§ 261.143 Financial assurance condition.

Per § 261.4(a)(24)(vi)(F) of this chapter, an owner or operator of a reclamation or intermediate facility must have financial assurance as a condition of the exclusion as required under § 261.4(a)(24) of this chapter. He must choose from the options as specified in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section.

(a) Trust fund. (1) An owner or operator may satisfy the requirements of this section by establishing a trust fund which conforms to the requirements of this paragraph and submitting an originally signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the Regional Administrator. The trustee must 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.

(2) The wording of the trust agreement must be identical to the wording specified in § 261.151(a)(1), and the trust agreement must be accompanied by a formal certification of acknowledgment (for example, see § 261.151(a)(2)). Schedule A of the trust agreement must be updated within 60 days after a change in the amount of the current cost estimate covered by the agreement.

(3) The trust fund must be funded for the full amount of the current cost estimate before it may be relied upon to satisfy the requirements of this section.

(4) Whenever the current cost estimate changes, the owner or operator must 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, must either deposit an amount into the fund so that its value after this deposit at least equals the amount of the current cost estimate, or obtain other financial assurance as specified in this section to cover the difference.

(5) If the value of the trust fund is greater than the total amount of the current cost estimate, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the Regional Administrator for release of the amount in excess of the current cost estimate.

(6) If an owner or operator substitutes other financial assurance as specified in this section for all or part of the trust fund, he may submit a written request to the Regional Administrator for release of the amount in excess of the current cost estimate covered by the trust fund.

(7) Within 60 days after receiving a request from the owner or operator for release of funds as specified in paragraph (a)(5) or (6) of this section, the Regional Administrator will instruct the trustee to release to the owner or operator such funds as the Regional Administrator specifies in writing. If the owner or operator begins final closure under subpart G of 40 CFR part 264 or 265, an owner or operator may request reimbursements for partial or final closure expenditures by submitting itemized bills to the Regional Administrator. The owner or operator may request reimbursements for partial closure only if sufficient funds are remaining in the trust fund to cover the maximum costs of closing the facility over its remaining operating life. No later than 60 days after receiving bills for partial or final closure activities, the Regional Administrator will instruct the trustee to make reimbursements in those amounts as the Regional Administrator specifies in writing, if the Regional Administrator determines that the partial or final closure expenditures are in accordance with the approved closure plan, or otherwise justified. If the Regional Administrator has reason to believe that the maximum cost of closure over the remaining life of the facility will be significantly greater than the value of the trust fund, he may withhold reimbursements of such amounts as he deems prudent until he determines, in accordance with paragraph (i) of this section that the owner or operator is no longer required to maintain financial assurance for final closure of the facility. If the Regional Administrator does not instruct the trustee to make such reimbursements, he will provide to the owner or operator a detailed written statement of reasons.

(8) The Regional Administrator will agree to termination of the trust when:

(i) An owner or operator substitutes alternate financial assurance as specified in this section; or

(ii) The Regional Administrator releases the owner or operator from the requirements of this section in accordance with paragraph (i) of this section.

(b) Surety bond guaranteeing payment into a trust fund. (1) An owner or operator may satisfy the requirements of this section by obtaining a surety bond which conforms to the requirements of this paragraph and submitting the bond to the Regional Administrator. The surety company issuing the bond must, at a minimum, be among those listed as acceptable sureties on Federal bonds in Circular 570 of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

(2) The wording of the surety bond must be identical to the wording specified in § 261.151(b).

(3) The owner or operator who uses a surety bond to satisfy the requirements of this section must also establish a standby trust fund. Under the terms of the bond, all payments made thereunder will be deposited by the surety directly into the standby trust fund in accordance with instructions from the Regional Administrator. This standby trust fund must meet the requirements specified in paragraph (a) of this section, except that:

(i) An originally signed duplicate of the trust agreement must be submitted to the Regional Administrator with the surety bond; and

(ii) Until the standby trust fund is funded pursuant to the requirements of this section, the following are not required by these regulations:

(A) Payments into the trust fund as specified in paragraph (a) of this section;

(B) Updating of Schedule A of the trust agreement (see § 261.151(a)) to show current cost estimates;

(C) Annual valuations as required by the trust agreement; and

(D) Notices of nonpayment as required by the trust agreement.

(4) The bond must guarantee that the owner or operator will:

(i) Fund the standby trust fund in an amount equal to the penal sum of the bond before loss of the exclusion under § 261.4(a)(24) of this chapter or

(ii) Fund the standby trust fund in an amount equal to the penal sum within 15 days after an administrative order to begin closure issued by the Regional Administrator becomes final, or within 15 days after an order to begin closure is issued by a U.S. district court or other court of competent jurisdiction; or

(iii) Provide alternate financial assurance as specified in this section, and obtain the Regional Administrator's written approval of the assurance provided, within 90 days after receipt by both the owner or operator and the Regional Administrator of a notice of cancellation of the bond from the surety.

(5) Under the terms of the bond, the surety will become liable on the bond obligation when the owner or operator fails to perform as guaranteed by the bond.

(6) The penal sum of the bond must be in an amount at least equal to the current cost estimate, except as provided in paragraph (f) of this section.

(7) Whenever the current cost estimate increases to an amount greater than the penal sum, the owner or operator, within 60 days after the increase, must either cause the penal sum to be increased to an amount at least equal to the current cost estimate and submit evidence of such increase to the Regional Administrator, or obtain other financial assurance as specified in this section to cover the increase. Whenever the current cost estimate decreases, the penal sum may be reduced to the amount of the current cost estimate following written approval by the Regional Administrator.