Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 37 - FINANCIAL ASSURANCE › Subchapter C - FINANCIAL ASSURANCE MECHANISMS FOR CLOSURE, POST CLOSURE, AND CORRECTIVE ACTION › Section 37.201 - Trust Fund

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) An owner or
				  operator may satisfy the requirements of financial assurance by establishing
				  either a fully funded trust or a pay-in trust which conforms to the
				  requirements of this section, in addition to the requirements specified in
				  Subchapters A and B of this chapter (relating to General Financial Assurance
				  Requirements and Financial Assurance Requirements for Closure, Post Closure,
				  and Corrective Action), and submitting an originally signed duplicate of the
				  executed trust agreement to the executive director.
(b) 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.
(c) The wording of the trust agreement must
				  be identical to the wording specified in §
										37.301(a)
				  of this title (relating to Trust Agreement) including a formal certification of
				  acknowledgment as specified in §
										37.301(b)
				  of this title.
(d) Schedule A of
				  the trust agreement as specified in §
										37.301(a)
				  of this title must be updated within 60 days after an approved change in the
				  amount of the current cost estimate or annual inflation adjustments.
(e) A fully funded trust requires that the
				  initial payment into the trust fund be at least equal to the current cost
				  estimate, or when a combination of mechanisms are used in accordance with
				  §
										37.41
				  of this title (relating to Use of Multiple Financial Assurance Mechanisms), the
				  initial payment plus the amount of the combined mechanism(s) must be at least
				  equal to the current cost estimate. A receipt from the trustee for the initial
				  payment must be submitted by the owner or operator to the executive director
				  with the originally signed duplicate of the trust agreement.
(f) In the case of a pay-in trust for closure
				  or post closure, 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
				  life of the facility, whichever is shorter. In the case of a pay-in trust for
				  corrective action for known releases, the payments into the trust fund must be
				  made annually by the owner or operator over one-half of the estimated length of
				  the corrective action program. The periods referred to in this subsection are
				  the pay-in periods. The payments into the trust fund must be made in accordance
				  with this subsection. During the period of post closure, a pay-in trust for
				  post closure may not be used.
(1) For a pay-in
				  trust used to demonstrate financial assurance for closure and post closure, the
				  first payment into the fund must be at least equal to the current cost estimate
				  for closure or post closure, less the amount of the combined mechanisms,
				  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 subsequent payments must be determined by the following formula:
Attached
					 Graphic
(2) For
				  a pay-in trust used to demonstrate financial assurance for corrective action,
				  the first payment into the trust fund must be at least equal to one-half of the
				  current cost estimate for corrective action, less the amount of the combined
				  mechanisms, divided by the number of years in the corrective action pay-in
				  period. The amount of subsequent payments must be determined by the following
				  formula:
Attached
					 Graphic
(3) The
				  owner or operator may accelerate payments into the trust fund or may deposit
				  the full amount of the current cost estimate at the time the fund is
				  established. However, the owner or operator 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 paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection.
(4) If the owner or operator establishes a
				  trust fund after having used another financial assurance mechanism, the first
				  payment must be at least equal to the amount that the fund would contain if the
				  trust fund was established when the permit was initially issued, and subsequent
				  payments must be made as specified in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this
				  subsection.