S-3633.2 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 6096
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State of Washington 54th Legislature 1996 Regular Session
By Senator Rasmussen
Read first time 01/08/96. Referred to Committee on Ecology & Parks.
AN ACT Relating to financial responsibility requirements for operators of solid waste landfills; amending RCW 70.95.215; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 70.95.215 and 1985 c 436 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) By July 1, 1987, each holder or applicant of a permit for a landfill disposal facility issued under this chapter shall establish a reserve account to cover the costs of closing the facility in accordance with state and federal regulations. The account shall be designed to ensure that there will be adequate revenue available by the projected date of closure. For facilities described in subsection (3) of this section, the permit applicant or holder shall maintain in addition to the reserve account a cash bond sufficient to fund the full cost of any closure, whether a temporary or permanent closure, required due to an emergency or disaster. Landfill disposal facilities maintained on private property for the sole use of the entity owning the site shall not be required to establish a reserve account if, to the satisfaction of the department, they provide another form of financial assurance adequate to comply with the requirements of this section.
(2) By July 1, 1986, the department shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW to implement subsection (1) of this section. The rules shall include but not be limited to:
(a) Methods to estimate closure costs, including postclosure monitoring, pollution prevention measures, and any other procedures required under state and federal regulations;
(b) Methods to ensure that reserve accounts receive adequate funds, including:
(i) Requirements that the reserve account be generated by user fees. However, the department may waive this requirement for existing landfills if user fees would be prohibitively high;
(ii) Requirements that moneys be placed in the reserve account on a regular basis and that the reserve account be kept separate from all other accounts; and
(iii) Procedures for the department to verify that adequate sums are deposited in the reserve account; and
(c) Methods to ensure that other types of financial assurance provided in accordance with subsection (1) of this section are adequate to cover the costs of closing the facility.
(3) The permit applicant or holder for each land fill facility whose area of design capacity will exceed one hundred acres and whose horizontal height of design capacity will average one hundred feet or more above existing site elevations shall, in addition to the requirements of subsection (2)(c) of this section, maintain a cash bond sufficient to fund the full cost of a temporary or permanent closure required due to an emergency or disaster.
(4) As used in this section, "emergency or disaster" means an event or set of circumstances, resulting from all hazards, whether natural or man-made, that demands immediate action to preserve public health, including but not limited to flood, fire, earthquake, volcanic eruption, or other event that results in any breach of integrity of the landfill.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.
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