1. (1) The director or their designee shall review and evaluate plans and other documents submitted by a local emergency management organization within the following time periods:

   1. (a) Ordinances/resolutions shall be reviewed within 30 working days of submittal to verify that a political subdivision has adopted a resolution creating or identifying an emergency management program as required for the emergency management performance grant, and a resolution adopting the national incident management system.
   2. (b) All other submittals of plans and updates shall be reviewed and appropriate feedback or response shall be provided within 45 working days of submittal.
2. (2) The director or their designee(s) shall review and evaluate documents for consistency with criteria established in this chapter and by state and federal guidance for local plans, annexes, revisions, and ordinances or resolutions creating emergency management organizations.
3. (3) If the director determines that any document is in nonconformance, they shall notify the local director of the emergency management organization or joint organization submitting the document. The director shall state in writing the reasons for determining that the document does not conform.

4. (4) The emergency management organization or joint organization and the political subdivision(s) it represents shall have 90 working days following the date of issuance of the director's notice of nonconformance to:

   1. (a) Change the document to meet state criteria and resubmit it to the state for reconsideration; or
   2. (b) Schedule a meeting with the director to be held within the 90 working day period to resolve differences between the emergency management organization and the director.

5. (5) If, following such a meeting, the director's determinations regarding the document are still averse to the emergency management organization or the political subdivision(s) it represents, the local director of the submitting emergency management organization may file a written appeal with the chairperson of the state emergency management council within 15 working days of receipt of the director's written notification or expiration of the 90 working day period following the issuance of the director's initial notice of nonconformance. Such an appeal shall state in writing emergency management the organization's reasons for appealing the director's determination and shall have appended to the appeal statement a copy of each of the following:

   - The document(s) in question.

   - The director's initial and any subsequent notice of nonconformance.

   - Any other letters, documents, meetings minutes, etc., that may impact the matter being appealed.

6. (6) The emergency management council shall have 30 working days from receipt of the local director's appeal to schedule a hearing to and issue notices of the hearing to all parties. The hearing shall be set for as soon as practical for all the parties, but not later than 90 working days after the emergency management council receives the notice of appeal.

   1. (a) In hearing the appeal, the council may consider any information supplied by the director, the emergency management organization, or the political subdivisions it represents, or any other party it wishes to allow to make a presentation. The hearing shall be an administrative law hearing.
   2. (b) Within 10 working days following the conclusion of the hearing, the council shall issue a written decision sustaining the director's determination, overturning the director's determination, or amending the director's determination.
7. (7) The emergency management organization shall not be held in nonconformance until the appeal process is complete.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 38.52.070. WSR 25-08-011, s 118-30-080, filed 3/20/25, effective 4/20/25. Statutory Authority: Chapter 38.52 RCW. WSR 86-15-068 (Order 86-10), § 118-30-080, filed 7/22/86.]