Section 8.6 - Withdrawal of approval of Accreditation BodiesIf the Secretary determines that an Accreditation Body is not in substantial compliance with this subpart, the Secretary shall take appropriate action as follows:
(a)Major deficiencies. If the Secretary determines that the Accreditation Body has a major deficiency, such as commission of fraud, material false statement, failure to perform a major accreditation function satisfactorily, or significant noncompliance with the requirements of this subpart, the Secretary shall withdraw approval of that Accreditation Body. (1) In the event of a major deficiency, the Secretary shall notify the Accreditation Body of the agency's action and the grounds on which the approval was withdrawn.(2) An Accreditation Body that has lost its approval shall notify each OTP that has been accredited or is seeking accreditation that the Accreditation Body's approval has been withdrawn. Such notification shall be made within a time period and in a manner approved by the Secretary.(b)Minor deficiencies. If the Secretary determines that the Accreditation Body has minor deficiencies in the performance of an accreditation function, that are less serious or more limited than the types of deficiencies described in paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary will notify the Body that it has 90 days to submit to the Secretary a plan of corrective action. The plan must include a summary of corrective actions and a schedule for their implementation. The Secretary may place the Body on probationary status for a period of time determined by the Secretary, or may withdraw approval of the Body if corrective action is not taken. (1) If the Secretary places an Accreditation Body on probationary status, the Body shall notify all OTPs that have been accredited, or that are seeking accreditation, of the Accreditation Body's probationary status within a time period and in a manner approved by the Secretary.(2) Probationary status will remain in effect until such time as the Body can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Secretary that it has successfully implemented or is implementing the corrective action plan within the established schedule, and the corrective actions taken have substantially eliminated all identified problems.(3) If the Secretary determines that an Accreditation Body that has been placed on probationary status is not implementing corrective actions satisfactorily or within the established schedule, the Secretary may withdraw approval of the Accreditation Body. The Accreditation Body shall notify all OTPs that have been accredited, or are seeking accreditation, of the Accreditation Body's loss of the Secretary's approval within a time period and in a manner approved by the Secretary.(c)Reapplication.(1) An Accreditation Body that has had its approval withdrawn may submit a new application for approval if the Body can provide information to the Secretary to establish that the problems that were grounds for withdrawal of approval have been resolved.(2) If the Secretary determines that the new application demonstrates that the Body satisfactorily has addressed the causes of its previous unacceptable performance, the Secretary may reinstate approval of the Accreditation Body.(3) The Secretary may request additional information or establish additional conditions that must be met before the Secretary approves the reapplication.(4) The Secretary may refuse to accept an application from a former Accreditation Body whose approval was withdrawn because of fraud, material false statement, or willful disregard of public health.(d)Hearings. An opportunity to challenge an adverse action taken regarding withdrawal of approval of an Accreditation Body shall be addressed through the relevant procedures set forth in subpart C of this part, except that the procedures in § 8.28 for expedited review of an immediate suspension would not apply to an Accreditation Body that has been notified under paragraph (a) or (b) of this section of the withdrawal of its approval.