The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
c/o John Cruz, Appointments Secretary
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, California 95814

VIA FACSIMILE AND U.S. MAIL: (916) 558-3160

Re: Re-appointment of Tam Doduc to State Water Resources Control Board

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

On behalf of the California Coastkeeper Alliance (CCKA), which represents 12 Waterkeeper organizations spanning the coast from the Oregon border to San Diego, I am writing to respectfully request your re-appointment of Tam Doduc to the Civil Engineer seat on the State Water Resources Control Board (Board), and to again designate her as Chair. CCKA and its member Waterkeepers take action statewide and locally to achieve clean water and ready access to a healthy coast and ocean. We work frequently with the Board, and have been fortunate to work substantially with Chair Doduc.

In light of my almost 15 years of working directly with the Board, I am pleased to say that Chair Doduc not only has been one of the Board members most dedicated to achieving the mandate and mission of the Board to achieve clean, healthy waterways, but she has also been a Chair most dedicated to creating a performance-based agency grounded in effectiveness, accountability, transparency and coordination. Chair Doduc has championed a number of actions to achieve this laudable goal of performance-based actions to achieve clean, healthy waterways. Administratively, she has assembled a talented and committed Executive Team, and created new and effective collaborations with the nine Regional Water Boards, which have enhanced needed coordination on water issues significantly.

Substantively, Chair Doduc has made major strides in transparency and accountability, particularly with respect to enforcement and water quality monitoring. We have worked closely with Chair Doduc on the Board's initiatives to institute comprehensive annual enforcement reporting, to develop a baseline enforcement report from which future actions can be measured, and to develop updated water quality and water rights enforcement policies. We also have worked closely with Chair Doduc on the Board's external, independent reviews of the utility of and access to water quality data, and its implementation of the review panel's recommendations, such as through the Water Quality Monitoring Council, a body we thank you for creating by signing SB 1070 (2006) into law. Finally, we were extremely supportive of Chair Doduc's action to take up, on its own motion, Board review of a wet weather sewage discharge permit that had been adopted regionally in contravention of laws to protect public and environmental health. The remanded order will
set direction for all regional water boards on how to develop such permits consistent with all environmental and public health requirements.

We fully expect that, if re-appointed, Chair Doduc will continue to serve the state with distinction and represent the interests of all Californians in clean water and healthy ecosystems. We respectfully request your re-appointment of Chair Doduc to the Board as Member and Chair. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Linda Sheehan
Executive Director