Administrative Hearings Office
About Us
With water rights in California historically involving complex and often contentious issues, the state legislature in 2018 adopted, and Governor Brown approved, Assembly Bill 747, which enacted Water Code sections 1110-1114, effective July 1, 2019. (See 2018 Cal. Statutes, Chapter 668.) Water Code section 1110 created the Administrative Hearings Office (AHO) as a “neutral, fair, and efficient forum for adjudications.” The AHO is overseen by a presiding hearing officer appointed by the State Water Board.
Water Code section 1112, subdivision (a), provides that the AHO shall preside over most hearings involving administrative civil liability complaints and proposed cease-and-desist orders in water-right matters and proposed revocations of water-right permits and licenses. In addition, subdivision (c) provides that the State Board may assign other adjudicative hearings to the AHO, may ask the AHO to assist to Board or a Board member in conducting hearings, and may request the AHO to perform other work, including non-adjudicative matters, mediations, and overseeing investigations.
Water Code section 1114 provides that, normally within 90 days after the matters are submitted, AHO hearing officers shall adopt final orders in some types of water-right proceedings involving administrative civil liability, and shall prepare proposed orders for consideration by the Board in all other proceedings.
State Water Board Organization Chart
Recording of AHO Presentation to State Water Board during October 7, 2020 meeting
AHO slides presented during October 7, 2020 meeting
Recording of AHO Presentation to State Water Board during August 2, 2022 meeting
AHO slides presented during August 2, 2022 meeting
Nicole Kuenzi, Presiding Hearing Officer
Nicole Kuenzi was appointed by the State Water Board as the Presiding Hearing Officer for the Administrative Hearings Office (AHO) on February 1, 2023. Ms. Kuenzi served as a hearing officer for the AHO since 2020, and previously was senior staff counsel in the Board's Office of Chief Counsel where she advised the Board's Division of Water Rights and Groundwater Management Unit. Before joining the Board, Ms. Kuenzi worked for a private law firm in Colorado representing public agencies and private parties in water rights and land use matters, and clerked for a judge on the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Kuenzi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from Tulane University and a Juris Doctorate degree from Yale Law School.
Sam Bivins, Senior Hearing Officer
Sam Bivins joined the AHO in April 2024. Before joining the AHO, Mr. Bivins worked for a private law firm in Sacramento, representing public agencies and private parties in complex litigation involving water rights and related environmental issues, and clerked for a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Mr. Bivins earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors from the University of California, Davis, and a Juris Doctorate degree cum laude from Duke University School of Law.
Megan Knize, Hearing Officer
Megan Knize joined the AHO as a hearing officer in 2020, having previously represented individuals and public agencies in complex litigation matters. She also served as court counsel for the Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau, an island-nation in the north Pacific Ocean. She began her career clerking for trial court judges in state and federal courts in Southern California. Ms. Knize earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Stanford University and a Juris Doctorate degree from UC Davis School of Law.
