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.
Megan Knize, Senior 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.
Malissa Hathaway McKeith, Senior Hearing Officer
Malissa Hathaway McKeith joined the AHO as a Senior Hearing Officer in 2025. Ms. McKeith has decades of experience and has chaired national environmental and real estate law departments where she represented a broad range of water interests, including public agencies, agriculture, and industry. In 2023, she earned a Master's in Dispute Resolution at the Strauss Institute at Pepperdine University and has served on the mediation panel for the federal district court. Her diverse legal background and emphasis on alternative dispute resolution aids in her role facilitating the settlement of water disputes as a mediator for the AHO, in addition to serving as a hearing officer. Over the years, Ms. McKeith has been a gubernatorial appointee to several commissions focused on environmental and water policy. She has also been active in the state and local bar associations, promoting the independence of the judiciary and administrative officers, due process, and access to justice. Malissa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles; a Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco, and a Certificate in Hazardous Waste Management from the University of California, Riverside.
Cody Phillips, Hearing Officer
Cody Phillips joined the AHO in April 2025. Prior to his role as a hearing officer, Mr. Phillips worked as a staff attorney for an environmental nonprofit involved in complex water quality and water rights issues. Mr. Phillips earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Whitman College and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Colorado Law School.
