Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS › Chapter 264.1 - HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT: STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES › Part 264 - STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES › Subpart H - Financial Requirements › Section 11-264.143 - Financial assurance for closure

Current through June, 2024
An owner or operator of each facility must establish
						financial assurance for closure of the facility. He must choose from the
						options as specified in paragraphs (a) through (f) 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 paragraph and submitting an originally
					 signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the director. An owner or operator
					 of a new facility must submit the originally signed duplicate of the trust
					 agreement to the director at least 60 days before the date on which hazardous
					 waste is first received for treatment, storage, or disposal. The trustee must
					 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 must
					 be identical to the wording specified in § 264.151(a)(1), and the trust
					 agreement must be accompanied by a formal certification of acknowledgment (for
					 example, see § 264.151(a)(2)). Schedule A of the trust agreement must be
					 updated within 60 days after a change in the amount of the current closure cost
					 estimate covered by the agreement.
(3) Payments into the trust fund must be made
					 annually by the owner or operator over the term of the initial RCRA permit 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 must be made as
					 follows:
(i) For a new facility, the first
					 payment must be made before the initial receipt of hazardous waste for
					 treatment, storage, or disposal. A receipt from the trustee for this payment
					 must be submitted by the owner or operator to the director before this initial
					 receipt of hazardous waste. The first payment must be at least equal to the
					 current closure cost estimate, except as provided in § 264.143(g), divided
					 by the number of years in the pay-in period. Subsequent payments must 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:
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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.
(ii) If an
					 owner or operator establishes a trust fund as specified in § 265.143(a) of
					 this chapter, and the value of that trust fund is less than the current closure
					 cost estimate when a permit is awarded for the facility, the amount of the
					 current closure cost estimate still to be paid into the trust fund must be paid
					 in over the pay-in period as defined in paragraph (a)(3) of this section.
					 Payments must continue to be made no later than 30 days after each anniversary
					 date of the first payment made pursuant to part 265 of this chapter. The amount
					 of each payment must be determined by this formula:
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						here to view image
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 he may deposit the full amount of the current
					 closure cost estimate at the time the fund is established. However, he must
					 maintain the value of the fund at no less than the value that the fund would
					 have if annual payments were made as specified in paragraph (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 or in § 265.143 of this
					 chapter, his first payment must be in at least the amount that the fund would
					 contain if the trust fund were established initially and annual payments made
					 according to specifications of this paragraph and § 265.143(a) of this
					 chapter, as applicable.
(6) After
					 the pay-in period is completed, whenever the current closure cost estimate
					 changes, the owner or operator must 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, must 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.
(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 director 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, he may submit a written request to the director 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 paragraph (a)(7) or (8) of this section, the director will
					 instruct the trustee to release to the owner or operator such funds as the
					 director specifies in writing.
(10)
					 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 director. 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. Within 60 days after receiving bills for partial or final closure
					 activities, the director will instruct the trustee to make reimbursements in
					 those amounts as the director specifies in writing, if the director determines
					 that the partial or final closure expenditures are in accordance with the
					 approved closure plan, or otherwise justified. If the director 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, he may
					 withhold reimbursements of such amounts as he deems prudent until he
					 determines, in accordance with § 264.143(i) that the owner or operator is
					 no longer required to maintain financial assurance for final closure of the
					 facility. If the director does not instruct the trustee to make such
					 reimbursements, he will provide the owner or operator with a detailed written
					 statement of reasons.
(11) The
					 director will agree to termination of the trust when:
(i) An owner or operator substitutes
					 alternate financial assurance as specified in this section; or
(ii) The director releases the owner or
					 operator from the requirements of this section in accordance with §
					 264.143(i).