Delta Plan Regulations

The Delta Reform Act of 2009, which created the Delta Stewardship Council (Council), required that the Council adopt a "legally enforceable" Delta Plan to further the achievement of the coequal goals. The State Administrative Procedures Act (APA) identifies a rulemaking process through which Council-adopted Delta Plan policies become enforceable state regulations. Rulemaking is a public process that includes review and approval by the state's Office of Administrative Law (OAL).

The Delta Plan regulations are located in the official version of the California Code of Regulations at Title 23. Waters, Division 6. Delta Stewardship Council, Chapter 2. Consistency with Regulatory Policies Contained in the Delta Plan, Article 3. Consistency with the Regulatory Policies Contained in the Delta Plan. The website is maintained by West Law under contract with the Office of Administrative Law and is updated weekly.

Access the Delta Plan’s regulatory policies in PDF format.

Administrative Procedures Governing Appeals

The Delta Reform Act of 2009 provides for an appeals process to ensure the consistency of certain state and local public agency actions (“covered actions”) with the regulatory portions of the Delta Plan (see Wat. Code, §§ 85225.0, 85225.10, 85225.15, 85225.20, 85225.25, 85225.30,).

Water Code section 85225.30 requires the Council to adopt administrative procedures governing appeals. These administrative procedures are exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies.

The Delta Stewardship Council last updated the appeals procedures at its October 27, 2022, Council meeting. Recently, at the December 14, 2023, meeting the Council adopted further minor edits to sections of the appeals procedures and published them in the California Code of Regulations, (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 23, § 5020 et seq.).

Access the informal Administrative Procedures for Appeals (“Appeals Procedures”) in PDF format.

Access the codified Administrative Procedures Governing Appeals in PDF format.