SECTION 252:653-11-14. Escrow account

(a)   Escrow account authorized. Financial assurance requirements maybe satisfied by establishing an escrow account in the name of the Department of Environmental Quality.

(b)   Chartered bank. The escrow bank must be a state or national bank located within the State of Oklahoma authorized to receive and hold State funds.

(c)   Additional requirements.

(1)   Escrow agreement. The escrow agreement must contain an irrevocable assignment of the funds therein to DEQ to be used in accordance with this Section.

(2)   Funds insured. The funds placed in the escrow account must be fully insured and/or collateralized by the Bank's pledge of government securities.

(d)   DEQ approval required. The form of the escrow agreement must be approved by DEQ, and a copy of the approved escrow agreement submitted to DEQ.

(e)   Pay-in period. Payments into the escrow account must be made no later than April 9th of each year as follows:

(1)   Closure. For closure, the pay-in period shall be 15 years after the date of permit issuance.

(2)   Corrective action. For corrective action, the pay-in period shall be 15 years after the corrective action remedy has been selected, or one-half of the estimated length of the corrective action program, whichever is shorter.

(f)   Payments into escrow for closure. Payments into the escrow account for closure shall be made as follows:

(1)   First payment. The first payment must be at least equal to the current cost estimate for closure except as provided in OAC 252:653-11-9 (relating to the use of multiple mechanisms), divided by the number of years in the pay-in period.

(2)   Subsequent payments. Subsequent payments shall be determined by the following formula: Next Payment = (CE - CV) ÷ Y, where

(A)   "CE" is the current cost estimate for closure (updated for inflation or other changes); and

(B)   "CV" is the current value of the escrow account; and

(C)   "Y" is the number of years remaining in the pay-in period.

(g)   Payments into escrow for corrective action. Payments into the escrow account for corrective action shall be as follows:

(1)   First payment. The first payment must be at least equal to one-half of the current cost estimate for corrective action, except as provided in OAC 252:653-11-9 or the approved corrective action plan, divided by the number of years in the corrective action pay-in period.

(2)   Subsequent payments. Subsequent payments shall be determined by the following formula: Next Payment = (RB - CV) ÷ Y, where

(A)   "RB" is the most recent estimate of the required trust fund balance for corrective action (i.e., the total costs that will be incurred during the second half of the corrective action period); and

(B)   "CV" is the current value of the escrow account; and

(C)   "Y" is the number of years remaining in the corrective action pay-in period.

(h)   Escrow after use of other mechanisms. If an escrow account is established after having used one or more alternate mechanisms specified in this Part, the initial payment into the escrow account must be at least the amount that the account would contain if it were established initially and annual payments made in accordance with (f) and/or (g) of this Section.

(i)   Reimbursements authorized. Persons authorized to conduct closure or corrective action activities, may request DEQ authorize reimbursement from the escrow account for these expenditures.

(1)   Sufficient funds available. Requests for reimbursement will be granted by DEQ only if sufficient funds are remaining in the escrow account to cover the remaining costs of closure or corrective action.

(2)   Submit justification to DEQ. Justification for the reimbursement must be submitted to DEQ for approval.

(3)   Document reimbursement received. Documentation shall be provided to DEQ to demonstrate reimbursement has been received.

(4)   Principal protected. The escrow bank shall not allow any withdrawal from the escrow account, except for interest once the account is fully funded, without written authorization from the Executive Director of DEQ.

[Source: Added at 35 Ok Reg 1333, eff 9-15-18]