Section 301.450  Waiver of Exercise Requirement

a)         If an actual disaster occurs during a jurisdiction's four-year exercise cycle, IEMA, or the county for non-mandated unaccredited ESDAs, has the discretion to waive the requirements of this Subpart.  In addition to a letter requesting a waiver, ESDAs shall submit the following documentation as directed by IEMA or the county, but no later than 60 days prior to the application for accreditation or certification:

1)         Mandated ESDAs and non-mandated accredited ESDAs shall submit an After Action Report (AAR) and a Corrective Action/Improvement Plan to their IEMA regional office.  In addition, for information purposes only, non-mandated accredited ESDAs shall also submit the AAR and Corrective Action/Improvement Plan to the county in which they reside.

2)         Except for those non-mandated ESDAs accredited pursuant to Section 301.510, non-mandated ESDAs shall submit an AAR and a Corrective Action/Improvement Plan to the county in which they reside.

AGENCY NOTE:  Prior to an ESDA submitting the required documents for a waiver, IEMA or the county, as appropriate, shall determine which core capabilities will be evaluated to meet the exercise requirement.

b)         The IEMA State Exercise Officer, in conjunction with the respective Regional Coordinator, shall be responsible for evaluating waiver requests for mandated and non-mandated accredited ESDAs.  Counties shall be responsible for evaluating waiver requests for non-mandated unaccredited ESDAs. The AAR and Corrective Action/Improvement Plan shall be evaluated for consistency with HSEEP. The ESDA shall be granted a waiver if its AAR and Corrective Action/Improvement Plan are approved for the core capabilities determined by IEMA or the county, as appropriate, for the specific disaster.

c)         The IEMA State Exercise Officer and counties shall provide approvals of waiver requests in writing.

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 17631, effective October 31, 2020)