Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 17, September 10, 2024
A permittee or applicant may satisfy the requirements of
subsection 61.13 of Regulation No. 61 by obtaining a written individual or
business guarantee that meets the requirements of this section. After the
Division approves the use of the written guarantee instrument by a permittee or
applicant, the requirements of section 66.11 must be met annually by the
permittee or applicant.
(1) The terms
of a written guarantee must provide that:
(a)
For a facility(ies) covered by the guarantee, if the permittee fails to perform
closure, post-closure, and corrective actions in accordance with the
permittee's approved financial assurance plan and permit requirements, the
guarantor will:
(i) Either perform or pay a
third party to perform closure, post-closure, and corrective actions as
required for the facility(ies) (performance guarantee); or
(ii) Establish a fully funded trust fund in
the name of the permittee in the amount of closure costs (payment
guarantee).
(b) The
guarantee will remain in force while the permittee is required to comply with
the closure, post-closure, and corrective actions requirements of the permit,
unless the guarantor sends prior notice of cancellation by certified mail to
the permittee and Division. Cancellation may not occur, however, during the 90
days beginning on the date of receipt of the notice of cancellation by both the
permittee and the Division, as evidenced by the return receipts.
(c) If notice of cancellation is given, the
permittee must, within 60 days following receipt of the cancellation notice by
the permittee and the Division, submit to the Division alternate financial
assurance. Such financial assurance must meet the requirements of subsections
61.13(4)(h)(iii)-(iv) of Regulation No. 61.
(i) If the permittee fails to provide
alternative financial assurance within the 60-day period, the guarantor must
submit to the Division that alternate financial assurance within 90 days of the
cancellation notice.
(2) A guarantor must be one of the following
persons:
(a) For a permittee or applicant
that is a subsidiary company- The direct or higher-tier parent company of the
applicant or permittee, or a company whose parent company is also the parent
company of the applicant or permittee.
(b) A company with a substantial business
relationship with the applicant or permittee.
(c) An individual with a substantial business
relationship with the applicant or permittee (individual guarantor).
(3) A guarantor must meet the
financial test requirements of subsections 66.10(1)(a)-(c).
(4) The permittee or applicant must submit to
the Division the guarantor's financial statements for the latest completed
fiscal year, in accordance with the following, as applicable:
(a) For a public company guarantor- A copy of
the guarantor's financial statements and a copy of the independent certified
public accountant's report on examination of the guarantor's financial
statements for the latest completed fiscal year.
(b) For a private company guarantor- A copy
of the guarantor's financial statements.
(c) For an individual guarantor- The
guarantor's current Personal Financial Statement sent to the guarantor's bank,
with an original signature.
(5) The permittee or applicant must submit to
the Division a letter from the guarantor that meets the following requirements:
(a) The letter must state that the guarantor
meets the conditions of subsections 66.11(2) and (3).
(b) The letter must include a statement that
the permittee or applicant acknowledges that making a false, fictitious, or
fraudulent statement in the letter is punishable under the criminal laws of
Colorado as perjury under section
18-8-503, C.R.S.
(c) The letter must be worded as specified in
Appendix J.
(d) If the guarantor is
a company or an individual with a substantial business relationship with the
applicant or permittee, the letter must describe this substantial business
relationship.
(i) The Division may request
additional information from such a company or individual regarding a
substantial business relationship.
(e) The letter must have an original
signature of one of the following persons, as applicable:
(i) For a public company guarantor- The
signature of the company's chief financial officer.
(ii) For a private company guarantor- The
signature of an officer of the company who has financial responsibility for the
company and is authorized to bind the company.
(iii) For an individual guarantor- The
signature of the individual.
(6) Reporting and other requirements
(a) Annual submittals- After the initial
submission of the items specified in subsections 66.11 - (5), the permittee
must annually demonstrate that the guarantor continues to meet the requirements
of subsections 66.11 -(3) by submitting the following to the Division within 90
days after the fiscal year end for the guarantor:
(i) A letter that meets the following
requirements of subsection 66.11 , as applicable to the guarantor.
(ii) The financial statements for the latest
completed fiscal year in accordance with subsection 66.11 , as applicable to
the guarantor.
(b) If
the guarantor no longer meets the requirements of subsection 66.11 -(3), the
permittee must provide alternate financial assurance within 60 days from the
date of receiving notice from the guarantor or Division that the guarantor no
longer meets the requirements of subsection 66.11 -(3). Such financial
assurance must meet the requirements of subsections 61.13(4)(h)(iii)-(iv) of
Regulation No. 61.
(i) If the permittee fails
to provide alternate financial assurance within the 60-day period, the
guarantor must provide such alternate financial assurance within the next 30
days.
(c) The Division
may request reports of the financial condition of a guarantor at any time, in
addition to the reports specified in subsection 66.11 . Such reports must be
submitted to the Division within 30 days of the request.
(i) If the Division finds, on the basis of
such reports or other information, that a guarantor no longer meets the
requirements of subsections 66.11 -(3), the Division will so notify the
permittee and guarantor in writing and request to meet with the permittee and
guarantor to review the Division's finding.
(A) If the guarantor provides sufficient
information to the Division to demonstrate to the Division's satisfaction that
the requirements of subsections 66.11 -(3) are met, the Division will allow the
permittee to maintain financial assurance by using the written guarantee
instrument.
(B) If the guarantor
cannot demonstrate to the Division's satisfaction that the requirements of
subsections 66.11 -(3) can be met, the permittee must submit to the Division
alternate financial assurance within 90 days after notification of such a
finding. Such financial assurance must meet the requirements of subsections
61.13(4)(h)(iii)-(iv) of Regulation No. 61.
(7) The permittee is no longer
required to meet the requirements of section 66.11 when either of the following
occurs:
(a) The permittee substitutes
alternate financial assurance that meets the requirements of subsections 61.13
-(iv) of Regulation No. 61; or,
(b)
The permittee is released by the Division from the requirements of section
61.13(4)(h)(xiii).
(8)
Confidential business information
(a) Any
person, non-publically traded corporation, division of a corporation that does
not file separate financial information, or other non-publically traded entity,
may claim that certain information submitted to satisfy the written guarantee
is confidential business information, if the following requirements are met:
(i) The person or entity has a reasonable
good faith belief that the disclosure of such information would be detrimental
to its competitive or business position;
(ii) Each page or portion of a page that is
purported to be confidential business information is clearly marked as such by
the person or entity;
(iii) The
information purported to be confidential business information by the person or
entity has not expired by its terms, nor been waived or withdrawn by such
person or entity;
(iv) The
information purported to be confidential business information is not, and has
not been, reasonably obtainable without the person's or entity's consent by
other persons (other than governmental bodies) by use of legitimate means
(other than discovery based on a showing of special need in a judicial
proceedings);
(v) No statute or
rule specifically requires the disclosure of the information;
(vi) The person or entity claiming that
certain information is confidential business information states in a letter
accompanying the business or financial information that the above requirements
(i)-(v) have been and are being met for the information that the person or
entity is claiming as confidential business information.
(b) If the requirements in subsections
(3)(a)(i)-(vi) above are met, the Division will not evaluate such information
as confidential business information, but will presume such information is
confidential business information.
(c) The Division will separate from its
publically available files information marked confidential business information
and keep such information in files marked confidential business
information.
(d) If the Division
receives a request to review information that includes the purported
confidential business information files, the Division will respond to such
request by stating that the particular information requested that has been
marked confidential business information is confidential business information
which will not be made available to the requestor.
(e) If the requestor challenges the files
identified as confidential business information, the Division will promptly
notify the person or entity that has claimed confidential business information
for such information. The Division will not release such information unless the
person or entity claiming it as confidential business information agrees that
it, or any portion of it, can be released or a court of competent jurisdiction
orders that such information, or any portion of it, be released.
(9) The Division shall agree to
termination of a written guarantee instrument when the provisions of sections
66.11(6)(b) and 66.11(7) have been satisfied.