United States             Solid Waste and   i
                     Environmental Protection       Emergency Response'          EPA 530-F-95-009
                     A3ency                 (5305)         !          March 1995 '

                     Office of Solid Waste:      ~~j'
vvEPA         Environmental
                     Fact Sheet
                     EFFECTIVE DATE DELAYED FOR
                     LANDFILL FINANCIAL ASSURANCE
                     REQUIREMENTS             i
                                                     i     j

               EPA has finalized a rule under the Resource Conservation and Recovery
               Act (RCRA) Subtitle D which delays the effective date for compliance with
               financial assurance requirements for owners and operators of all Municipal
               Solid Waste Landfill Facilities (MSWLFs) until April 9, 1997.  I    ...
       Background                                   j
                 ,          .       '   ".                'f   . -     f

         Privat^ and local government owners and operators of [municipal
       solid waste landfills are required to assure that the funds for corrective
       action, closure, and post-closure care will be readily available when
       needed. Financial assurance can be demonstrated through a number
       of mechanisms including trust funds, surety bonds, letters of credit,
       etc.  EPA is developing final rules related to alternate finsincial
       .assurance mechanisms including a local government fingincial test and
       a corporate financial test.  These financial tests would allpw an owner
       or operator to demonstrate that it has sufficient financial! strength to
       meet the obligations associated with its facility. The Agency wishes
       both to ensure the availability of funds to protect human'health and
       the environment in a timely manner and  to provide flexibility for
       meeting financial assurance requirements. These future rules will
       enable owners and operators to select the most appropriate mechanism
       from the complete range of financial mechanisms available.

       Action                                         ;
                    • '             '                    '|
         This final rule delays for two years the date on which ciwners and
       operators of MSWLFs are required to comply with a financial assurance
       mechanism for closure, post-closure, and corrective actiok costs in
       order to be able to accept additional shipments of solid waste.

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   Owners or operators of MSWLFs now have until April 9, 1997 to
comply with financial assurance requirements so that the local
government and corporate financial tests can also be considered for
use. These are expected to be promulgated in the fall of 1995 and the
spring of 1996, respectively. The lead time also enables state
governments to revise relevant state laws or regulations.  While the
final rule incorporates a date change from the proposed rule (revising
the effective date to April 9, 1997), the substance and intent of the final
rule do not differ from the proposed rulemaking.  This rule is expected
to provide regulatory relief in that financial assurance requirements
become effective after alternative mechanisms can be considered.

Contact

   For further information, or to order paper copies of the Federal
Register notice, please call the RCRA Hotline Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., EST. The national toll-free number is (800)
424-9346; for the hearing impaired, it is (TDD) (800) 553-7672. In
Washington, D.C., the number is (703) 412-9810 or TDD (703)  412-
3323.

   The Federal Register notice is available in electronic format on
the Internet System through the EPA Public Access Server at
gopher.epa.gov. For the text of the FR notice, choose: Rules,
Regulations, and Legislation; then, Waste Programs /EPA Waste
Information-GPO;  finally, Year/Month/Day.

   Copies of documents applicable to this rule, including a response to
all comments, may be obtained by writing: RCRA Information Center
(RIC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste
(5305), 401 M Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460.

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