La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § V-4401

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-4401 - Cost Estimate for Closure

A. The owner or operator must have a detailed written estimate, in current dollars, of the cost of closing the facility in accordance with the requirements in LAC 33:V.4379, 4381, 4383, 4385, and 4387 and applicable closure requirements in LAC 33:V.4442, 4457, 4475, 4489, 4501, 4521, 4531, 4543, and 4705.

1. The estimate must equal the cost of final closure at the point in the facility's active life when the extent and manner of its operation would make closure the most expensive, as indicated by its closure plan (see LAC 33:V.4399); and

2. the closure cost estimate must be based on the costs to the owner or operator of hiring a third party to close the facility. A third party is a party who is neither a parent nor a subsidiary or the owner or operator. (See definition of Parent Corporation in LAC 33:V.4399.) The owner or operator may use costs for on-site disposal if he can demonstrate that on-site disposal capacity will exist at all times over the life of the facility.

3. The closure cost estimate may not incorporate any salvage value that may be realized by the sale of hazardous wastes, or non-hazardous wastes if applicable under LAC 33:V.4383.D, facility structures or equipment, land or other assets associated with the facility at the time of partial or final closure.

4. The owner or operator may not incorporate a zero cost for hazardous wastes, or non-hazardous wastes if applicable under LAC 33:V.4383.D that might have economic value.

B. During the active life of the facility, the owner or operator must adjust the closure cost estimate for inflation within 60 days prior to the anniversary date of the establishment of the financial instruments used to comply with LAC 33:V.4403. For an owner or operator using the financial test or corporate guarantee, the closure cost estimate must be updated for inflation within 30 days after the close of the firm's fiscal year and before submission of updated information to the administrative authority as specified in LAC 33:V.4403.E.3. The adjustment may be made by recalculating the closure cost estimate in current dollars or by using an inflation factor derived from the most recent Implicit Price Deflator for Gross National Product published by the U.S. Department of Commerce in its Survey of Current Business, as specified in LAC 33:V.4401.B.1 and 2. The inflation factor is the result of dividing the latest published annual deflator by the deflator for the previous year.

1. The first adjustment is made by multiplying the closure cost estimate by the inflation factor. The result is the adjusted closure cost estimate.

2. Subsequent adjustments are made by multiplying the latest adjusted closure cost estimate by the latest inflation factor.

C. During the active life of the facility, the owner or operator must revise the closure cost estimate no later than 30 days after a revision that increases the cost of a closure has been made to the closure plan. If the owner or operator has an approved closure plan, the closure cost estimate must be revised no later than 30 days after the administrative authority has approved the request to modify the closure plan if the change in the closure plan increases the cost of closure. The revised closure cost estimate must be adjusted for inflation as specified in LAC 33:V.4401.B.

D. The owner or operator must keep the following at the facility during the operating life of the facility: The latest closure cost estimate prepared in accordance with LAC 33:V.4401.A and C and, when this estimate has been adjusted in accordance with LAC 33:V.4401.B, the latest adjusted closure estimate.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § V-4401

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Solid and Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Waste Division, LR 10:200 (March 1984), amended LR 13:433 (August 1987), LR 17:478 (May 1991), LR 18:723 (July 1992), LR 21:266 (March 1995), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 34:634 (April 2008).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2180 et seq.