Title 15, Commerce and TradeRelease 119-110
§2645 Submission to State Governor
Title 15 › CHAPTER 53 — TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL › SUBCHAPTER II — ASBESTOS HAZARD EMERGENCY RESPONSE › § 2645
Summary
Local school districts must send an asbestos management plan to their State Governor within 720 days after October 22, 1986 (or within 810 days if certain federal rules do not exist). Governors have 360 days after October 22, 1986 to tell districts where to send plans and may set review steps. Governors can reject a plan within 90 days if it does not follow the rules, does not promise to use accredited contractors, or does not include a reasonable, timely plan to deal with friable asbestos while keeping schools functioning. If a plan is rejected, the Governor must explain in writing what must change. The district then has 30 days to fix the plan, and the Governor may extend that fix period up to 90 more days. A district may ask to delay the deadline until May 9, 1989 by filing a deferral request by October 12, 1988 that lists the schools covered and includes required statements and proof (for example, contract solicitations, lab tests pending, or training). Before filing a deferral, the district must notify parent, teacher, and employee groups and, for public schools, discuss the request at a public school board meeting. The Governor must tell the district within 30 days if the request is complete or identify missing items; the district can correct and refile and must get a written acknowledgment for approval. If approved, the district must submit its plan by May 9, 1989 and it will be reviewed as above (with only a limited extra time for revisions). Approval of a deferral does not excuse starting plan actions by July 9, 1989. The EPA must publish and mail notices about the deferral option after July 18, 1988, and Governors must send status reports to the EPA Administrator by December 31, 1988 and an updated report by December 31, 1989 listing which districts submitted plans, got deferrals, or failed to submit.
Full Legal Text
Title 15, §2645
Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Submission
Within 720 days after October 22, 1986 (or within 810 days if there are no regulations under section 2643(i) of this title), a local educational agency shall submit a management plan developed pursuant to regulations promulgated under section 2643(i) of this title (or under section 2644(d) of this title if there are no regulations) to the Governor of the State in which the local educational agency is located.
(b)Governor requirements
Within 360 days after October 22, 1986, the Governor of each State—
(1)shall notify local educational agencies in the State of where to submit their management plans under this section, and
(2)may establish administrative procedures for reviewing management plans submitted under this section.
If the Governor establishes procedures under paragraph (2), the Governor shall designate to carry out the reviews those State officials who are responsible for implementing environmental protection or other public health programs, or with authority over asbestos programs, in the State.
(c)Management plan review
(1)Review of plan
The Governor may disapprove a management plan within 90 days after the date of receipt of the plan if the plan—
(A)does not conform with the regulations under section 2643(i) of this title (or with section 2644(d) of this title if there are no regulations),
(B)does not assure that contractors who are accredited pursuant to this subchapter will be used to carry out the plan, or
(C)does not contain a response action schedule which is reasonable and timely, taking into account circumstances relevant to the speed at which the friable asbestos-containing material in the school buildings under the local educational agency’s authority should be responded to, including human exposure to the asbestos while the friable asbestos-containing material remains in the school building, and the ability of the local educational agency to continue to provide educational services to the community.
(2)Revision of plan
If the State Governor disapproves a plan, the State Governor shall explain in writing to the local educational agency the reasons why the plan was disapproved and the changes that need to be made in the plan. Within 30 days after the date on which notice is received of disapproval of its plan, the local educational agency shall revise the plan to conform with the State Governor’s suggested changes. The Governor may extend the 30-day period for not more than 90 days.
(d)Deferral of submission
(1)Request for deferral
A local educational agency may request a deferral, to May 9, 1989, of the deadline under subsection (a). Upon approval of such a request, the deadline under subsection (a) is deferred until May 9, 1989, for the local educational agency which submitted the request. Such a request may cover one or more schools under the authority of the agency and shall include a list of all the schools covered by the request. A local educational agency shall file any such request with the State Governor by October 12, 1988, and shall include with the request either of the following statements:
(A)A statement—
(i)that the State in which the agency is located has requested from the Administrator, before June 1, 1988, a waiver under section 2643(m) of this title; and
(ii)that gives assurance that the local educational agency has carried out the notification and, in the case of a public school, public meeting required by paragraph (2).
(B)A statement, the accuracy of which is sworn to by a responsible official of the agency (by notarization or other means of certification), that includes the following with respect to each school for which a deferral is sought in the request:
(i)A statement that, in spite of the fact that the local educational agency has made a good faith effort to meet the deadline for submission of a management plan under subsection (a), the agency will not be able to meet the deadline. The statement shall include a brief explanation of the reasons why the deadline cannot be met.
(ii)A statement giving assurance that the local educational agency has made available for inspection by the public, at each school for which a deferral is sought in the request, at least one of the following documents:
(I)A solicitation by the local educational agency to contract with an accredited asbestos contractor for inspection or management plan development.
(II)A letter attesting to the enrollment of school district personnel in an Environmental Protection Agency-accredited training course for inspection and management plan development.
(III)Documentation showing that an analysis of suspected asbestos-containing material from the school is pending at an accredited laboratory.
(IV)Documentation showing that an inspection or management plan has been completed in at least one other school under the local educational agency’s authority.
(iii)A statement giving assurance that the local educational agency has carried out the notification and, in the case of a public school, public meeting required by paragraph (2).
(iv)A proposed schedule outlining all significant activities leading up to submission of a management plan by May 9, 1989, including inspection of the school (if not completed at the time of the request) with a deadline of no later than December 22, 1988, for entering into a signed contract with an accredited asbestos contractor for inspection (unless such inspections are to be performed by school personnel), laboratory analysis of material from the school suspected of containing asbestos, and development of the management plan.
(2)Notification and public meeting
Before filing a deferral request under paragraph (1), a local educational agency shall notify affected parent, teacher, and employee organizations of its intent to file such a request. In the case of a deferral request for a public school, the local educational agency shall discuss the request at a public meeting of the school board with jurisdiction over the school, and affected parent, teacher, and employee organizations shall be notified in advance of the time and place of such meeting.
(3)Response by Governor (4) Submission and review of plan
(A)Not later than 30 days after the date on which a Governor receives a deferral request under paragraph (1) from a local educational agency, the Governor shall respond to the local educational agency in writing by acknowledging whether the request is complete or incomplete. If the request is incomplete, the Governor shall identify in the response the items that are missing from the request.
(B)A local educational agency may correct any deficiencies in an incomplete deferral request and refile the request with the Governor. In any case in which the local educational agency decides to refile the request, the agency shall refile the request, and the Governor shall respond to such refiled request in the manner described in subparagraph (A), no later than 15 days after the local educational agency has received a response from the Governor under subparagraph (A).
(C)Approval of a deferral request under this subsection occurs only upon the receipt by a local educational agency of a written acknowledgment from the Governor that the agency’s deferral request is complete.
(5)Implementation of plan
The approval of a deferral request from a local educational agency shall not be considered to be a waiver or exemption from the requirement under section 2643(i) of this title for the local educational agency to begin implementation of its management plan by July 9, 1989.
(6)EPA notice
(A)Not later than 15 days after July 18, 1988, the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register the following:
(i)A notice describing the opportunity to file a request for deferral under this subsection.
(ii)A list of the State offices (including officials (if available) in each State as designated under subsection (b)) with which deferral requests should be filed.
(B)As soon as practicable, but in no event later than 30 days, after July 18, 1988, the Administrator shall mail a notice describing the opportunity to file a request for deferral under this subsection to each local educational agency and to each State office in the list published under subparagraph (A).
(e)Status reports
(1)Not later than December 31, 1988, the Governor of each State shall submit to the Administrator a written statement on the status of management plan submissions and deferral requests by local educational agencies in the State. The statement shall be made available to local educational agencies in the State and shall contain the following:
(A)A list containing each local educational agency that submitted a management plan by October 12, 1988.
(B)A list containing each local educational agency whose deferral request was approved.
(C)A list containing each local educational agency that failed to submit a management plan by October 12, 1988, and whose deferral request was disapproved.
(D)A list containing each local educational agency that failed to submit a management plan by October 12, 1988, and did not submit a deferral request.
(2)Not later than December 31, 1989, the Governor of each State shall submit to the Administrator an updated version of the written statement submitted under paragraph (1). The statement shall be made available to local educational agencies in the State and shall contain the following:
(A)A list containing each local educational agency whose management plan was submitted and not disapproved as of October 9, 1989.
(B)A list containing each local educational agency whose management plan was submitted and disapproved, and which remains disapproved, as of October 9, 1989.
(C)A list containing each local educational agency that submitted a management plan after May 9, 1989, and before October 10, 1989.
(D)A list containing each local educational agency that failed to submit a management plan as of October 9, 1989.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1988—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–368, § 1(a), added subsec. (d). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–368, § 2, added subsec. (e).
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
15 U.S.C. § 2645
Title 15, Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110