Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Natural Resources › NR 600-699 - Environmental Protection - Hazardous Waste Management › Chapter NR 664 - Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage And Disposal Facility Standards › Subchapter H - Financial Requirements › Section NR 664.0143 - Financial assurance for closure

Current through June 24, 2024
An owner or operator of each facility shall establish
					 financial assurance for closure of the facility. The owner or operator shall
					 choose from the options as specified in subs. (1) to (8).
(1) CLOSURE TRUST FUND.
(a) An owner or operator may satisfy the
				  requirements of this section by establishing a closure trust fund which
				  conforms to the requirements of this subsection and submitting an originally
				  signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the department. An owner or operator
				  of a new facility shall submit the originally signed duplicate of the trust
				  agreement to the department at least 60 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.
(b) The wording of the trust agreement shall
				  be identical to the wording on the department form specified in s.
				  NR 664.0151(1)
				  (a) and the trust agreement shall be
				  accompanied by a formal certification of acknowledgment as specified in s.
				  NR 664.0151(1)
				  (b). Schedule A of the trust agreement shall
				  be updated within 60 days after a change in the amount of the current closure
				  cost estimate covered by the agreement.
(c) Payments into the trust fund shall be
				  made annually by the owner or operator over the term of the initial license or
				  over the remaining operating life of the facility as estimated in the closure
				  plan, whichever period is shorter. For the purposes of this section, this
				  period is referred to as the "pay-in period." The payments into the closure
				  trust fund shall be made as follows:
1. 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 department
				  before this initial receipt of hazardous waste. The first payment shall be at
				  least equal to the current closure cost estimate, except as provided in sub.
				  (9), divided by the number of years in the pay-in period. Subsequent payments
				  shall be made no later than 30 days after each anniversary date of the first
				  payment. The amount of each subsequent payment shall be determined by this
				  formula:
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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.
2. If an
				  owner or operator establishes a trust fund as specified in this subsection, and
				  the value of that trust fund is less than the current closure cost estimate
				  when a license is awarded for 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 defined in par. (c)(intro). Payments shall continue to be made
				  no later than 30 days after each anniversary date of the first payment made
				  pursuant to ch. NR 665. The amount of each payment shall be determined by this
				  formula:
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					 Image
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.
(d)
				  The owner or operator may accelerate payments into the trust fund or may
				  deposit the full amount of the current closure cost estimate at the time the
				  fund is established. However, the owner or operator shall 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 par. (c).
(e) If the owner or operator establishes a
				  closure trust fund after having used one or more alternate mechanisms specified
				  in this section or in s.
				  NR
				  665.0143, the first payment shall be in at least the
				  amount that the fund would contain if the trust fund were established initially
				  and annual payments made according to specifications of this subsection and s.
				  NR
				  665.0143(1), as applicable.
(f) 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 fund is less than the amount of the new
				  estimate, the owner or operator, within 60 days after the change in the cost
				  estimate, shall either deposit an amount into the fund so that its value after
				  this deposit at least equals the amount of the current closure cost estimate,
				  or obtain other financial assurance as specified in this section to cover the
				  difference.
(g) 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 department
				  for release of the amount in excess of the current closure cost
				  estimate.
(h) If an owner or
				  operator substitutes other financial assurance as specified in this section for
				  all or part of the trust fund, the owner or operator may submit a written
				  request to the department for release of the amount in excess of the current
				  closure cost estimate covered by the trust fund.
(i) Within 60 days after receiving a request
				  from the owner or operator for release of funds as specified in par. (g) or
				  (h), the department will instruct the trustee to release to the owner or
				  operator funds as the department specifies in writing.
(j) After beginning partial or final closure,
				  an owner or operator or another person authorized to conduct partial or final
				  closure may request reimbursements for partial or final closure expenditures by
				  submitting itemized bills to the department. 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 its
				  remaining operating life. Within 60 days after receiving bills for partial or
				  final closure activities, the department will instruct the trustee to make
				  reimbursements in those amounts as the department specifies in writing, if the
				  department determines that the partial or final closure expenditures are in
				  accordance with the approved closure plan, or otherwise justified. If the
				  department has reason to believe that the maximum cost of closure over the
				  remaining life of the facility will be significantly greater than the value of
				  the trust fund, the department may withhold reimbursements of amounts as the
				  department deems prudent until the department determines, in accordance with
				  sub. (11) that the owner or operator is no longer required to maintain
				  financial assurance for final closure of the facility. If the department does
				  not instruct the trustee to make the reimbursements, the department will
				  provide the owner or operator with a detailed written statement of
				  reasons.
(k) The department will
				  agree to termination of the trust when one of the following applies:
1. An owner or operator substitutes alternate
				  financial assurance as specified in this section.
2. The department releases the owner or
				  operator from the requirements of this section in accordance with sub.
				  (11).