(a)  Any agency may petition the chairperson of the committee at any time to review any of the following:

(1)  The manner in which the administering agency is implementing state and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards applicable to the site investigation and remedial action that is being carried out by the responsible party at a hazardous materials release site.

(2)  The decision to issue a certificate of completion for the site.

(3)  The failure, or refusal, of the administering agency to act properly or in a timely manner pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 25264.

(b)  The petition specified in subdivision (a) shall state the reasons why the review is warranted, the basis for believing that applicable state and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards are not being implemented properly, or the grounds for objecting to the issuance of a certificate of completion.

(c)  (1)  The committee shall review the petition submitted pursuant to subdivision (a), consult with the petitioning and administering agencies, and make a decision regarding the validity of the petition within 30 calendar days of the date the petition is received.

(2)  If the committee finds that the petition is not valid, it shall deny the petition. If it finds that the administering agency is not properly implementing a state or local law, ordinance, regulation, or standard, the administering agency shall be divested of exclusive jurisdiction over the implementation of that law, ordinance, regulation, or standard and the jurisdiction shall revert to the appropriate agency.

(3)  If the committee finds that there are valid grounds for objecting to the issuance of a certificate of completion, the committee shall specify the actions that the responsible party and the administering agency shall be required to take before the certificate may be issued.

(4)  If the committee determines that the administering agency has not acted properly or in a timely manner pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 25264, the committee shall determine whether one or more of the conditions described in paragraphs (1) through (6), inclusive, of subdivision (c) of Section 25264 applies to the hazardous materials release site for which a certificate of completion has been issued pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25264. If the committee makes a determination pursuant to this paragraph, the committee shall require the administering agency to take any further action at the site that is necessary to address the condition or designate another administering agency to take the necessary action.

(d)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect or limit the jurisdiction of the administering agency in connection with the administration of any state or local law, ordinance, regulation, or standard that has not been challenged under this section.

(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 912, Sec. 4. Effective September 29, 2000.)