(a) The secretary shall, within a reasonable time after submission of a complete application for certification pursuant to Section 25404.2, and regulations adopted pursuant to that section, but not to exceed 180 days, review the application, and, after holding a public hearing, determine if the application should be approved. Before disapproving an application for certification, the secretary shall submit to the applicant agency a notification of the secretaryâs intent to disapprove the application, in which the secretary shall specify the reasons why the applicant agency does not have the capability or the resources to fully implement and enforce the unified program in a manner that is consistent with the regulations implementing the unified program adopted by the secretary pursuant to this chapter. The secretary shall provide the applicant agency with a reasonable time to respond to the reasons specified in the notification and to correct deficiencies in its application. The applicant agency may request a second public hearing, at which the secretary shall hear the applicant agencyâs response to the reasons specified in the notification. (b) In determining whether an applicant agency should be certified, or designated as certified, the secretary, after receiving comments from the director, the Director of Emergency Services, the State Fire Marshal, and the Executive Officers and Chairpersons of the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards, shall consider at least all of the following factors: (1) Adequacy of the technical expertise possessed by each unified program agency that will be implementing each element of the unified program, including, but not limited to, whether the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing the requirements of Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) satisfies the requirements of Section 15260 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations. (2) Adequacy of staff resources. (3) Adequacy of budget resources and funding mechanisms. (4) Training requirements. (5) Past performance in implementing and enforcing requirements related to the handling of hazardous materials and hazardous waste. (6) Recordkeeping and cost accounting systems. (7) Compliance with the criteria in Section 15170 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations. (c) (1) In making the determination of whether or not to certify a particular applicant agency as a certified unified program agency, the secretary shall consider the applications of every other applicant agency applying to be a certified unified program agency within the same county, in order to determine the impact of each certification decision on the county. If the secretary identifies that there may be adverse impacts on the county if any particular agency in a county is certified, the secretary shall work cooperatively with each affected agency to address the secretaryâs concerns. (2) The secretary shall not certify an agency to be a certified unified program agency unless the secretary finds both of the following: (A) The unified program will be implemented in a coordinated and consistent manner throughout the entire county in which the applicant agency is located. (B) The administration of the unified program throughout the entire county in which the applicant agency is located will be less fragmented between jurisdictions, as compared to before January 1, 1994, with regard to the administration of the provisions specified in subdivision (c) of Section 25404. (d) (1) The secretary shall not certify an applicant agency that proposes to allow participating agencies to implement certain elements of the unified program unless the secretary makes all of the following findings: (A) The applicant agency has adequate authority, and has in place adequate systems, protocols, and agreements, to ensure that the actions of the other agencies proposed to implement certain elements of the unified program are
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