Title 44

SECTION 350.13

350.13 Withdrawal of approval.

§ 350.13 Withdrawal of approval.

(a) If, at any time after granting approval of a State plan, the Deputy Administrator for the National Preparedness Directorate determines, on his or her own initiative, motion or on the basis of information another person supplied, that the State or local plan is no longer adequate to protect public health and safety by providing reasonable assurance that appropriate protective measures can be taken, or is no longer capable of being implemented, he or she shall immediately advise the Governor of the affected State, through the appropriate Regional Administrator and the NRC of that initial determination in writing. FEMA shall spell out in detail the reasons for its initial determination, and shall describe the deficiencies in the plan or the preparedness of the State. If, after four months from the date of such an initial determination, the State in question has not either:

(1) Corrected the deficiencies noted, or (2) submitted an acceptable plan for correcting those deficiencies, the Deputy Administrator for the National Preparedness Directorate shall withdraw approval and shall immediately inform the NRC and the Governor of the affected State, of the determination to withdraw approval and shall publish in the Federal Register and the local newspaper having the largest daily circulation in the affected State notice of its withdrawal or approval. The basis upon which the Deputy Administrator for the National Preparedness Directorate makes the determination for withdrawal of approval is the same basis used for reviewing plans and exercises, i.e., the planning standards and related criteria in NUREGO654/FEMA/REP-1, Rev. 1.

(b) In the event that the State in question shall submit a plan for correcting the deficiencies, the Deputy Administrator for the National Preparedness Directorate shall negotiate a schedule and a timetable under which the State shall correct the deficiencies. If, on the agreed upon date, the deficiencies have been corrected, the Deputy Administrator for the National Preparedness Directorate shall withdraw the initial determination and the approval previously granted shall remain valid. He or she shall inform the Governor(s), the NRC, the pertinent Regional Administrator(s) and notify the public as stated in paragraph (a) of this section. If, however, on the agreed upon date, the deficiencies are not corrected, FEMA shall withdraw its approval and shall communicate its decision to the Governor of the State whose plan is in question, the NRC, the appropriate Federal agencies and notify the public as indicated above.

(c) Within 30 days after the date of notification of withdrawal of approval of a State or local plan, any interested person may appeal the decision of the Deputy Administrator for the National Preparedness Directorate to the Administrator; however, such an appeal must be made solely upon the ground that the Deputy Administrator for the National Preparedness Directorate's decision, based on the available record, was unsupported by substantial evidence. (See § 350.15 for appeal procedures.)