S.C. Code Regs. § § 61-107.4.III.J

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 10, October 25, 2024

Section 61-107.4.III.J - Financial Assurance

1. The requirements of this section apply to all permitted facilities except those owned and operated by a local government, by a region comprised of local governments, or by state or federal government entities whose debts and liabilities are the debts and liabilities of the state or the U.S.

2. Prior to receiving a permit, applicants shall fund a financial assurance mechanism as described in R.61-107.19, SWM: Solid Waste Landfills and Structural Fill Part I.E, and approved by the Department to ensure the satisfactory closure of the facility as required by this regulation.

3. The permittee shall calculate and declare in the permit application the maximum amount in cubic yards of feedstocks, in-process material, and waste material that could be stored at the facility. A final closure cost estimate is required to provide funding for the third party costs to properly dispose of the maximum amount of material that the facility can store at any given time and perform any corrective action for soils and groundwater that the Department may require. The cost estimate shall account for tipping fees, material hauling costs, grading and seeding the site, labor, and the cost for soliciting third party bids to complete closure and restore the site to conditions acceptable to the Department.

a. The maximum capacity of a site shall be calculated in cubic yards assuming compliance with all buffers and spacing requirements. The Department shall use an average cost of disposal per ton of material in Class II landfills, as reported in the most recent Solid Waste Management Annual Report, when calculating the amount of financial assurance necessary for a site.

b. During the active life of the facility, the permittee shall annually adjust the closure cost estimate when the disposal cost estimate increases substantially based on information published in the Solid Waste Management Annual Report.

c. The permittee shall increase the closure cost estimate and the amount of financial assurance provided if changes to the closure plan disposal costs, site conditions, or other factors increase the maximum cost of closure at any time during the site's remaining active life.

d. The permittee shall increase the closure cost estimate and the amount of financial assurance provided if a release to the environment occurs to include cost of groundwater monitoring, assessment, and corrective action if the Department determines that these measures are necessary at any time during the active life of the facility. Financial assurance shall be maintained and adjusted annually until the Department agrees that environmental conditions meet applicable standards.

e. At any time during the remaining life of the facility, the permittee may reduce the closure cost estimate and the amount of financial assurance provided for proper closure if the cost estimate exceeds the maximum cost of closure. The permittee shall submit justification for the reduction of the closure cost estimate and the amount of financial assurance to the Department for review and approval.

4. The permittee shall provide continuous coverage for closure until released from financial assurance requirements.

5. The Department may take possession of a financial assurance fund for failure to complete closure in accordance with Part III.K or failure to renew or provide an alternate acceptable financial assurance mechanism.

S.C. Code Regs. § 61-107.4.III.J

Replaced and amended by State Register Volume 38, Issue No. 6, eff 6/27/2014; State Register Volume 45, Issue No. 05, eff. 5/28/2021.