State plan withdrawal procedures

The Assistant Secretary must give the State 45 days to show cause why a withdrawal proceeding should not be started, and if the State does not show cause it is deemed to have waived its right to a formal proceeding and the Assistant Secretary will publish a notice of withdrawal in the FEDERAL REGISTER (1955.10(a)).

• The 45-day period starts when the Assistant Secretary sends the letter described in 1955.10(a).
• Failure to respond within 45 days results in waiver of the State’s right to a formal proceeding and publication of a withdrawal notice by the Assistant Secretary as required in 1955.10(a).

The Assistant Secretary will publish a notice of proposed withdrawal when he determines, based on a petition under 1955.5 or on his own initiative, that approval of a State plan or part of it should be withdrawn, provided the State has not waived its right to a formal proceeding (1955.10(b)(1)).

• The notice will be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER as set out in 1955.11.
• The notice will be in the form of a complaint and will be served on the State in accordance with 1955.15 (1955.10(b)(1)).

Within five days after the Federal Register notice is published, the State must publish reasonable in-state notice that summarizes the Federal notice and tells where the full Federal notice can be inspected and copied (1955.10(b)(2)).

• The in-state notice must contain a summary of the information in the Federal notice and the location(s) where the full notice is available for public inspection and copying (1955.10(b)(2)).
• This in-state notice is meant to give the public access to the full proposed withdrawal information referenced in 1955.10(b)(1).

The State must serve two copies of the in-state notice on the Assistant Secretary, and they must be served in accordance with the service rules in 1955.15 (1955.10(b)(3)).

• Serving two copies ensures the Assistant Secretary receives the same public notice information the State distributed internally (1955.10(b)(3)).
• Follow the specific service procedures described in 1955.15 when delivering those copies.

The State must submit, within 30 days of the Federal Register publication, a statement identifying the items in the notice it contests and a brief statement of the facts it relies on, including whether it intends to use witnesses; this statement must be served in accordance with 1955.15 (1955.10(c)).

• The filing must list which specific allegations or items are contested and provide concise factual support for each contested item (1955.10(c)).
• The State should say whether it will call witnesses so the Assistant Secretary and hearing process can plan accordingly (1955.10(c)).

If the State fails to respond to the notice of proposed withdrawal within the 30-day period, it is deemed to have waived its right to a formal proceeding and the Assistant Secretary will publish a notice of withdrawal of approval in the FEDERAL REGISTER (1955.10(c)).

• Failure to file the required contested-items statement leads directly to waiver and publication of withdrawal without a formal hearing (1955.10(c)).

A petition filed under 1955.5 can cause the Assistant Secretary to determine that a State plan or part of it should be withdrawn, prompting publication of a notice of proposed withdrawal under 1955.10(b)(1).

• The Assistant Secretary may act either on a petition or on his own initiative; a valid petition is one of the bases that can start the process described in 1955.10(b)(1).

The Federal Register notice of proposed withdrawal will be published in the form of a complaint and its publication format and content protections are specified in 1955.11, with the procedure triggered under 1955.10(b)(1).

• The Assistant Secretary publishes the notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER as set out in 1955.11 and serves it as a complaint under 1955.15 (1955.10(b)(1)).

A State waives its right to a formal proceeding either by failing to show cause within 45 days under 1955.10(a) or by failing to respond within 30 days after publication under 1955.10(c), which is consistent with the waiver concept referenced in 1955.3(b).

• Either procedural failure results in the Assistant Secretary publishing a notice of withdrawal in the FEDERAL REGISTER as provided in 1955.10(a) and 1955.10(c).

State officials should track three deadlines: 45 days to show cause after the Assistant Secretary’s letter (1955.10(a)), five days to publish an in-state summary after the Federal Register publication (1955.10(b)(2)), and 30 days to submit a contested-items statement after the Federal Register publication (1955.10(c)).

• Missing either the 45-day or 30-day deadlines results in waiver and potential publication of a withdrawal notice by the Assistant Secretary (1955.10(a); 1955.10(c)).

The intended audience is the State’s public and interested parties who need access to the proposed withdrawal information; the in-state notice is required to summarize the Federal notice and point to locations where the full notice can be inspected and copied (1955.10(b)(2)).

• The requirement ensures transparency and public access to the details of the proposed withdrawal that were published in the FEDERAL REGISTER (1955.10(b)(2)).

It means the notice published in the Federal Register will be drafted as a complaint and will be formally served on the State under the service rules in 1955.15, consistent with the procedural requirement in 1955.10(b)(1).

• Publishing the notice as a complaint provides the formal allegations and grounds for proposed withdrawal and starts the administrative process described in 1955.10(b)(1).

Yes — the State must indicate in its 30-day submission whether it intends to use witnesses, because that information is part of the required brief statement of facts and helps the Assistant Secretary plan the formal proceeding if one goes forward (1955.10(c)).

• Stating witness intent in advance aids scheduling, evidence planning, and the administrative hearing process described in 1955.10(c).

The Assistant Secretary has the authority to initiate a withdrawal proceeding on his own initiative and may determine that approval of a State plan or any portion should be withdrawn, which then triggers publication under 1955.10(b)(1).

• The Assistant Secretary can act either after receiving a petition under 1955.5 or on his own determination (1955.10(b)(1)).

The two copies required by 1955.10(b)(3) refer to the in-state notice that the State must publish within five days of the Federal Register publication under 1955.10(b)(2), so the two copies should be served on the Assistant Secretary in accordance with 1955.15 after or at the time of that in-state publication (1955.10(b)(2); 1955.10(b)(3)).

• In practice, serve the two copies promptly so the Assistant Secretary receives the same information the public sees in the State’s notice (1955.10(b)(3)).

The State’s 30-day statement must list the specific items it contests and provide a brief factual statement supporting each contested item, including whether it intends to use witnesses, and must be served in accordance with 1955.15 (1955.10(c)).

• Be specific about which parts of the Federal complaint are contested and give concise facts or evidence the State relies on for each contested item (1955.10(c)).

Yes — a State may waive its right to a formal proceeding under the waiver concept referenced in 1955.3(b); if the State has waived that right, the Assistant Secretary will publish a notice of withdrawal without initiating a formal proceeding (1955.10(b)(1)).

• A waiver can be explicit (per 1955.3(b)) or can result from failing to meet the response deadlines in 1955.10(a) or 1955.10(c).

State public information officers should include a clear summary of the Federal Register notice and the specific location(s) where the full Federal notice can be inspected and copied, and they must publish that notice within five days of the Federal Register publication (1955.10(b)(2)).

• Keep the summary factual and list addresses or public offices (or websites if applicable) where the full notice is available for inspection and copying, in line with 1955.10(b)(2).

The Federal complaint published as the notice of proposed withdrawal sets out the items that may be withdrawn, and the State’s 30-day contested-items statement must identify which of those items the State contests and provide brief factual support, as required by 1955.10(c) and published under the procedure in 1955.10(b)(1).

• The contested-items statement is the State’s formal response to the allegations in the Federal complaint and triggers the next steps in the withdrawal process if a formal proceeding is to occur (1955.10(c)).