Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a) A
trust fund established under section 1108 of the Municipal Waste Planning,
Recycling and Waste Reduction Act (53 P. S. §
4000.1108) shall meet the following
requirements:
(1) The trustee shall be a
state-chartered or National bank, or financial institution with trust powers or
trust company with offices in this Commonwealth and whose trust activities are
examined or regulated by a state or Federal agency. The trustee shall have an
office located in the county establishing the trust fund.
(i) The trustee may resign by sending written
notice to the Department, the county and the operator of the municipal waste
landfill, by certified mail, return receipt requested, of its intention to
resign. The resignation may not take effect until the following conditions have
been met:
(A) The expiraiton of a 120-day
period after the trustee has provided written notice of its intention to
resign.
(B) The county has
appointed a successor trustee and the successor trustee accepts the
appointment.
(ii) If the
county fails to appoint a successor trustee or a successor trustee fails to
accept the appointment at the expiration of the 120-day period, the trustee may
apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for instructions.
(2) The trust shall provide that
the operator of the municipal waste landfill and the Department are
co-beneficiaries under the trust. The trust may not be subject to assignment,
alienation, pledge, attachment, garnishment, sequestration, other legal process
or to the claims of creditors.
(3)
The trust shall be irrevocable.
(4)
The corpus of the trust fund shall consist of moneys paid by the operator of
the municipal waste landfill for waste received at the landfill until January
1, 2000, under former section 1108(c) of the Municipal Waste Planning,
Recycling and Waste Reduction Act. The payments are computed on the basis of
25¢ per ton, or part thereof, of weighed waste or 25¢ per 3 cubic
yards, or part thereof, of measured waste for solid waste received at the
landfill for the quarter for which payment was due to be made.
(5) The trustee shall send the Department, in
writing on a quarterly basis, a statement of the trust account
transactions.
(b) The
trustee is authorized to invest and reinvest the principal and income of the
trust fund and keep the fund invested as a single fund, without distinction
between principal and income. In investing, reinvesting and otherwise managing
the trust fund, the trustee shall discharge its duties solely in the interest
of the beneficiaries. The trustee shall manage the trust fund with that degree
of judgement, skill and care under the circumstances then prevailing which
persons of prudence, discretion and intelligence, who are familiar with these
matters, exercise in the management of their own affairs not in regard to
speculation, but in regard to the permanent disposition of the funds,
considering the probable income to be derived therefrom as well as the probable
safety of their capital.
(c) For
the purposes of investing or reinvesting the moneys in the trust fund, the
trustee is authorized to:
(1) Purchase United
States Treasury Bills.
(2) Purchase
short-term obligations of the United States Government or its agencies or
instrumentalities.
(3) Purchase
obligations of the United States or of its agencies or instrumentalities backed
by the full faith and credit of the United States.
(4) Purchase obligations of the Commonwealth
or its agencies or instrumentalities backed by the full faith and credit of the
Commonwealth.
(5) Purchase
obligations of a political subdivision of this Commonwealth or its agencies or
instrumentalities backed by the full faith and credit of the political
subdivision.
(6) Purchase shares of
an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940
(15 U.S.C.A. §§ 80a-1-80 a64), whose shares
are registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C.A. §§
77a-77aa) if the only investments of
the investment company are those described in this subsection.
(7) Time or demand deposits of the trustee to
the extent insured by an agency of the Federal or State
Government.
(d)
Additional options of the trustee are listed in this subsection.
(1) The trustee may purchase commercial paper
and prime commercial paper defined as follows:
(i) Commercial paper means unsecured
promissory notes issued at a discount from par by an industrial, common
carrier, public utility or finance company.
(ii) Prime commercial paper means notes
issued by corporations whose credit has been approved by the National Credit
Office, Inc., New York, or its successor.
(2) The trustee may not purchase commercial
paper without first obtaining the following:
(i) Certification or other evidence the
commercial paper is rated prime by the National Credit Office, Inc., or its
successor.
(ii) Certification or
other evidence the commercial paper proposed to be delivered is not subordinate
to another debt of the issuer.
(iii) Certification or other evidence there
is no litigation pending or threatened that would affect the commercial
paper.
(iv) Certification or other
evidence that the issuer is not in default as to payment of principal and
interest on one or more of its outstanding obligations.
(v) Certification or other evidence the
issuer is incorporated in the United States, is transacting business within the
United States and has assets of $1 billion or more, or is a wholly owned
subsidiary of a Pennsylvania corporation which has assets of $1 billion or
more.
(e) The
trustee is authorized to hold cash awaiting investment or distribution for a
reasonable period of time without liability for the payment of interest
thereon.
(f) The trustee shall
annually, at least 30 days prior to the anniversary date of the establishment
of the trust fund, furnish to the operator, the county and the Department a
statement confirming the value of the trust fund, and the dates and amounts of
any payments into the trust from the landfill and withdrawals for
administration or a purpose other than investment or reinvestment. The trustee
shall value securities in the trust fund at the lesser of market or par value
as of no more than 60 days prior to the anniversary date.
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
272.103 (relating to failure to
make quarterly payment).
