Water Board Member Cries Foul over Convoluted Reappointment Issues

• Wonders If He Is Targeted Due to Malibu Wastewater Politics

BY BILL KOENEKER

Alex Soteras, who was appointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board in July by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, appears to have lost his seat on the panel, but says he is fighting to be reappointed.
Soteras blames his plight on politics. “Fran Pavley and Julia Brownley are trying to punish me for the Malibu permit,” said Soteras for what he contends was his work behind the scenes in Malibu getting a permit for the lumberyard shopping center.
Pavley is the state Senator for the 23rd district, which includes Malibu, and Brownley is the Assembly member representing the 41st district, which also includes Malibu. Neither the senator, nor the assembly member, were available for comment on Soteras’ assertion.
Soteras said, “I was instrumental in working with the board to vote for the Malibu permit. I had a lot of opposition from Pavley and Brownley. They were against Malibu and the application.”
The nine-member RWQCB is appointed by the governor for four-year terms. The posts require state Senate confirmation. There are currently two vacancies on the Los Angeles board.
Soteras was appointed to fill a vacancy when another board member resigned and served the remainder of that term.
When asked about the appointment, a water board spokesperson acknowledged that the Calabasas resident, who grew up in Malibu, and is considered by some to be friendly to Malibu business interests, was no longer on the board and referred further questions to the governor’s appointment’s secretary.
Deputy press secretary for the governor’s office, Rachel Cameron, said Soteras served out the rest of the term of a vacancy he filled. He was never considered for confirmation by the state Senate as required by law, because the Senate did not consider the matter.
“He can no longer serve because he cannot be appointed to another seat for 365 days,” said Cameron, who confirmed there are still two vacancies on the board.
Soteras disputes that contention and said he is waiting for the governor to appoint him to the other seat now vacant. “I expect to be reappointed,” he said.
Regional board members represent specific categories related to the control of water quality and must reside in, or have a principal place of business within the region.
Board members rely on the RWQCB staff, most of whom are engineers, geologists and biologists, to conduct the day-to-day operations of the water quality agency.
While City of Malibu officials would not talk about it on the record, privately some have acknowledged that a wedge has grown between the board and municipal staff with even the city manager making public statements about the fitness of some of the RWQCB staff.
Action by the board to rescind a memo of understanding between the state agency and the city to revoke the Malibu’s ability to issue wastewater discharge permits was considered as a tool for forcibly bringing the city into closer conformance with the wishes of the RWQCB.
That action, acknowledged by the water board staff publicly as a club, is viewed by some as further evidence of the powerful forces at play when it comes to politics in Malibu.