California Code of Regulations › Title 22 - Social Security › Division 4.5 - Environmental Health Standards for the Management of Hazardous Waste › Chapter 15 - Interim Status Standards for Owners and Operators of Hazardous Waste Transfer, Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities › Article 8 - Financial Requirements › Section 66265.143 - Financial Assurance for Closure

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
An owner or operator of each facility shall establish and
					 demonstrate to the Department financial assurance for closure of the facility.
					 The owner or operator shall choose from the options as specified in subsections
					 (a) through (e) and (h) of this section.
(a) Closure trust fund.
(1) An owner or operator may satisfy the
				  requirements of this section by establishing a closure trust fund which
				  conforms to the requirements of this subsection and submitting an originally
				  signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the Department. The trustee shall be
				  an entity which has the authority to act as a trustee and whose trust
				  operations are regulated and examined by a Federal or State agency.
(2) The wording of the trust agreement shall
				  be identical to the wording specified in section
				  66264.151, subsection (a)(1),
				  shall contain original signatures and shall be accompanied by a formal
				  certification of acknowledgement (for example, see section
				  66264.151, subsection (a)(2)).
				  Schedule A of the trust agreement shall be updated within 60 days after a
				  change in the amount of the current closure cost estimate covered by the trust
				  agreement.
(3) Payments into the
				  trust fund shall be made annually by the owner or operator over the ten (10)
				  years beginning with the establishment of the trust fund or over the remaining
				  operating life of the facility as estimated in the closure plan, whichever
				  period is shorter; this period is hereafter referred to as the "pay-in period."
				  The payments into the closure trust fund shall be made as follows.
(A) The first payment shall be at least equal
				  to the current closure cost estimate, except as provided in subsection (f), of
				  this section divided by the number of years in the pay-in period.
(B) Subsequent payments shall be made no
				  later than 30 days after each anniversary date of the first payment. The amount
				  of each subsequent payment must be determined by this formula:
Next payment = (CE-CV)/Y
where CE is the current closure cost estimate, CV is the
					 current value of the trust fund, and Y is the number of years remaining in the
					 pay-in period.
(4)
				  The owner or operator may accelerate payments into the trust fund or deposit
				  the full amount of the current closure cost estimate at the time the fund is
				  established. However, the value of the fund shall be maintained at no less than
				  the value that the fund would have if annual payments were made as specified in
				  subsection (a)(3) of this section.
(5) If the owner or operator establishes a
				  closure trust fund after having used one or more alternate mechanisms specified
				  in this section, the first payment shall be in at least the amount that the
				  fund would contain if the trust fund were established initially and annual
				  payments made as specified in subsection (a)(3) of this section.
(6) After the pay-in period is completed,
				  whenever the current closure cost estimate changes, the owner or operator shall
				  compare the new estimate with the trustee's most recent annual valuation of the
				  trust fund. If the value of the fund is less than the amount of the new
				  estimate, the owner or operator, within 60 days after the change in the cost
				  estimate, shall either deposit an amount into the fund so that its value after
				  this deposit at least equals the amount of the current closure cost estimate,
				  or obtain other financial assurance as specified in this article to cover the
				  difference.
(7) If the value of the
				  trust fund is greater than the total amount of the current closure cost
				  estimate, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the Department
				  for release of the amount in excess of the current closure cost
				  estimate.
(8) If an owner or
				  operator substitutes other financial assurance as specified in this section for
				  all or part of the trust fund, a written request may be submitted to the
				  Department for release of the amount in excess of the current closure cost
				  estimate covered by the trust fund.
(9) Within 60 days after receiving a request
				  from the owner or operator for release of funds as specified in subsections
				  (a)(7) or (8) of this section, the Department will instruct the trustee to
				  release to the owner or operator such funds as the Department specifies in
				  writing.
(10) Before final closure
				  occurs, the value of the trust fund shall equal the amount of the current
				  closure cost estimate. If the value of the fund is less than the amount of the
				  current estimate, the owner or operator shall either deposit an amount into the
				  fund so that its value after this deposit at least equals the amount of the
				  current closure cost estimate, or obtain other financial assurance, as
				  specified in this section, to cover the difference.
(11) After beginning partial or final
				  closure, an owner or operator or another person authorized to conduct partial
				  or final closure may request reimbursements for partial or final closure
				  expenditures by submitting itemized bills to the Department. The owner or
				  operator may request reimbursements for partial closure only if sufficient
				  funds are remaining in the trust fund to cover the maximum costs of closing the
				  facility over its remaining operating life. No later than 60 days after
				  receiving bills for partial or final closure activities, the Department shall
				  instruct the trustee to make reimbursements in those amounts as the Department
				  specifies in writing, if the Department determines that the partial or final
				  closure expenditures are in accordance with the approved closure plan, or
				  otherwise justified. If the Department has reason to believe that the maximum
				  cost of closure over the remaining life of the facility will be significantly
				  greater than the value of the trust fund, the Department may withhold
				  reimbursements of such amounts as deemed prudent until a determination is made,
				  in accordance with subsection (i) of this section, that the owner or operator
				  is no longer required to maintain financial assurance for final closure of the
				  facility. If the Department does not instruct the trustee to make such
				  reimbursements, a detailed written statement of reasons will be provided to the
				  owner or operator.
(12) The
				  Department will agree to termination of the trust when:
(A) an owner or operator substitutes
				  alternate financial assurance as specified in this section; or
(B) the Department releases the owner or
				  operator from the requirements in accordance with subsection (i) of this
				  section.