§501.12. Program description. — Inbound Citations

(2) The program description required by § 501.12 of this part identifies any assignment of program responsibilities to the local agency(ies), describes the capabilities of the local agency to carry out assigned functions, and includes copies of any documents which execute the assignment and an agreement between the State sewage sludge management agency and the local agency(ies) defining their respective program responsibilities;

(2) A complete program description, as required by § 501.12 describing how the State intends to carry out its responsibilities under this part;

Any State that seeks to administer a program under this part shall submit a statement from the State Attorney General (or the attorney for those State or interstate agencies which have independent legal counsel) that the laws of the State, or an interstate compact, provide adequate authority to carry out the program described under § 501.12 and to meet the requirements of this part. This statement shall include citations to the specific statutes, administrative regulations, and, where appropriate, judicial decisions which demonstrate adequate authority. State statutes and regulations cited by the State Attorney General or independent legal counsel shall be in the form of lawfully adopted State statutes and regulations at the time the statement is signed and shall be fully effective by the time the program is approved. To qualify as “independent legal counsel” the attorney signing the statement required by this section must have full authority to independently represent the State agency in court on all matters pertaining to the State program. If a State (which is not an Indian Tribe) seeks to carry out the program on Indian lands, the statement shall include an appropriate opinion and analysis of the State's legal authority.

(c) States with approved programs must notify EPA whenever they propose to transfer all or part of any program from the approved State agency to any other State agency, and must identify any new division of responsibilities among the agencies involved. The new agency is not authorized to administer the program until approved by the Administrator under paragraph (b) of this section. Organizational charts required under § 123.22(b) (or, in the case of a sewage sludge management program, § 501.12(b) of this chapter) must be revised and resubmitted.

(c) After determining that a State program submission is complete, EPA will publish notice of the State's application in the Federal Register and in enough of the largest newspapers in the State to attract statewide attention. EPA will mail notices to persons known to be interested in such matters, including all persons on appropriate State and EPA mailing lists and all treatment works treating domestic sewage listed on the inventory required by § 501.12(f) of this part. The notice will:

(1) Provide a comment period of not less than 45 days during which interested members of the public may express their views on the State program;

(2) Provide opportunity for a public hearing within the State to be held no less than 30 days after notice is published in the Federal Register and indicate when and where the hearing is to be held, or how interested persons may request that a hearing be held if a hearing has not been scheduled. EPA shall hold a public hearing whenever the Regional Administrator finds, on the basis of requests, a significant degree of public interest in the State's application or that a public hearing might clarify one or more issues involved in the State's application.

(3) Indicate the cost of obtaining a copy of the State's submission;

(4) Indicate where and when the State's submission may be reviewed by the public;

(5) Indicate whom an interested member of the public should contact with any questions; and

(6) Briefly outline the fundamental aspects of the State's proposed program, and the process for EPA review and decision.