Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3745 - Ohio Environmental Protection Agency › Chapter 3745-55 - Corrective Action, Closure, Post-Closure, and Financial Requirements › Section 3745-55-43 - Financial assurance for facility closure

Current through all
			 regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
An owner or operator of each facility shall establish financial
				assurance for closure of the facility. The owner or operator shall choose from
				among the following options:
(A)
			 Closure trust fund.
(1) An owner or operator
			 may satisfy the requirements of this rule by establishing a closure trust fund
			 which conforms to the requirements of paragraph
			 (A)  of this rule and
			 submitting an originally signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the
			 director . An owner or
			 operator of a new facility shall send the originally signed duplicate of the
			 trust agreement to the director  at least sixty days before the date on which hazardous waste is
			 first received for treatment, storage, or disposal. 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 paragraph (A)(1) of rule
			 3745-55-51
			 of the Administrative Code and the trust agreement shall be accompanied by a
			 formal certification of acknowledgement. [For example, see paragraph (A)(2) of
			 rule
			 3745-55-51
			 of the Administrative Code.] "Schedule A" of the trust agreement shall be
			 updated within sixty days after a change in the amount of the current closure
			 cost estimate covered by the agreement.
(3) Payments to the trust fund shall be made
			 annually by the owner or operator over the term of the initial hazardous waste
			 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 shall be made
			 as follows:
(a) For a new facility, the first
			 payment shall be made before the initial receipt of hazardous waste for
			 treatment, storage, or disposal. A receipt from the trustee for this payment
			 shall be submitted by the owner or operator to the director before this initial
			 receipt of hazardous waste. The first payment shall be at least equal to the
			 current closure cost estimate (see rule
			 3745-55-42
			 of the Administrative Code) except as provided in paragraph (G) of this rule,
			 divided by the number of years in the pay-in period. Subsequent payments shall
			 be made no later than thirty days after each anniversary date of the first
			 payment. The amount of each subsequent payment shall 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.
(b) If an
			 owner or operator establishes a trust fund as specified in paragraph (A) of
			 this rule, and the value of that trust fund is less than the current closure
			 cost estimate when a permit is issued to the facility, the amount of the
			 current closure cost estimate still to be paid into the trust fund shall be
			 paid in over the pay-in period as described in paragraph (A)(3) of this rule.
			 Payments shall continue to be made no later than thirty days after each
			 anniversary date of the first payment made pursuant to Chapters 3745-65 to
			 3745-69 and 3745-256 of the Administrative Code. The amount of each 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 unto the trust fund or the owner
			 or operator may deposit the full amount of the current closure cost estimate at
			 the time the trust fund is established. However,
			 the owner or operator shall maintain the value of the trust fund at no less than the value the
			 trust fund would have if annual payments were
			 made as specified in paragraph (A)(3) of this rule.
(5) If the owner or operator establishes a
			 closure trust fund after having used one or more alternate mechanisms specified
			 in this rule or in rule
			 3745-66-43
			 of the Administrative Code, the owner's or operator's first payment shall be in
			 at least the amount that the trust fund would
			 contain if the trust fund were established initially and annual payments made
			 according to paragraph (A)(3) of this rule and paragraph (A) of rule
			 3745-66-43
			 of the Administrative Code, as applicable.
(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 trust fund is
			 less than the amount of the new estimate, the owner or operator, within sixty
			 days after the change in the cost estimate, either shall  deposit an amount into the
			 trust fund so that the value of the
			 trust fund after this deposit at least equals the
			 amount of the current closure cost estimate, or obtain other financial
			 assurance as specified in this rule 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 rule for all or part of the trust
			 fund, 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 covered by
			 the trust fund.
(9) Within sixty
			 days after receiving a request from the owner or operator for release of funds
			 as specified in paragraph (A)(7) or (A)(8) of this rule, 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 reimbursement
			 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 the remaining operating life of the
			 facility. Within sixty days after receiving bills for partial or final closure
			 activities, the director will determine whether the partial or final closure
			 expenditures are in accordance with the approved closure plan or
			 are otherwise justified, and if so, the director
			 will instruct the trustee to make reimbursement in such amounts as the director
			 specifies in writing. If the director has reason to believe that the maximum
			 cost of closure over the remaining operating life
			 of the facility will be significantly greater than the value of the trust fund,
			 the director may withhold reimbursement of such amounts as the director deems
			 prudent until the director determines, in accordance with paragraph (I) of this
			 rule, 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, the director will provide the owner or
			 operator with a detailed written statement of reasons.
(11) The director will agree to termination
			 of the trust when either:
(a) The owner or
			 operator substitutes alternate financial assurance as specified in this
			 rule.
(b) The director releases the
			 owner or operator from the requirements of this rule in accordance with
			 paragraph (I) of this rule.