Current through August 26, 2024
(1) To use the
financial test of self-insurance to meet the financial responsibility
requirements of s.
ATCP 93.705, an owner or operator, or guarantor, or both,
shall meet the criteria of either sub. (2) or (3) based on year-end financial
statements for the latest completed fiscal year.
(2)
(a) The
owner or operator, or guarantor, or both, shall have a tangible net worth of at
least 10 times each one of the following:
1.
The total of the applicable aggregate amount required by s.
ATCP 93.705, based on the number of storage tank systems
for which a financial test is used to demonstrate financial responsibility to
the department.
2. The sum of the
corrective action cost estimates, the current closure and post-closure care
cost estimates, and amount of liability coverage for which a financial test is
used to demonstrate financial responsibility to the department.
3. The sum of current plugging and
abandonment cost estimates for which a financial test is used to demonstrate
financial responsibility to the department.
(b) The owner or operator, or guarantor, or
both, shall have a tangible net worth of at least $10 million.
(c) The owner or operator, or guarantor, or
both, shall have a letter signed by the chief financial officer as specified in
sub. (4).
(d) The owner or
operator, or guarantor, or both, shall do one of the following:
1. File financial statements annually with
the U.S. securities and exchange commission, energy information administration,
or rural utilities service.
2.
Report annually the firm's tangible net worth to Dun and Bradstreet, if Dun and
Bradstreet has assigned the firm a financial strength rating of 4A or
5A.
(e) The firm's
year-end financial statements, if independently audited, may not include an
adverse auditor's opinion, a disclaimer of opinion, or a going concern
qualification.
(3)
(a) The owner or operator, or guarantor, or
both, shall meet the financial test requirements of
40 CFR 264.147(f)
(1), substituting the appropriate amounts
specified in s.
ATCP
93.705(2) or (3) for the amount of
liability coverage each time specified in that section.
(b) The fiscal year-end financial statements
of the owner or operator, or guarantor, or both, shall be examined by an
independent certified public accountant and be accompanied by the accountant's
report of the examination.
(c) The
firm's year-end financial statements may not include an adverse auditor's
opinion, a disclaimer of opinion, or a going concern qualification.
(d) The owner or operator, or guarantor, or
both, shall have a letter signed by the chief financial officer as specified in
sub. (4).
(e) If the financial
statements of the owner or operator or guarantor, or both, are not submitted
annually to the U.S. securities and exchange commission, energy information
administration or rural utilities service, the owner or operator, or guarantor,
or both, shall obtain a special report by an independent certified public
accountant stating all of the following:
1.
The accountant has compared the data that the letter from the chief financial
officer specifies as having been derived from the latest year-end financial
statements of the owner or operator, or guarantor, or both, with the amounts in
such financial statements.
2. In
connection with that comparison, no matters came to the attention of the
accountant which caused him or her to believe that the specified data should be
adjusted.
(4)
To demonstrate that the financial test is met under sub. (2) or (3), the chief
financial officer of the owner or operator, or guarantor, shall sign, within
120 days of the close of each financial reporting year, as defined by the
12-month period for which financial statements used to support the financial
test are prepared, a letter worded exactly as found in
40 CFR
280.95(d) except for the
following:
(a) The instructions in brackets
in the letter shall be replaced by the relevant information and the brackets
deleted.
(b) If financial
responsibility for aboveground tanks within the scope of this subchapter is
demonstrated using this method, all of the following changes shall be made:
1. Reference in the letter to underground
tanks shall be amended to refer to aboveground tanks.
2. Certification that wording is identical to
the wording required in
40 CFR
280.95(d) shall be deleted.
Note: A link to 40 CFR 280 is available at the
following EPA Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/oust/fedlaws/otgg_final080807.pdf
(5) If an owner or
operator using the test to provide financial assurance finds that he or she no
longer meets the requirements of the financial test based on the year-end
financial statements, the owner or operator shall obtain alternative coverage
within 150 days of the end of the year for which financial statements have been
prepared.
(6) The department may
require reports of financial condition at any time from the owner or operator,
or guarantor, or both. If the department finds, on the basis of such reports or
other information, that the owner or operator, or guarantor, or both, no longer
meet the financial test requirements of either sub. (2) or (3) and sub. (4),
the owner or operator shall obtain alternate coverage within 30 days after
notification of such a finding.
(7)
If the owner or operator fails to obtain alternate assurance within 150 days of
finding that he or she no longer meets the requirements of the financial test
based on the year-end financial statements, or within 30 days of notification
by the department that he or she no longer meets the requirements of the
financial test, the owner or operator shall notify the department of such
failure within 10 days.
