NR 661.0142(1)(1) The owner or operator shall have a detailed written estimate, in current dollars, of the cost of disposing of any hazardous secondary material as listed or characteristic hazardous waste, and the potential cost of closing the facility as a treatment, storage, and disposal facility. The estimate shall include all of the following:

NR 661.0142(1)(a)(a) The estimate shall equal the cost of conducting those activities at the point when the extent and manner of the facility’s operation would make these activities the most expensive.

NR 661.0142(1)(b)(b) The cost estimate shall be based on the costs to the owner or operator of hiring a third party to conduct these activities. A third party is a party who is neither a parent corporation as defined in s. NR 665.0141 (5) nor a subsidiary of the owner or operator. The owner or operator may use costs for on-site disposal in accordance with applicable requirements if the owner or operator can demonstrate that on-site disposal capacity will exist at all times over the life of the facility.

NR 661.0142(1)(c)(c) The cost estimate may not incorporate any salvage value that may be realized with the sale of hazardous secondary material, or hazardous or non-hazardous wastes if applicable under s. NR 665.0113 (4), facility structures or equipment, land, or other assets associated with the facility.

NR 661.0142(1)(d)(d) The owner or operator may not incorporate a zero cost for hazardous secondary material, or hazardous or non-hazardous wastes if applicable under s. NR 665.0113 (4) that might have economic value.

NR 661.0142(2)(2) During the active life of the facility, the owner or operator shall adjust the cost estimate for inflation within 60 days prior to the anniversary date of the establishment of the financial instrument or instrument used to comply with s. NR 661.0143. For owners and operators using the financial test or corporate guarantee, the cost estimate shall be updated for inflation within 30 days after the close of the firm’s fiscal year and before submission of updated information to the department as specified in s. NR 661.0143 (5) (c). The adjustment may be made by recalculating the cost estimate in current dollars, or by using an inflation factor derived from the most recent Implicit Price Deflator for Gross National Product published by the U.S. department of commerce in its Survey of Current Business, as specified in pars. (a) and (b). The inflation factor is the result of dividing the latest published annual deflator by the deflator for the previous year. Adjustments shall be made as follows:

NR 661.0142(2)(a)(a) The first adjustment is made by multiplying the cost estimate by the inflation factor. The result is the adjusted cost estimate.

NR 661.0142(2)(b)(b) Subsequent adjustments are made by multiplying the latest adjusted cost estimate by the latest inflation factor.

NR 661.0142(3)(3) During the active life of the facility, the owner or operator shall revise the cost estimate no later than 30 days after a change in a facility’s operating plan or design that would increase the costs of conducting the activities described in sub. (1) or no later than 60 days after an unexpected event that increases the cost of conducting the activities described in sub. (1). The revised cost estimate shall be adjusted for inflation as specified in sub. (2).

NR 661.0143(1)(a)(a) An owner or operator may satisfy the requirements of this section by establishing a trust fund that conforms to the requirements of this subsection and submitting an originally signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the department. The trustee shall be an entity that has the authority to act as a trustee and whose trust operations are regulated and examined by a federal or state agency.

NR 661.0143(1)(b)(b) The wording of the trust agreement shall be identical to the wording specified in s. NR 661.0151 (1) (a), and the trust agreement shall be accompanied by a formal certification of acknowledgment as specified in s. NR 661.0151 (1) (b). Schedule A of the trust agreement shall be updated within 60 days after a change in the amount of the current cost estimate covered by the agreement.

NR 661.0143(1)(c)(c) The trust fund shall be funded for the full amount of the current cost estimate before it may be relied upon to satisfy the requirements of this section.

NR 661.0143(1)(d)(d) Whenever the current cost estimate changes, the owner or operator shall compare the new estimate with the trustee’s most recent annual valuation of the trust fund. If the value of the fund is less than the amount of the new estimate, the owner or operator, within 60 days after the change in the cost estimate, shall either deposit an amount into the fund so that its value after this deposit at least equals the amount of the current cost estimate, or obtain other financial assurance as specified in this section to cover the difference.

NR 661.0143(1)(e)(e) If the value of the trust fund is greater than the total amount of the current cost estimate, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the department for release of the amount in excess of the current cost estimate.

NR 661.0143(1)(f)(f) If an owner or operator substitutes other financial assurance as specified in this section for all or part of the trust fund, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the department for release of the amount in excess of the current cost estimate covered by the trust fund.

NR 661.0143(1)(g)(g) Within 60 days after receiving a request from the owner or operator for release of funds as specified in pars. (e) or (f), the department will instruct the trustee to release to the owner or operator such funds as the department specifies in writing. If the owner or operator begins final closure under subch. G of ch. NR 664 or subch. G of ch. NR 665, an owner or operator may request reimbursements for partial or final closure expenditures by submitting itemized bills to the department. The owner or operator may request reimbursements for partial closure only if sufficient funds are remaining in the trust fund to cover the maximum costs of closing the facility over its remaining operating life. No later than 60 days after receiving bills for partial or final closure activities, the department will instruct the trustee to make reimbursements in those amounts as the department specifies in writing, if the department determines that the partial or final closure expenditures are in accordance with the approved closure plan, or otherwise justified. If the department has reason to believe that the maximum cost of closure over the remaining life of the facility will be significantly greater than the value of the trust fund, the department may withhold reimbursements of such amounts as the department deems prudent until the department determines, in accordance with s. NR 665.0143 (9), that the owner or operator is no longer required to maintain financial assurance for final closure of the facility. If the department does not instruct the trustee to make such reimbursements, the department will provide to the owner or operator a detailed written statement of reasons.