(a) Except for national defense withdrawals which can only be made by an Act of Congress, and except as may be otherwise provided in section 1(d) of Executive Order 10355 (17 FR 4833), for applications that are subject to that order, the allowance or denial, in whole or in part, of a withdrawal, modification or extension application, may only be made by the Secretary.

(b)

(1) Before the allowance of an application, in whole or in part, the Secretary shall first approve all applicable memoranda of understanding and the applicant shall make all certifications required in this part. When an application has been finally allowed, in whole or in part, by the Secretary, an order to that effect shall be published promptly in the Federal Register. Each order shall be designated as, and shall be signed by the Secretary and issued in the form of, a public land order. Water shall be reserved pursuant to Federal law for use in carrying out the purposes of the withdrawal only if specifically so stated in the relevant public land order. In appropriate cases, the public land order also shall refer to the memorandum of understanding discussed in §2310.3-2(c) of this title and shall be drawn to comply with §2310.3-6 of this title.

(2) On the same day an order withdrawing 5,000 or more acres in the aggregate is signed, the Secretary shall advise, in writing, each House of the Congress, or in the case of an emergency withdrawal, the appropriate Committee of each House, of the withdrawal action taken. Pursuant to the Secretary's authority under the act, the notices that are sent to the Congress shall be accompanied by the information required by section 204(c)(2) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1714(c)(2)), except in the case of an emergency withdrawal, transmittal of the required information may be delayed as provided in §2310.5(c) of this title.

(c) When the action sought in an application involves the exercise by the Secretary of authority delegated by Executive Order 10355 (17 FR 4831) and the Secretary denies the application in whole or in part, the applicant shall be notified of the reasons for the Secretary's decision. The decision shall be subject to further consideration only if the applicant informs the Secretary, in writing, within 15 days of the receipt by the applicant of the Secretary's decision, that the applicant has submitted the matter to the Office of Management and Budget for consideration and adjustment, as provided for in section 1(d) of the Executive Order.

(d) A withdrawal application shall be denied, if, in the opinion of the Secretary, the applicant is attempting to circumvent the Congressional review provisions of section 204(c)(1) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1714(c)(1)) concerning withdrawals of 5,000 or more acres in the aggregate.

(e) When an application is denied in its entirety by the Secretary, a notice to that effect, signed by the Secretary, shall be published promptly in the Federal Register.

(f) In the case of a national defense withdrawal that may only be made by an Act of Congress, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress proposed legislation effecting the withdrawal requested, together with the recommendations of the Secretary which may or may not support the proposed legislation in whole or in part. The proposed legislation shall contain such provisions for continued operation of the public land laws as to the public land areas included in the requested withdrawal as shall be determined by the Secretary to be compatible with the intended military use.