Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 20 - VIRGINIA WASTE MANAGEMENT BOARD › Chapter 170 - TRANSPORTATION OF SOLID AND MEDICAL WASTES ON STATE WATERS › Part VI - Financial Responsibility Requirements for Vessels Transporting Solid Wastes or Regulated Medical Wastes › Section 9VAC20-170-310 - Allowable financial mechanisms

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Each owner and operator shall demonstrate
				  financial responsibility by establishing and maintaining a financial mechanism,
				  or combination of mechanisms, in the amounts specified in
				  9VAC20-170-300. The mechanisms used
				  to demonstrate financial responsibility shall ensure that the funds necessary
				  to meet the costs of cleanup and containment and the restoration of beneficial
				  uses of state waters will be available whenever they are needed. The owner and
				  operator shall provide continuous coverage until released by the
				  director.
B. Each owner and
				  operator shall submit the original financial mechanism or combination of
				  mechanisms together with the application for a certificate as specified in
				  9VAC20-170-290 B.
C. Owners and operators shall demonstrate
				  financial responsibility using one or more of the following financial
				  mechanisms:
1. Trust fund.
a. The owner or operator of a vessel may
				  satisfy the requirements of subsection A of this section by establishing a
				  trust fund that conforms to the requirements of this section and by submitting
				  an originally signed trust agreement to the department. The trustee for the
				  trust fund shall be a bank or financial institution that has the authority to
				  act as a trustee and whose trust operations are regulated and examined by a
				  federal agency or the State Corporation Commission.
b. The trust fund shall be irrevocable and
				  shall continue until terminated at the written direction of the director and
				  the trustee. Upon termination of the trust, all remaining trust property, less
				  final trust administration expenses, shall be delivered to the owner or
				  operator. The wording of the trust agreement must be identical to the wording
				  specified in APPENDIX I, except that instructions in brackets must be replaced
				  with the relevant information and the brackets deleted, and must be accompanied
				  by a formal certification of acknowledgment as specified in APPENDIX
				  I.
c. The owner or operator
				  initially shall submit the original, signed trust agreement to the department
				  as a part of the application for a certificate as specified in
				  9VAC20-170-290 B.
d. The irrevocable trust fund, when
				  established, must be funded for the full financial responsibility amount as
				  specified in
				  9VAC20-170-300, or funded for part
				  of the required amount and used in combination with other mechanisms that
				  provide the remaining required amount.
e. If the value of the trust fund is greater
				  than the required financial responsibility amount as specified in
				  9VAC20-170-300, the owner or
				  operator may submit a written request to the department for release of the
				  excess.
f. If another financial
				  mechanism as specified in this part is substituted for all or part of the trust
				  fund, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the department for
				  release of the excess.
g. Within 60
				  days after receiving a request from the owner or operator for release of funds
				  as specified in subdivision 1 e or 1 f of this subsection, the director will
				  instruct the trustee to release to the owner or operator such funds as the
				  director deems appropriate, if any, in writing.
h. Whenever the required financial
				  responsibility amount as specified in
				  9VAC20-170-300 changes after the
				  establishment of the trust fund, the owner or operator shall compare the new
				  amount with the trustee's most recent annual valuation of the trust fund. If
				  the value of the fund is less than the required amount, the owner or operator
				  shall, within 60 days of the change in the required amount specified in
				  9VAC20-170-300, deposit a
				  sufficient amount into the fund so that its value after payment at least equals
				  the new financial responsibility amount, or obtain another financial mechanism
				  or combination of mechanisms as specified in this part to cover the difference.
				  If the value of the trust fund is greater than the new financial responsibility
				  amount, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the department
				  for release of the amount that is in excess of the new amount.
i. After beginning a cleanup or containment
				  operation in accordance with the approved Response and Mitigation Plan, an
				  owner or operator or any other person authorized to conduct cleanup or
				  containment, may request reimbursement for cleanup or containment expenditures
				  by submitting itemized bills to the department. Within 60 days after receiving
				  bills for cleanup or containment activities, the director shall instruct the
				  trustee to make reimbursements in those amounts as the director determines are
				  justified.
j. If the director
				  approves reimbursements from the fund, the owner or operator providing the
				  mechanism shall by the anniversary date of the trust:
(1) Replenish the value of the trust to equal
				  the full amount of coverage required pursuant to
				  9VAC20-170-300; or
(2) Acquire another financial responsibility
				  mechanism for the amount by which the funds in the trust have been
				  reduced.