Section 329 IAC 3.1-14-15 - Post-closure trust fund optionAuthority: IC 13-14-8; IC 13-22-2-4
Affected: IC 13-22-2; 40 CFR 265.145(a)
Sec. 15.
(a) An owner or operator may satisfy the requirements of section 14 of this rule by establishing a post-closure trust fund that conforms to the requirements of this section and submitting an originally signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the commissioner. The trustee shall be an entity that 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 must be identical to the wording specified in section 26(a) of this rule, and the trust agreement must be accompanied by a formal certification of acknowledgement, for example, see section 26(b) through 26(c) of this rule. Schedule A of the trust agreement must be updated within sixty (60) days after a change in the amount of the current post-closure cost estimate covered by the agreement.(c) Payments into the trust fund must be made annually by the owner or operator over the twenty (20) years beginning with July 1, 1982, or over the remaining operating life of the facility as estimated in the closure plan, whichever period is shorter; this period is hereinafter referred to as the pay-in-period. The payments into the post-closure trust fund must be made as follows: (1) The first payment must be made by July 1, 1982, except as provided in subsection (e). The first payment must be at least equal to the current post-closure cost estimate, except as provided in section 20 of this rule, divided by the number of years in the pay-in-period.(2) Subsequent payments must be made no later than thirty (30) days after each anniversary date of the first payment. The amount of each subsequent payment must be determined by the following formula: Click here to view
Where: CE = The current post-closure cost estimate.
CV = The current value of the trust fund.
Y = The number of years remaining in the pay-in-period.
(d) The owner or operator may accelerate payments into the trust fund or the owner or operator may deposit the full amount of the current post-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 subsection (c).(e) If the owner or operator establishes a post-closure trust fund after having used one (1) or more alternate mechanisms specified in this section and sections 16 through 19 of this rule, the first payment must be in at least the amount that the fund would contain if the trust fund was established initially and annual payments made as specified in subsection (c).(f) After the pay-in-period is completed, whenever the current post-closure cost estimate changes during the operating life of the facility, 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 sixty (60) days after the change in the cost estimate, shall either:(1) deposit an amount into the fund so that its value after this deposit at least equals the amount of the current post-closure cost estimate; or(2) obtain other financial assurance as specified in this section and sections 16 through 19 of this rule to cover the difference.(g) During the operating life of the facility, if the value of the trust fund is greater than the total amount of the current post-closure cost estimate, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the commissioner for release of the amount in excess of the current post-closure cost estimate.(h) If an owner or operator substitutes other financial assurance as specified in this section and sections 16 through 19 of this rule for all or part of the trust fund, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the commissioner for release of the amount in excess of the current post-closure cost estimate covered by the trust fund.(i) Within sixty (60) days after receiving a request from the owner or operator for release of funds as specified in subsection (g) or (h), the commissioner shall instruct the trustee to release to the owner or operator such funds as the commissioner specifies in writing.(j) During the period of post-closure care, the commissioner may approve a release of funds if the owner or operator demonstrates to the commissioner that the value of the trust fund exceeds the remaining cost of post-closure care.(k) An owner or operator or any other person authorized to conduct post-closure care may request reimbursements for post-closure expenditures by submitting itemized bills to the commissioner. Within sixty (60) days after receiving bills for post-closure care activities, the commissioner shall instruct the trustee to make reimbursements in those amounts as the commissioner specifies in writing if the commissioner determines that the post-closure expenditures are in accordance with the approved post-closure plan or otherwise justified. If the commissioner does not instruct the trustee to make such reimbursements, the commissioner shall provide the owner or operator with a detailed written statement of reasons.(l) The commissioner shall agree to termination of the trust when:(1) the owner or operator substitutes alternate financial assurance as specified in this section and sections 16 through 19 of this rule; or(2) the commissioner releases the owner or operator from the requirements of section 14 of this rule in accordance with section 22 of this rule.Solid Waste Management Board; 329 IAC 3.1-14-15; filed Jan 24, 1992, 2:00 p.m.: 15 IR 955; filed Apr 1, 1996, 11:00 a.m.: 19 IR 1980; readopted filed Jan 10, 2001, 3:25 p.m.: 24 IR 1535