(a) Following FRA's initial approval of the railroad's SSP plan pursuant to § 270.201, the railroad shall annually conduct an assessment of the extent to which:

1. (1) The system safety program is fully implemented;
2. (2) The railroad is in compliance with the implemented elements of the approved system safety program; and
3. (3) The railroad has achieved the goals set forth in § 270.103(c).

(b) As part of its SSP plan, the railroad shall set forth a statement describing the processes used to:

1. (1) Conduct internal system safety program assessments;
2. (2) Internally report the findings of the internal system safety program assessments;
3. (3) Develop, track, and review recommendations as a result of the internal system safety program assessments;
4. (4) Develop improvement plans based on the internal system safety program assessments. Improvement plans shall, at a minimum, identify who is responsible for carrying out the necessary tasks to address assessment findings and specify a schedule of target dates with milestones to implement the improvements that address the assessment findings; and
5. (5) Manage revisions and updates to the SSP plan based on the internal system safety program assessments.

(c) (1) Within 60 days of completing its internal SSP plan assessment pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the railroad shall:

1. (i) Submit to FRA a copy of the railroad's internal assessment report that includes a system safety program assessment and the status of internal assessment findings and improvement plans to the FRA Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer, Mail Stop 25, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; and
2. (ii) Outline the specific improvement plans for achieving full implementation of the SSP plan, as well as achieving the goals of the plan.
3. (2) The railroad's chief official responsible for safety shall certify the results of the railroad's internal SSP plan assessment.