Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 11 - Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality › Part 5 - Underground Storage Tank Regulations › Chapter 2 - Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality Underground Storage Tanks Regulations Technical Standards and Corrective Action Requirements for Owners and Operators of Underground Storage Tanks (UST) (Adopted March 22, 1989; Amended August 25, 2011, Last Amended August 23, 2018) › Rule 11-5-2.8 - Financial Responsibility › Section 11-5-2.8-280.107 - Local government fund

Current through June 25, 2024
A local government owner or operator may satisfy the
					 requirements of § 280.93 by establishing a dedicated fund account that
					 conforms to the requirements of this section. Except as specified in paragraph
					 (b), a dedicated fund may not be commingled with other funds or otherwise used
					 in normal operations. A dedicated fund will be considered eligible if it meets
					 one of the following requirements:
(a)
				  The fund is dedicated by state constitutional provision, or local government
				  statute, charter, ordinance, or order to pay for taking corrective action and
				  for compensating third parties for bodily injury and property damage caused by
				  accidental releases arising from the operation of petroleum underground storage
				  tanks and is funded for the full amount of coverage required under §
				  280.93, or funded for part of the required amount of coverage and used in
				  combination with other mechanism(s) that provide the remaining coverage;
				  or
(b) The fund is dedicated by
				  state constitutional provision, or local government statute, charter,
				  ordinance, or order as a contingency fund for general emergencies, including
				  taking corrective action and compensating third parties for bodily injury and
				  property damage caused by accidental releases arising from the operation of
				  petroleum underground storage tanks, and is funded for five times the full
				  amount of coverage required under § 280.93, or funded for part of the
				  required amount of coverage and used in combination with other mechanism(s)
				  that provide the remaining coverage. If the fund is funded for less than five
				  times the amount of coverage required under § 280.93, the amount of
				  financial responsibility demonstrated by the fund may not exceed one-fifth the
				  amount in the fund; or
(c) The fund
				  is dedicated by state constitutional provision, or local government statute,
				  charter, ordinance or order to pay for taking corrective action and for
				  compensating third parties for bodily injury and property damage caused by
				  accidental releases arising from the operation of petroleum underground storage
				  tanks. A payment is made to the fund once every year for seven years until the
				  fund is fully-funded. This seven year period is hereafter referred to as the
				  "pay-in-period." The amount of each payment must be determined by this formula:
TF - CF
/Y
Where TF is the total required financial assurance for the
					 owner or operator, CF is the current amount in the fund, and Y is the number of
					 years remaining in the pay-in-period, and;
(1) The local government owner or operator
				  has available bonding authority, approved through voter referendum (if such
				  approval is necessary prior to the issuance of bonds), for an amount equal to
				  the difference between the required amount of coverage and the amount held in
				  the dedicated fund. This bonding authority shall be available for taking
				  corrective action and for compensating third parties for bodily injury and
				  property damage caused by accidental releases arising from the operation of
				  petroleum underground storage tanks, or
(2) The local government owner or operator
				  has a letter signed by the appropriate state attorney general stating that the
				  use of the bonding authority will not increase the local government's debt
				  beyond the legal debt ceilings established by the relevant state laws. The
				  letter must also state that prior voter approval is not necessary before use of
				  the bonding authority.