Section 725.244  Cost Estimate for Post-Closure Care

a)         The owner or operator of a hazardous waste disposal unit must have a detailed written estimate, in current dollars, of the annual cost of post-closure monitoring and maintenance of the facility in accordance with the applicable post-closure regulations in Section 725.217 through 725.220, 725.328, 725.358, 725.380, and 725.410.

1)         The post-closure cost estimate must be based on the costs to the owner or operator of hiring a third party to conduct post-closure care activities.  A third party is a party that is neither a parent nor a subsidiary of the owner or operator.  (See the definition of "parent corporation" in Section 725.241(d).)

2)         The post-closure cost estimate is calculated by multiplying the annual post-closure cost estimate by the number of years of post-closure care required under Section 725.217.

b)         During the active life of the facility, the owner or operator must adjust the post-closure cost estimate for inflation within 30 days after each anniversary of the date on which the first post-closure cost estimate was prepared.  The adjustment must be made 60 days prior to the anniversary date of the establishment of the financial instruments used to comply with Section 725.245.  For an owner or operator using the financial test or corporate guarantee, the closure cost estimate must be updated for inflation within 30 days after the close of the firm's fiscal year and before submission of updated information to the Agency as specified in Section 725.245(e)(5).  The adjustment may be made by recalculating the post-closure cost estimate in current dollars, or by using an inflation factor derived from the annual Implicit Price Deflator for Gross National Product as published by the U.S. Department of Commerce in its Survey of Current Business as specified in subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2).  The inflation factor is the result of dividing the latest published annual Deflator by the Deflator for the previous year.

1)         The first adjustment is made by multiplying the post-closure estimate by the inflation factor.  The result is the adjusted post-closure cost estimate.

2)         Subsequent adjustments are made by multiplying the latest adjusted post-closure cost estimate by the latest inflation factor.

c)         During the active life of the facility, the owner or operator must revise the post-closure cost estimate whenever a change in the post-closure plan no later than 30 days after a revision to the post-closure plan that increases the cost of post-closure care.  If the owner or operator has an approved post-closure plan, the post-closure cost estimate must be revised no later than 30 days after the Agency has approved the request to modify the plan if the change in the post-closure plan increases the cost of post-closure care.  The revised post-closure cost estimate must be adjusted for inflation as specified in subsection (b).

d)         The owner or operator must keep the following at the facility during the operating life of the facility: the latest post-closure cost estimate prepared in accordance with subsections (a) and (c) and, when this estimate has been adjusted in accordance with subsection (b), the latest adjusted post-closure cost estimate.

(Source:  Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 23725, effective November 19, 2018)