Participation and Accommodation

Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

In accordance with the requirements of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) and Regional Water Quality Control Boards (“Regional Water Boards” and, together with the State Water Board, “Water Boards”) will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment: The Water Boards do not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under title I of the ADA.

Effective Communication: The Water Boards will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in Water Boards’ programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures: The Water Boards will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of the Water Boards’ programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in Water Boards’ offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of the Water Boards, should contact the Water Boards’ ADA Coordinator, identified below, with as much advance notice as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the Water Boards to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.

Complaints that a program, service, or activity of the Water Boards is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the Water Boards’ Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office at (916) 341-5881 or (916) 341-5880.  Complaints may also be filed by mail to the EEO Office, 1001 I St., 18th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.

The Water Boards will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.

Grievance Procedure

This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the ADA. It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the Water Boards. The Water Boards’ have separate policies that govern employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.

The complaint should, but need not be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request.

The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or his/her designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:

Shyla Hoffman (ADA Grievance Coordinator)
1001 I St., 18th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

Acknowledgment: We’ll contact you within 15 working days to let you know we’ve received your grievance.

  • Informal resolution: Within 60 calendar days after we’ve received your grievance, we will complete the investigation to determine the validity of the alleged violation. If needed, the ADA Grievance Coordinator or designee may arrange to meet with you (the grievant) to discuss the matter and try to reach an informal resolution of the grievance. We will document any informal resolution of the grievance and close the case.
  • Written determination: If we do not reach an informal resolution within 75 calendar days after we’ve received your response, a written determination regarding the complaint and description of any resolution will be sent to you (the grievant) in an appropriate accessible manner (e.g., large print writing, braille, audio tape) within 90 calendar days after we’ve received your grievance. The Chief Deputy Director may authorize additional time for consideration of the grievance. If this happens, we’ll promptly let you (the grievant) know the status of the Water Boards’ review of your grievance and expected determination timeframe.

If you disagree with our response to your grievance, you can request reconsideration of our response. The Chief Deputy Director will promptly review your request, make a decision and send you a copy of that decision in an appropriate accessible manner (e.g., large print writing, braille, audio tape).

If at any stage of the process you’re not satisfied with how we handled the grievance or you do not want to file the grievance through us, you may file a complaint directly with the U.S. Department of Justice or other appropriate state or federal agencies. You’re not required to use our grievance procedure first before you pursue other ways to file a grievance.

The resolution of a grievance depends on the review of details of each request. Details may include:

  • Specific nature of the disability
  • Level of the access to services, programs, or facilities at issue
  • Essential eligibility requirements for participation
  • The health and safety of others
  • The degree to which an accommodation would constitute a fundamental alteration to the program, service, or facility, or cause an undue hardship to the Water Boards

All written complaints received by the Water Boards, including appeals and responses, will be retained by the Water Boards for at least three years.