Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1)
Applicability.
These standards apply to all new and expanded monofill
facilities, and to existing monofill facilities that have not closed before or
within twelve months after the effective date of this chapter.
(2) Cost estimate for closure.
(a) Each owner or operator shall prepare a
written closure cost estimate as part of the facility closure plan. The closure
cost estimate must be in current dollars and must represent the cost of closing
the facility in accordance with the closure requirements in WAC
173-306-410.
(i) The cost estimate must be based on a
reasonable cost estimate for completing design, purchase, construction, and
other activities as identified in the facility closure plan as required under
WAC 173-306-410;
(ii) The closure plan shall project intervals
for withdrawal of closure funds from the closure financial assurance instrument
to complete the activities identified in the approved closure plan;
(iii) The closure cost estimate may not be
reduced by allowance for salvage value of equipment, ash, or the resale value
of property or land.
(b)
Each owner or operator must prepare a new closure cost estimate in accordance
with (a) and (c) of this subsection whenever:
(i) Changes in operating plans or facility
design affect the closure plan;
(ii) A change in the expected year of closure
affects the closure plan; or
(iii)
The department directs the owner or operator to revise the closure plan or
closure cost estimate.
(c) Each owner or operator shall review the
closure cost estimate thirty days before the anniversary date of the date on
which the first closure cost estimate was prepared. The review shall examine
all factors, including inflation, involved in estimating the closure cost. Any
cost changes must be factored into a revised closure cost estimate. The revised
cost estimate must be submitted to the department.
(d) During the operating life of the
facility, and when the estimate has been adjusted in accordance with (c) of
this subsection, the owner or operator shall make available for review the
closure cost estimate prepared in accordance with (a) and (b) of this
subsection.
(e) The department
shall evaluate each cost estimate and may accept, or at its discretion require
revision of, the cost estimate in accordance with its evaluation.
(f) The department may require the facility
owner or operator to adjust the cost estimate in accordance with the
department's review and direction.
(3) Financial assurance account for closure.
Each owner or operator of special incinerator ash monofill facility shall
establish a financial assurance account in an amount that, over the life of the
facility, will accumulate funds at a rate that will enable premature closure
during the monofill life. The total amount must be equal to the closure cost
estimate prepared in accordance with subsection (2) of this section.
(a) Applicable monofill facilities that
accept special incinerator ash must choose from the following financial
assurance account options or combination of options:
(i) For monofill disposal facilities owned or
operated by municipal corporations, the closure and post-closure reserve
account must be handled in one of the following ways:
(A) Cash and investments accumulated and
restricted for closure with an equivalent amount of fund balance reserved in
the fund accounting for special incinerator ash activity; or published Budget
Accounting Reporting System Manual; or
(B) The cash and investments held in a
nonexpendable trust fund.
(ii) Closure trust fund established with 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. The wording of the
trust agreement must be acceptable to the department. The purpose of the
closure trust fund is to receive and manage any funds paid by the owner or
operator and to disburse those funds only for closure activities as identified
in the approved closure plan.
(b) For private disposal facilities that
accept public waste, established closure financial assurance accounts may not
constitute an asset of the facility owner or operator.
(c) Any income in excess of the closure cost
estimate accruing to the established closure financial assurance account will
be used at the owner's discretion.
(d) Excess moneys remaining in the closure
financial assurance account after the department has certified the completion
of closure as identified in WAC
173-306-410(4)(f)(i)
must be returned to the owner or
operator.
(4) Cost
estimate for post-closure.
(a) Each owner or
operator shall prepare a written post-closure cost estimate as part of the
facility post-closure plan. The post-closure cost estimate must be in current
dollars and must represent the total cost of completing post-closure activities
for the facility for a thirty-year post-closure period in accordance with the
post-closure requirements in WAC
173-306-410.
(i) The post-closure cost estimate must be
based on a reasonable cost estimate for completing post-closure monitoring,
maintenance, and other activities identified in the approved facility
post-closure plan as required under WAC
173-306-410;
(ii) The post-closure plan shall project
intervals for withdrawal of post-closure funds from the post-closure financial
assurance instrument to complete the activities identified in the approved
post-closure plan;
(iii) The
post-closure cost estimate may not be reduced by allowance for salvage, value
of equipment, ash, or the resale value of property or land.
(b) Each owner or operator shall
prepare a new post-closure costs estimate for the remainder of the post-closure
care thirty-year period in accordance with (a) and (c) of this subsection,
whenever:
(i) Change in the post-closure plan
increases the cost of post-closure care; or
(ii) The department directs the owner or
operator to revise the post-closure plan or post-closure cost
estimate.
(c) Each owner
or operator shall review the post-closure cost estimate thirty days before the
annual date on which the first post-closure cost estimate was prepared. The
review shall examine all factors, including inflation, involved in estimating
the post-closure cost. Any cost changes must be factored into a revised
post-closure cost estimate and the revised cost estimate must be submitted to
the department.
(d) During the
operating life of the facility, the owner or operator shall keep the latest
post-closure cost estimate prepared in accordance with (a) and (b) of this
subsection available for review.
(5) Financial assurance account for
post-closure. Each owner or operator of an applicable monofill facility shall
establish a financial assurance account in an amount equal to the post-closure
cost estimate prepared in accordance with subsection (4) of this section.
(a) Owners or operators of applicable
monofill facilities that accept special incinerator ash shall choose from the
following options or combinations of options for accounting for the financial
assurance account:
(i) For monofill disposal
facilities owned or operated by municipal corporations, the post-closure
reserve must be handled in one of the following ways:
(A) Cash and investments accumulated and
restricted for post-closure with an equivalent amount of fund balance reserved
in the fund accounting for special incinerator ash activity; or
(B) Cash and investments held in a
nonexpendable trust fund.
(ii) Post-closure trust fund established with
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. The wording of the
trust agreement must be acceptable to the department. The purpose of the
post-closure trust fund is to receive and manage any funds paid by the owner or
operator and to disburse those funds only for post-closure activities as
identified in the approved post-closure plan.
(b) For private disposal facilities that
accept public waste, established post-closure financial assurance accounts may
not constitute an asset of the facility owner or operator.
(c) Any income accruing to the established
post-closure financial assurance account will be used at the owner's
discretion.
(d) Excess moneys
remaining in the post-closure financial assurance account after the department
has certified the completion of post-closure requirements identified in WAC
173-306-410(7)(c)
must be returned to the owner or
operator.
(6)
Closure/post-closure financial assurance account establishment and reporting.
(a) Closure and post-closure financial
assurance funds must be generated at each facility by transferring a percentage
of the facility user fees to the selected financial assurance instrument at the
agreed upon rate to be specified in the closure and post-closure plans so that
adequate closure and post-closure funds will be generated to ensure full
implementation of the approved closure and post-closure plans.
(b) Each applicable facility owner or
operator shall establish a procedure with the financial assurance instrument
trustee for notification of nonpayment of funds to be sent to the Department of
Ecology, Solid and Hazardous Waste and Financial Assistance Program, P.O. Box
47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.
(c)
Each owner or operator shall file with the department an annual audit of the
financial assurance accounts established for closure and post-closure
activities, and a statement of the percentage of user fees diverted to the
financial assurance instruments.
(i) For
monofill disposal facilities owned and operated by municipal corporations, the
closure reserve account, including each of the post-closure care years, must be
audited according to the audit schedule of the office of state auditor and must
be filed with the department of ecology.
(ii) For monofill disposal facilities not
owned or operated by municipal corporations:
(A) Annual audits must be conducted by a
certified public accountant licensed in the state of Washington, and must be
filed with the department no later than March 31 of each year for the previous
calendar year, including each of the post-closure care years.
(B) The audit shall also include calculations
that demonstrate the proportion of closure completed during the preceding year
as specified in the closure and post-closure plans.
(d) Owners or operators of an
existing monofill disposal facility may submit to the department a written
request with the annual audit asking for a waiver from applying user fees to
generate the moneys necessary for the closure and/or post-closure financial
assurance account.
(i) The waiver request
should provide documentation to demonstrate the facility user fees are
prohibitively high, and should include alternate methods for funding the
facility's closure and/or post-closure financial assurance account;
(ii) The waiver request review procedure will
be conducted according to WAC
173-306-900.
(7) Authorization for financial
assurance account fund withdrawal for closure and post-closure activities.
(a) Each owner or operator will withdraw
funds from the closure and/or post-closure financial assurance instrument as
specified in the approved closure/post-closure plans;
(b) If the withdrawal of funds from the
financial assurance instrument exceeds by more than five percent the withdrawal
schedule stated in the approved closure and/or post-closure plan, the closure
and/or post-closure plan must be amended.
Statutory Authority:
Chapter
70.138 RCW. 00-19-018
(Order 00-17), § 173-306-470, filed 9/8/00, effective 10/9/00; 90-10-047,
§ 173-306-470, filed 4/30/90, effective
5/31/90.