APCDHB Hearings

How do I Apply for a Variance or Appeal a Permit?  

Once you realize you may need to apply for a variance or appeal a permit, submit the petition forms with fees as soon as possible to the Hearing Board Clerk via email or in person at 10124 Old Grove Road, San Diego, CA 92131. Information provided in the petition should be clear, comprehensive, and concise.

• Forms and more details about filing variance petitions. 
• Forms and more details about filing permit appeal petitions. 

Watch the video about the Hearing Board process.

What happens at the hearing? 

Meetings resemble informal courtroom proceedings. The Hearing Board listens to presentations by the District and by the applicant. District staff may argue for or against the granting of a petition or suggest certain conditions. Witnesses, who are placed under oath, may be questioned by the opposing side and by Hearing Board members. The public may also present information. 

After receiving testimony in a public meeting, the Hearing Board evaluates how the evidence applies to the required findings, deliberates in public, and reaches a decision on the petition.  

Hearing Board Responsibilities

The Air Pollution Control District Governing Board (APCD), appoints the five members of the the Hearing Board to hears requests from industry, the District, and the public to:

• Grant variances (temporary enforcement relief) from District Rules to individual facilities or products.
• Decide appeals of the issuance or denial of a District-issued permit or emission reduction credit, either by a permit applicant or participants in the permitting process.
• Issue an Abatement Order requiring a facility operating in violation of District rules to take specific actions or shut down.
• Revoke a District-issued permit.

How do I prepare for a hearing? 

Use the District’s answer (for variances/permit appeals) or petition (for abatement orders/permit revocations) as a guide to focus your remarks. You may choose to have an attorney or technical expert represent your facility at the meeting, although it is not required. 

If there are documents that you wish to present to the Hearing Board that you have not filed with the Clerk by the filing deadline, please notify the Clerk immediately. At the hearing, the Board will need to vote to accept new written material.

If you are not prepared for a scheduled meeting, you may request a continuance (Rule 23). If you wish to withdraw your petition (Rule 24), notify the Clerk as soon as possible.

How do I speak at a hearing as a member of the public?  

Members of the public may speak to the Board (Rule 9.5) on any matter within the Hearing Board’s jurisdiction. Please provide the Clerk a speaker slip before the meeting begins. If the matter relates to an agenda item, comments are taken during that time; contact the Clerk before the meeting to review documents submitted for an agenda item. If the matter is not listed on the agenda the Hearing Board gives those present the opportunity to speak during the Public Communication portion of the meeting.   

What assistance does the Hearing Board provide for persons with disabilities? 

Agendas and records are available in alternative formats upon request. Contact the Clerk at (858) 245-8249. Assistive Listening Devices are available from the Clerk in Room 402 prior to the meeting and are to be returned at the end of the meeting. Individuals requiring sign language interpreters should contact the Americans with Disabilities Coordinator at (858) 505-6521, in advance of the meeting so that arrangements may be made. An area in the front of the chamber is designated for individuals requiring the use of wheelchair or other accessible devices. 

What happens after the meeting? 

If you filed a petition, the Clerk will send you the official Hearing Board Order after the Board approves the Order at its next meeting.

• Review the Order to make sure you understand it. If you do not comply with an Order, you may receive a Notice of Violation and be subject to civil or criminal penalties.
• If your variance request is granted, the conditions in the Order become the law during the variance period. If you do not comply with those conditions, you may also be subject to having your variance revoked or modified.
• If you have any questions about how to comply with an Order, contact the District Compliance Division. If you believe that you cannot meet a condition in the Order or in any accompanying Schedule of Increments of Progress, you may petition the Board to modify the Order or Schedule of Increments of Progress. 

Need more information?

• Read the Variance Fact Sheet.
• Review Hearing Board Procedures (Rules and Regulations) or Past Hearing Board Actions.
• Study California Air Resources Board variance legal opinions. 

Compliance Division Contact

For general questions, please contact a District Hearing Board Representative by phone at (858) 586-2650 or by email.

For procedural questions, please contact the Hearing Board Clerk at (858) 245-8249.