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.