Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 20 - VIRGINIA WASTE MANAGEMENT BOARD › Chapter 70 - FINANCIAL ASSURANCE REGULATIONS FOR SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL, TRANSFER AND TREATMENT FACILITIES › Part III - Financial Assurance Criteria › Article 4 - Allowable Financial Mechanisms › Section 9VAC20-70-190 - Insurance

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. An owner or
					 operator may demonstrate financial assurance for closure, post-closure care or
					 corrective action by obtaining insurance which conforms to the requirements of
					 this section. The insurance shall be effective before the initial receipt of
					 waste or before January 7, 1998, whichever is later, in the case of closure and
					 post-closure care, or no later than 120 days after the corrective action remedy
					 has been selected. The insurer must be licensed pursuant to Chapter 10 (§
					 38.2-1000 et seq.) of Title 38.2 of the Code of Virginia. The owner or operator
					 shall provide the director with an original signed copy of the insurance policy
					 and place a copy in the operating record. The department shall be listed as an
					 additional insured on the policy, but the department will not be obligated for
					 payment of the premium in any manner.
B. The insurance policy shall guarantee that
					 funds will be available to close the solid waste management unit whenever final
					 closure occurs, to provide post-closure care for the solid waste disposal unit
					 whenever the post-closure care period begins, or to perform corrective action
					 whenever the corrective action period begins, whichever is applicable. The
					 policy shall also guarantee that once closure, post-closure care, or corrective
					 action begins, the insurer will be responsible for paying funds to the owner or
					 operator or other person authorized to conduct closure, post-closure care, or
					 corrective action up to an amount equal to the face amount of the
					 policy.
C. The insurance policy
					 shall be issued and maintained for a face amount at least equal to the current
					 cost estimate for closure, post-closure care, or corrective action, whichever
					 is applicable. The term face amount means the total amount the insurer is
					 obligated to pay under the policy. Actual payments by the insurer will not
					 change the face amount although the insurer's future liability will be lowered
					 by the amount of the payments.
D.
					 The insurance policy shall provide that the insurer will pay closure,
					 post-closure, or corrective action expenditures, whichever is applicable, on
					 behalf of the owner or operator or any other person authorized to conduct
					 closure, post-closure care, or corrective action. Justification and
					 documentation of the expenditures must be submitted to and approved by the
					 director. Requests for payment will be granted by the insurer only if the
					 remaining value of the policy is sufficient to cover the remaining costs of
					 closure, post-closure care, or corrective action, or if the director approves
					 the payment. The insurer shall notify the director when a payment has been
					 made.
E. Each policy shall contain
					 a provision allowing assignment of the policy to a successor owner or operator.
					 Such assignment may be conditional upon consent of the insurer, provided that
					 such consent is not unreasonably refused.
F. The insurance policy shall provide that
					 the insurer may not cancel, terminate or fail to renew the policy except for
					 failure to pay the premium. The automatic renewal of the policy shall, at a
					 minimum, provide the insured with the option of renewal at the face amount of
					 the expiring policy. If there is a failure to pay the premium, the insurer may
					 cancel the policy by sending notice of cancellation by certified mail to the
					 owner and operator and to the director 120 days in advance of cancellation.
					 Within 60 days of receipt of notice from the insurer that it does not intend to
					 renew the policy, the owner or operator shall obtain alternate financial
					 assurance and submit it to the director.
G. For insurance policies providing coverage
					 for post-closure care, commencing on the date that liability to make payments
					 pursuant to the policy accrues, the insurer will thereafter annually increase
					 the face amount of the policy. Such increase shall be equivalent to the face
					 amount of the policy, less any payments made, multiplied by an amount
					 equivalent to 85% of the most recent investment rate or of the equivalent
					 coupon-issue yield announced by the U.S. Treasury for 26-week Treasury
					 securities.
H. The owner or
					 operator may cancel the insurance policy only if alternate financial assurance
					 is substituted as specified in this article, or if the owner or operator, is no
					 longer required to demonstrate financial responsibility.
I. Within 10 days after commencement of a
					 voluntary or involuntary proceeding under Title 11 (Bankruptcy) of the U.S.
					 Code, naming an owner or operator as debtor, the owner or operator shall notify
					 the director by certified mail of such commencement.
J. The wording of the insurance certificate
					 shall be identical to the wording specified in
					 9VAC20-70-290 E.
Statutory Authority
§§ 10.1-1402 and 10.1-1410 of the Code of
						  Virginia.