The wheels of justice turn slowly.

The PE reports that the State Water Board's attempt to hold a hearing on perchlorate contamination here in the IE was foiled for the time being while a superior court judge in Los Angeles County determines if the Board has the authority to hold the hearings. As most of you know, there are three branches of government: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. There is also lurking a "fourth" branch which most people don't know about: The administrative agencies. Because most laws are too general to fully regulate the narrow specifics of the conduct sought to be regulated, the state and federal government have created these agencies which make regulations and often conduct hearings on violations! In orther words, the agencies are acting as minilegislatures and minicourts. Parties subject to the regulations and mini-courts often don't like the prospects and therefore challenge the actions to the real courts. It's time consuming, but what are the alternatives? Here's the link. http://www.pe.com/localnews/sanbernardino/stories/PE_News_Local_C_perch14.3c41216.html