Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 33 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part V - Hazardous Wastes and Hazardous Materials › Subpart 1 - Department of Environmental Quality-Hazardous Waste › Chapter 43 - Interim Status › Subchapter G - Financial Requirements › Section V-4403 - Financial Assurance for Closure

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
By the effective date of these regulations 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 Subsections A-E 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 that conforms
					 to the requirements of this Paragraph, and submitting an originally signed
					 duplicate of the trust agreement to the Office of Environmental Services . The
					 trustee must be an entity that 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 LAC 33:V.3719.A, and
					 the trust agreement must be accompanied by a formal certification of
					 acknowledgement (for example, see LAC 33:V.3719.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 20-years beginning with the
					 effective date of these regulations 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.
a. The first payment must be made by the
					 effective date of these regulations except as provided in LAC 33:V.4403.A.5.
					 The first payment must be at least equal to the current closure cost estimate,
					 except as provided in LAC 33:V.4403.F, divided by the number of years in the
					 pay-in period.
b. 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 = current closure cost estimate
CV = current value of the trust fund
Y = 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
					 LAC 33:V.4403.A.3.
5. If the owner
					 or operator establishes a closure trust fund after having used one or more
					 alternate mechanisms specified in LAC 33:V.4403, 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 as specified in LAC
					 33:V.4403.A.3.
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 Office of Environmental Services 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 Office of Environmental Services 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 LAC
					 33:V.4403.A.7 or 8 the administrative authority will instruct the trustee to
					 release to the owner or operator such funds as the administrative authority
					 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
					 Office of Environmental Services . The owner or operator may request
					 reimbursement 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 administrative authority will instruct
					 the trustees to make reimbursements in those amounts as the administrative
					 authority specifies in writing, if the administrative authority determines that
					 the partial or final closure expenditures are in accordance with the approved
					 closure plan, or otherwise justified. If the administrative authority 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 LAC 33:V.4407.H that the owner or operator is no
					 longer required to maintain financial assurance for final closure of the
					 facility. If the administrative authority does not instruct the trustee to make
					 such reimbursements, he will provide to the owner or operator a detailed
					 written statement of reasons.
11.
					 The administrative authority will agree to termination of the trust when:
a. an owner or operator substitutes alternate
					 financial assurance as specified in LAC 33:V.4403; or
b. the administrative authority releases the
					 owner or operator from the requirements of LAC 33:V.4403 in accordance with LAC
					 33:V.4403.H.