Under the revised Part 360 Solid Waste Regulations, New York State requires applicable facility owners to prove they are ready for the financial burden of closing their facility, if necessary. These requirements are intended to demonstrate that environmental monitoring and maintenance protocol required to properly close a solid waste facility will not become the responsibility of the State if a business owner is unable to pay their bills. Financial assurance covers the closure and post-closure costs of the facility for up to 30 years.
As defined in 6 NYCRR Part 360, 361, 362, 363, and 365, 
certain solid waste facilities must comply with monetary security obligations to operate in New York State, including Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris handling and recovery facilities, also known as transfer stations, which process more than 500 cubic yards per day. These facilities are responsible for preparing accurate cost estimates for the expense of facility closure, post-closure maintenance, and any potential corrective measures that could come up in the closure process, such as the remediation of released chemicals into the environment. This is in addition to the new permit requirements for these facilities.
Registered facilities that currently have financial assurance measures in place must comply with additional financial assurance within five years as stipulated in the recently updated Part 360 Regulations.
Financial security documentation must be updated annually to reflect potential changes in on-site material, labor cost, and inflation to give the Department of Environmental Conservation an accurate projection of closure and post-closure costs in present dollars. In attempts to discount a previous year’s financial assurance estimates, a professional engineer’s certification is required.
Financial assurance for private companies generally comes in the form of:
- A lump sum trust fund,
- A series of up to ten payments to a trust fund over a time frame of up to a year,
- A surety bond, or
- An irrevocable letter of credit (letters of credit over $50,000 must be accompanied by a standby trust fund)
The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) also has financial assurance criteria for certain solid waste facilities operating within city limits. These are separate from the NYSDEC financial assurance mechanisms and often need different contract language in the surety bond, or other form of financial assurance.
Walden has a team of solid waste professionals with experience keeping clients in regulatory compliance with NYS DEC, DSNY, and other applicable agencies. With multiple New York offices, our staff is prepared to navigate the process of submitting and updating financial assurance for facilities in Southern New York, the Hudson Valley, and the Capital Region. Check out our Solid Waste webpage and give us a call at (516) 624-7200 with any questions about the new Part 360 Regulations.