§ 733.12 Early identification and corrective action to address State regulatory program issues. ( a ) When the Director identifies a State regulatory program issue, he or she should take action to make sure the identified State regulatory program issue is corrected as soon as possible to ensure that it does not become an issue that would give the Director reason to believe that the State regulatory authority is not effectively implementing, administering, enforcing, or maintaining all or a portion of its State regulatory program. ( 1 ) The Director may become aware of State regulatory program issues through oversight of State regulatory programs or as a result of information received from any source, including a citizen complainant.
( 2 ) If the Director concludes that the State regulatory authority is not effectively implementing, administering, enforcing, or maintaining all or a portion of its State regulatory program, the Director may initiate procedures to substitute Federal enforcement of a State regulatory program or withdraw approval of a State regulatory program, in accordance with § 733.13.
( b ) For each State regulatory program issue, the Director or their designee, in consultation with the State regulatory authority, will develop and approve an action plan within 60 days of identification of a State regulatory program issue. Within 10 business days of OSMRE's determination that a State regulatory program issue exists, OSMRE and the State regulatory authority may identify interim remedial measures that may abate the existing condition or issue. The requirements of an action plan are as follows: ( 1 ) An action plan will be written with specificity to identify the State regulatory program issue and identify an effective mechanism for timely correction. The State regulatory authority must complete all identified actions contained within an action plan within 365 days from when OSMRE sends the action plan to the relevant State regulatory authority.
( 2 ) An action plan will identify any necessary technical assistance or other assistance that the Director or his or her designee can provide and remedial measures that a State regulatory authority must take immediately upon approval of the action plan.
( 3 ) An OSMRE approved action plan must also include: ( i ) An action plan identification number;
( ii ) A concise title and description of the State regulatory program issue;
( iii ) Specific criteria for establishing when complete resolution of the violation will be achieved;
( iv ) Specific and orderly sequence of actions the State regulatory authority must take to remedy the problem;
( v ) A detailed schedule for completion of each action in the sequence; and
( vi ) A clear explanation that if, upon completion of the action plan, the State regulatory program issue is not corrected, the provisions of § 733.13 may be initiated.
( 4 ) Once all items in paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of this section are satisfactorily addressed, OSMRE will approve the action plan. If the State regulatory authority does not cooperate with OSMRE in developing the action plan, OSMRE will develop the action plan within the guidelines listed in paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of this section and require the State regulatory authority to comply with the action plan.
( c ) All identified State regulatory program issues, and any associated action plans, must be tracked and reported in the applicable State regulatory authority's Annual Evaluation Report. Each State regulatory authority Annual Evaluation Report will be accessible through OSMRE's website and at the relevant OSMRE office. Within each report, benchmarks identifying progress related to resolution of the State regulatory program issue must be documented.
( d ) Nothing in this section prevents a State regulatory authority from taking direct enforcement action in accordance with its State regulatory program or OSMRE from taking additional appropriate oversight enforcement action.
[89 FR 24734, Apr. 9, 2024]