§ 2700.24 Emergency response plan dispute proceedings.

(a) Referral by the Secretary. The Secretary shall immediately refer to the Commission any citation arising from a dispute between the Secretary and an operator with respect to the content of the operator's emergency response plan, or any refusal by the Secretary to approve such a plan. Any referral made pursuant to this paragraph shall be made within two business days of the issuance of any such citation.

(b) Contents of referral. A referral shall consist of a notice of plan dispute describing the nature of the dispute; a copy of the citation issued by the Secretary; a short and plain statement of the Secretary's position with respect to any disputed plan provision; and a copy of the disputed provision of the emergency response plan.

(c) Short and plain statement by the operator. Within five calendar days following the filing of the referral, the operator shall file with the Commission a short and plain statement of its position with respect to the disputed plan provision.

(d) Filing and service of pleadings. The filing with the Commission of any document in an emergency response plan dispute proceeding, including the referral, is effective upon receipt. A copy of each document filed with the Commission in such a proceeding shall be served on all parties and on any miner or miners' representative who has participated in the emergency response plan review process by a method of service no less expeditious than that used for filing, except that if service by electronic transmission (email) is impossible, the filing party must serve in person, by third party commercial carrier, or by facsimile transmission, resulting in same-day delivery.