Nebraska Administrative Code
Topic - ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Title 122 - NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 13 - FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Section 122-13-004 - The Environmental Protection Trust

Universal Citation: 122 NE Admin Rules and Regs ch 13 ยง 004

Current through September 17, 2024

004.01 An owner or operator of a underground injection well, except for Class II and V, may submit an originally signed trust agreement to the Director with the permit application. 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.

004.02 The wording of the trust agreement shall be identical to the wording specified in Appendix I and accompanied by a formal certification of acknowledgment as illustrated in said Appendix. Schedule A of the trust agreement shall be updated within 60 days of a change in the amount of the environmental protection measures cost (EPMC), covered by the agreement.

004.03 Payments into the trust fund shall be made annually by the owner or operator over the term of the initial permit or over the remaining life of the mineral injection well(s) as stated in the Environmental Protection Measures Costs (EPMC) estimate (See Section 001.01 of this Chapter), whichever period is shorter. This period is hereafter referred to as the "pay-in period". The payments into the Environmental Protection Trust Fund shall be made as follows:

004.03A For a new well(s), the first payment shall be made before the initial injection into the well(s). A receipt from the trustee for this payment shall be submitted by the owner or operator to the Director before the first injections are made. The first payment shall be at least equal to the estimate of EPMC, 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:

Next Payment = EPM - CV/Y

where EPM is the current EPMC estimate, CV is the current value of the trust fund and Y is the number of years remaining in the pay-in period.

004.03B If an owner or operator establishes a trust fund as specified in Section 004.01 of this Chapter, and the value of that trust fund is less than the current EPMC estimate when a permit is awarded for the injection well(s), the amount of the cost estimate still to be paid into the trust fund shall be paid in over the pay-in period, as defined in Section 004.03A above.

004.04 The owner or operator may accelerate payments into the trust fund or he or she may deposit the full amount of the current EPMC estimate at the time the fund is established. However, he or she shall maintain the value of the fund at no less than the value that the fund would have if annual payments were made as required by Section 004.03A above.

004.05 If the owner or operator establishes an Environmental Protection Trust Fund after having used one or more alternate mechanisms for financial assurance specified in Section 002 of this Chapter, his or her 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 the specifications of Section 004.03A above.

004.06 After the pay-in period is completed, or whenever the EPMC 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 EPMC estimate, or obtain other financial assurance as specified in Section 002 of this Chapter to cover the difference.

004.07 If the value of the trust fund is greater than the total amount of the current EPMC estimate, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the Director for release of the amount in excess of the current EPMC estimate.

004.08 If an owner or operator substitutes other financial assurance as specified in this section for all or a part of the trust fund, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the Director for release of the amount, if any, in excess of the current EPMC estimate covered by the trust fund.

004.09 Within 60 days after receiving a request from the owner or operator as specified in Sections 004.07 and 004.08 of this Chapter, the Director will instruct the trustee to release to the owner or operator such funds as the Director specifies in writing.

004.10 After beginning final operations for the environmental protection measures specified in Sections 001.01A to 001.01D of this Chapter an owner or operator or any other person authorized to perform such acts may request reimbursement for expenditures for such acts by submitting itemized bills to the Director. Within 60 days after receiving bills for any of such items, the Director will determine whether the expenditures are in accordance with the permit or otherwise justified, and if so, he or she will instruct the trustee to make reimbursements in such amounts as the Director specifies in writing. If the Director has reason to believe that the cost of such measures will be significantly greater than the value of the trust fund, he or she may withhold reimbursement of such amounts as he or she deems prudent until he or she determines in accordance with Section 004.11 below, that the owner or operator is no longer required to maintain financial assurance for environmental protection measures as specified in Sections 001.01A to 001.01E of this Chapter.

004.11 The Director will agree to termination of the trust when:

004.11A An owner or operator substitutes alternate financial assurance as specified in this Chapter; or

004.11B Within 60 days from receiving certifications from the owner or operator and independent registered professional engineer that the measures specified in Sections 001.01A to 001.01D of this Chapter have been accomplished in accordance with the permit, the Director notifies the owner or operator in writing that financial assurance is no longer required to be maintained unless the Director has reason to believe that the environmental protection measures have not been in accordance with the permit.

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