term as the member. An alternate shall not hold any of the single member hearings authorized by subdivision (c) of Section 40824, subdivision (c) of Section 40825, Section 42351.5, or Section 42359.5.

Any district board may designate the hearing board appointed by it as the "district hearing panel." Every provision of every statute and every regulation that relates to hearing boards appointed pursuant to this chapter shall be fully applicable to any district hearing panel that is so designated pursuant to this section.

A hearing board shall consist of:
  (a) One member admitted to the practice of law in this state.
  (b) One member who is a professional engineer registered as such pursuant to the Professional Engineers Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code).
  (c) One member from the medical profession whose specialized skills, training, or interests are in the fields of environmental medicine, community medicine, or occupational/toxicologic medicine.
  (d) Two public members.

If the district board, in the case of a district with a population of less than 750,000, is unable to appoint a person with the qualifications specified in Section 40801 who is willing and able to serve, and for that reason a vacancy exists on the hearing board, the county district board may, in order to fill that vacancy, appoint any person to the hearing board.

No officer or employee of the district, or of the county in the case of a county district, shall be a member of the district hearing board.

The terms of the members of a hearing board shall be three years. In the case of the initial members of a hearing board appointed subsequent to January 1, 1974, two shall serve for a term of one year, two for a term of two years, and one for a term of three years.

Within 30 days after a regional district begins to function and exercise its powers, the regional district board shall appoint a hearing board.

A hearing board shall select a chairman from its members.

A hearing board may adopt rules for the conduct of its hearings. The rules shall be consistent with this division and, so far as practicable, shall conform to the rules for administrative adjudication by state agencies in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500), Part 1, Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code. Where a district has two or more hearing boards, the rules shall be the same for all the hearing boards.

Except as provided for in Section 42359, no abatement order, permit, or variance may be issued, modified, or revoked by a hearing board, unless a public hearing thereon has been held by the hearing board pursuant to this chapter.

(a) The office of the county counsel may represent both the district and the hearing board on a matter relating to a hearing before the hearing board as long as the same individual attorney does not represent both the district and the hearing board.
  (b) This section does not apply to the bay district or the south coast district.