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§ 6018.505. Bonds

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 35 P.S. Health and Safety

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated Statutes
Title 35 P.S. Health and Safety (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 29A. Solid Waste Management Act (Refs & Annos)
Article V. Applications and Permits (Refs & Annos)
35 P.S. § 6018.505
§ 6018.505. Bonds
(a) With the exception of municipalities operating landfills solely for municipal waste not classified hazardous, prior to the commencement of operations, the operator of a municipal or residual waste processing or disposal facility or of a hazardous waste storage, treatment or disposal facility for which a permit is required by this section shall file with the department a bond for the land affected by such facility on a form prescribed and furnished by the department. Such bond shall be payable to the Commonwealth and conditioned so that the operator shall comply with the requirements of this act, the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394),1 known as “The Clean Streams Law,” the act of May 31, 1945 (P.L. 1198, No. 418),2 known as the “Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act,” the act of January 8, 1960 (1959 P.L. 2119, No. 787),3 known as the “Air Pollution Control Act,” and the act of November 26, 1978 (P.L. 1375, No. 325),4 known as the “Dam Safety and Encroachments Act.” The department may require additional bond amounts for the permitted areas should such an increase be determined by the department to be necessary to meet the requirements of this act. The amount of the bond required shall be in an amount determined by the secretary based upon the total estimated cost to the Commonwealth of completing final closure according to the permit granted to such facility and such measures as are necessary to prevent adverse effects upon the environment; such measures include but are not limited to satisfactory monitoring, post-closure care, and remedial measures. The bond amount shall reflect the additional cost to the Commonwealth which may be entailed by being required to bring personnel and equipment to the site. All permits shall be bonded for at least $10,000. Liability under such bond shall be for the duration of the operation, and for a period of up to ten full years after final closure of the permit site. Such bond shall be executed by the operator and a corporate surety licensed to do business in the Commonwealth and approved by the secretary: Provided, however, That the operator may elect to deposit cash, certificates of deposit, automatically renewable irrevocable letters of credit which are terminable only upon 90 days written notice to the operator and the department, or negotiable bonds of the United States Government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the General State Authority, the State Public School Building Authority, or any municipality within the Commonwealth, with the department in lieu of a corporate surety. The cash amount of such deposit, irrevocable letters of credit or market value of such securities shall be equal at least to the sum of the bond. The secretary shall, upon receipt of any such deposit of cash or negotiable bonds, immediately place the same with the State Treasurer, whose duty it shall be to receive and hold the same in the name of the Commonwealth, in trust, for the purposes for which such deposit is made. The State Treasurer shall at all times be responsible for the custody and safekeeping of such deposits. The operator making the deposit shall be entitled from time to time to demand and receive from the State Treasurer, on the written order of the secretary, the whole or any portion of any collateral so deposited, upon depositing with him, in lieu thereof, other collateral of the classes herein specified having a market value at least equal to the sum of the bond, also to demand, receive and recover the interest and income from said negotiable bonds as the same becomes due and payable: Provided, however, That where negotiable bonds, deposited as aforesaid, mature or are called, the State Treasurer, at the request of the permittee, shall convert such negotiable bonds into such other negotiable bonds of the classes herein specified as may be designated by the permittee: And provided further, That where notice of intent to terminate a letter of credit is given, the department shall, after 30 days written notice to the operator and in the absence of a replacement of such letter of credit within such 30-day period by the operator with other acceptable bond guarantees provided herein, draw upon and convert such letter of credit into cash and hold it as a collateral bond guarantee.
(b) In the case of applications for permits where the department determines that the operations are reasonably anticipated to continue for a period of at least ten years from the date of application, the operator may elect to deposit collateral and file a collateral bond as provided in subsection (a) according to the following phase deposit schedule. The operator shall, prior to commencing operations, deposit $10,000 or 25% of the amount of the bond determined under subsection (a), whichever is greater. The operator shall, thereafter, annually deposit 10% of the remaining bond amount for a period of ten years. Interest accumulated by such collateral shall become a part of the bond. The department may require additional bonding at any time to meet the intent of subsection (a). The collateral shall be deposited in trust, with the State Treasurer as provided in subsection (a) or with a bank, selected by the department, which shall act as trustee for the benefit of the Commonwealth, according to rules and regulations promulgated hereunder, to guarantee the operator's compliance with this act and the statutes enumerated in subsection (a). The operator shall be required to pay all costs of the trust. The collateral deposit, or part thereof, shall be released of liability and returned to the operator, together with a proportional share of accumulated interest, upon the conditions of and pursuant to the schedule and criteria for release provided in this act.
(c) The operator shall, prior to commencing operations on any additional land exceeding the estimate made in the application for a permit, file an additional application and bond. Upon receipt of such additional application and related documents and information as would have been required for the additional land had it been included in the original application for a permit and should all the requirements of this act be met as were necessary to secure the permit, the secretary shall promptly issue an amended permit covering the additional acreage covered by such application, and shall determine the additional bond requirement therefor.
(d) If the operator abandons the operation of a municipal or residual waste processing or disposal facility or a hazardous waste storage, treatment or disposal facility for which a permit is required by this section or if the permittee fails or refuses to comply with the requirements of this act in any respect for which liability has been charged on the bond, the secretary shall declare the bond forfeited and shall certify the same to the Department of Justice which shall proceed to enforce and collect the amount of liability forfeited thereon, and where the operation has deposited cash or securities as collateral in lieu of a corporate surety, the secretary shall declare said collateral forfeited and shall direct the State Treasurer to pay said funds into the Waste Abatement Fund. Should any corporate surety fail to promptly pay, in full, forfeited bond, it shall be disqualified from writing any further surety bonds under this act.
(e) Prior to the issuance of any license for the transportation of hazardous waste, the applicant for a license shall file with the department a collateral bond on a form prescribed and furnished by the department. Such bond shall be payable to the Commonwealth and conditioned upon compliance by the licensee with every requirement of this act, rule and regulation of the department, order of the department and term and condition of the license. The amount of the bond required shall be in an amount determined by the secretary, but in an amount no less than $10,000. The department may require additional bond amounts if the department determines such additional amounts are necessary to guarantee compliance with this act. The licensee may elect to deposit cash or automatically renewable irrevocable letters of credit which are terminable only upon 90 days written notice to the operator and the department, or negotiable bonds of the United States Government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the General State Authority, the State Public School Building Authority, or any municipality within the Commonwealth. No corporate surety bond is authorized by this subsection. The cash amount of such deposit, irrevocable letters of credit, or market value of such securities shall be equal at least to the sum of the bond. The secretary shall, upon receipt of any such deposit of cash or negotiable bonds, immediately place the same with the State Treasurer, whose duty it shall be to receive and hold the same in the name of the Commonwealth, in trust, for the purposes for which such deposit is made. The State Treasurer shall at all times be responsible for the custody and safekeeping of such deposits. The licensee making the deposit shall be entitled from time to time to demand and receive from the State Treasurer, on the written order of the secretary, the whole or any portion of any collateral so deposited, upon depositing with him, in lieu thereof, other collateral of the classes herein specified having a market value at least equal to the sum of the bond, also to demand, receive and recover the interest and income from said negotiable bonds as the same becomes due and payable: Provided, however, That where negotiable bonds, deposited as aforesaid, mature or are called, the State Treasurer, at the request of the licensee, shall convert such negotiable bonds into such other negotiable bonds of the classes herein specified as may be designated by the licensee: And provided further, That where notice of intent to terminate a letter of credit is given, the department shall, after 30 days written notice to the licensee and in the absence of a replacement of such letter of credit within such 30-day period by the licensee with other acceptable bond guarantees provided herein, draw upon and convert such letter of credit into cash and hold it as a collateral bond guarantee. Liability under such bond shall be for the duration of the license and for a period of one year after the expiration of the license.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this act, when an application for the land application of sewage sludge is made by a municipality or a municipal authority, the filing of a bond with the department shall not be required as a condition for issuance of a permit to the municipality or municipal authority for the application of the sewage sludge for land reclamation or agricultural utilization purposes.

Credits

1980, July 7, P.L. 380, No. 97, § 505, effective in 60 days. Amended 1990, July 11, P.L. 450, No. 109, § 2, imd. effective.

Footnotes

35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.
52 P.S. § 1396.1 et seq.
35 P.S. § 4001 et seq.
32 P.S. § 693.1 et seq.
35 P.S. § 6018.505, PA ST 35 P.S. § 6018.505
Current through the end of the 2023 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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