§ 8-6-1002 - Creation.
8-6-1002. Creation.
(a) (1) There is established on the books of the Treasurer of State, the Auditor of State, and the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State a trust fund to be known as the "Landfill Post-Closure Trust Fund".
(2) In addition to all moneys appropriated by the General Assembly to the fund, there shall be deposited in the fund all landfill disposal fees collected pursuant to this subchapter and any moneys received by the state as a gift or donation to the fund or any federal moneys designated to enter the fund and all interest earned upon moneys deposited in the fund.
(3) (A) Moneys received into the fund may also be used by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality for administrative purposes at a level not to exceed three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) annually with an annual escalator not to exceed three percent (3%).
(B) In the event the total amount in the fund equals or exceeds twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000), no additional moneys shall be collected pursuant to this subchapter until the total amount in the fund equals or is less than fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) at which time the collection of moneys shall resume.
(b) (1) The Landfill Post-Closure Trust Fund shall be administered by the department, which shall authorize funding and administrative expenditures from the fund according to the provisions of this subchapter.
(2) (A) The fund shall be administered by the department and shall be used by the department for landfill post-closure corrective action.
(B) The fund shall be used only if the director determines that:
(i) A landfill which is no longer receiving waste, regardless of when it ceased operating, is causing groundwater contamination or is causing other contamination that is a hazard to public health or endangers the environment; and
(ii) The owner or operator of the landfill site has expended at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000) toward corrective action, unless the owner or operator cannot be located or the director determines an emergency exists necessitating immediate corrective action.
(c) The fund shall not be used to compensate third parties for damages to property caused by the contamination.
(d) For the purposes of this subchapter only, closed areas or operational phases contiguous to any permitted landfill which is receiving solid waste when the director determines that corrective action is necessary are not eligible for funding as contemplated by this subchapter.
(e) (1) An owner or operator of a permitted landfill shall establish and at all times maintain financial assurance for the post-closure maintenance of the landfill. At a minimum, each owner or operator shall provide no less than twenty percent (20%) of estimated post-closure maintenance costs through a financial mechanism readily negotiable by the department to cash funds, for example, a letter of credit, surety bond, irrevocable trust, insurance, or other mechanism approved by the department, upon default by the owner and operator of post-closure obligations.
(2) If, after proper closure of a landfill, the department reasonably determines that the owner or operator cannot be located or cannot otherwise satisfy, in whole or part, post-closure maintenance obligations, the department is authorized to expend the necessary funds from the Landfill Post-Closure Trust Fund to satisfy the requirements of state and federal law and to prevent or abate releases to the environment.
(3) If the department is required to expend funds from the Landfill Post-Closure Trust Fund due to the failure of an owner or operator to meet the requirements of this subsection, the department shall pursue collection and recovery of the funds by issuing an administrative order notifying the owner or operator by certified mail at the last known address of the owner or operator of the action taken by the department and the amount of funds expended from the Landfill Post-Closure Trust Fund and that the administrative order may be appealed in accordance with the department's regulations.