§ 35-11-515 — Account created for the guarantee of costs for closure and post-closure care for municipally owned or operated solid waste disposal facilities

(a) There is created an expendable trust account to
provide a guarantee that adequate monies will be available to
close and conduct post-closure monitoring at municipal solid
waste disposal facilities, in compliance with the requirements
of this article and applicable federal law. Monies shall be paid
into and from the account in accordance with this section.
Interest earned on investments from the account shall be
credited back to the account.
(b) Any municipal solid waste disposal facility shall be
eligible to participate in the account but shall not be required
to participate. Participating facilities shall be eligible for
the guarantees provided in subsection (c) of this section.
Nonparticipating facilities shall not be eligible for the
guarantees provided in subsection (c) of this section.
Nonparticipating facilities may either separately or together,
take necessary action to comply with state or federal closure
and post-closure regulations.
(c) Participating facilities are exempt from any
requirement under W.S. 35-11-504(c) pertaining to financial
assurance requirements for closure and post-closure care of
municipal solid waste disposal facilities. The state hereby
guarantees, for purposes of compliance with subtitle D of the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, P.L. 94-580, and W.S.
35-11-504(a)(i), that the closure and post-closure care
requirements of participating facilities will be satisfied by
the provisions of this section.
(d) Each participating facility shall:
(i) Once every four (4) years prepare a closure and
post-closure cost estimate in accord with rules of the council;
or
(ii) Agree to use a standard closure and post-closure
cost estimate prepared by the director.
(e) Each participating facility shall once every four (4)
years calculate the remaining usable solid waste disposal
capacity available at the facility, expressed in years. The
procedures for calculating remaining capacity shall be
prescribed by the director, after consultation with
representatives of the participating facilities.
(f) Each participating facility shall pay annually into
the account a premium, the sum of which at facility closure will
equal no less than three percent (3%) of the sum of the closure
and post-closure costs estimates specified in subsection (d) of
this section.
(g) At any time following the proper certification of
facility closure in compliance with rules of the council, a
participating facility owner may apply to the director to
receive a refund of the closure guarantee costs which have been
paid into the account on behalf of the facility.
(h) At any time following the proper certification of the
conclusion of the post-closure period in compliance with rules
of the council, a participating facility owner may apply to the
director to receive a refund of the post-closure guarantee costs
which have been paid into the account on behalf of the facility.
(j) The council is authorized to adopt rules governing
payment requirements, expenditures from the account,
notifications by owners, disclosures of information, and any
other administrative matter associated with the account. Rules
of the council shall prescribe that participating facilities
electing to cease participating in the account, or applying for
refunds under subsection (g) or (h) of this section, shall be
entitled to a refund limited to ninety percent (90%) of the
actual contribution paid by the facility, less any expenditures
paid from the account on behalf of the facility which have not
been recovered under subsection (m) of this section.
(k) The director shall use the account to perform closure
or post-closure maintenance activities at any participating
facility, if the facility owner is unable to carry out those
responsibilities. The director, subject to appeal to the
council, shall determine the amounts of any expenditures from
the account.
(m) The attorney general shall file suit to recover any
funds expended under subsection (k) of this section.
(n) Nothing in this section shall relieve any owner or
operator of a solid waste management facility of the requirement
to comply with applicable closure or post-closure requirements
of this act. No third party cause of action is created by this
section. Existence of the account does not limit the liability
of any owner of a municipal solid waste disposal facility for
damages or costs which may occur as the result of any failure to
close, or conduct post-closure maintenance, in compliance with
this act.
(o) For the purpose of this section:
(i) "Account" means the account created by subsection
(a) of this section;
(ii) "Municipal solid waste disposal facility" means
a solid waste landfill or land disposal facility which is owned
or operated by a municipality and which receives any solid
wastes, including garbage, trash and sanitary waste in septic
tanks, derived from households and nonhazardous industrial
waste;
(iii) "Participating facility" means a municipal
solid waste disposal facility which elects to participate and is
participating in the account in accordance with the requirements
of this section.