Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 33 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part V - Hazardous Wastes and Hazardous Materials › Subpart 1 - Department of Environmental Quality-Hazardous Waste › Chapter 37 - Financial Requirements › Subchapter B - Post-Closure Requirements › Section V-3711 - Financial Assurance for Post-Closure Care

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
The owner or operator of a hazardous waste management
						unit subject to the requirements of LAC 33:V.3709 must establish financial
						assurance for post-closure care in accordance with the approved post-closure
						plan for the facility 60 days prior to the initial receipt of hazardous waste
						or the effective date of the regulation, whichever is later. Under this
						Section, the owner or operator must choose from the options as specified in
						Subsections A-F of this Section, which choice the administrative authority must
						find acceptable based on the application and the circumstances.
A. Post-Closure Trust Fund
1. An owner or operator may satisfy the
					 requirements of this Part by establishing a post-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. An owner or operator of a new facility must submit the originally
					 signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the administrative authority at
					 least 60 days before the date on which hazardous waste is first received for
					 disposal. 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.1, and the trust agreement must be accompanied by a formal
					 certification of acknowledgment (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 post-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 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 post-closure trust fund must be made as follows.
a. For a new facility, the first payment must
					 be made before the initial receipt of hazardous waste for disposal. A receipt
					 from the trustee for this payment must be submitted by the owner or operator to
					 the administrative authority before this initial receipt of hazardous waste.
					 The first payment must be at least equal to the current post-closure cost
					 estimate, except as provided in LAC 33:V.3711.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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CE = current post-closure cost estimate;
CV = current value of the trust fund; and
Y = number of years remaining in the pay-in
						period.
b. If an owner or
					 operator has previously established a trust fund as specified in LAC
					 33:V.4407.A, and the value of that trust fund is less than the current
					 post-closure cost estimate when a permit under these regulations is awarded for
					 the facility, the amount of the current post-closure cost estimate still to be
					 paid into the fund must be paid in over the pay-in period as defined in LAC
					 33:V.3711.A.3. Payments must continue to be made no later than 30 days after
					 each anniversary date of the first payment made. The amount of each payment
					 must be determined by this formula.
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CE= current post-closure cost estimate;
CV = current value of the trust fund; and
Y = 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 post-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.3711.A.3.
5. If the owner
					 or operator establishes a post-closure trust fund after having used one or more
					 alternate mechanisms specified in this Section or in LAC 33:V.4407, his first
					 payment must be in at least the amount that the fund would contain if the trust
					 fund were established initially and if annual payments were made according to
					 specifications of this Subsection and LAC 33:V.4407, as applicable.
6. After the pay-in period is completed,
					 whenever the current post-closure cost estimate changes during the operating
					 life of the facility, 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 the fund at least equals the amount of the current
					 post-closure cost estimate, or obtain other financial assurance as specified in
					 this Part to cover the difference.
7. During the operating life of the facility,
					 if the value of the trust fund is greater than the total amount of the current
					 post-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 post-closure cost estimate.
8. If an owner or operator substitutes other
					 financial assurance as specified in this Part 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 post-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.3711.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. During the period of post-closure care,
					 the administrative authority may approve a release of funds if the owner or
					 operator demonstrates to the administrative authority that the value of the
					 trust fund exceeds the remaining cost of post-closure care.
11. An owner or operator, or any other person
					 authorized to perform post-closure care, may request reimbursement for the
					 post-closure expenditures by submitting itemized bills to the administrative
					 authority. Within 60 days after receiving bills for post-closure activities,
					 the administrative authority will instruct the trustee to make reimbursements
					 in those amounts as the administrative authority specifies in writing, if the
					 administrative authority determines that the post-closure care expenditures are
					 in accordance with the approved post-closure plan or otherwise justified. If
					 the administrative authority does not instruct the trustee to make such
					 reimbursements, he will provide the owner or operator with a detailed written
					 statement of reasons.
12. The
					 administrative authority will agree to termination of the trust when:
a. an owner or operator substitutes alternate
					 financial assurance as specified in this Part; or
b. the administrative authority releases the
					 owner or operator from the requirements of this Section in accordance with
					 Subsection I of this Section.