No Discharge Permit for Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure Bond - Arkansas DEQ in Arkansas

Brief Summary

When DEQ calls for a closure bond on a no-discharge wastewater permit, the bond lets you keep the facility permitted and the closure plan moving without setting aside cash for the full closure cost. You pay a premium, the surety backs your promise to close the ponds or tanks the way DEQ approved, and DEQ is the party protected.

This bond guarantees to the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality that a wastewater treatment or storage facility operating under a no-discharge water permit will be closed according to its DEQ approved closure plan. The bond amount is the figure DEQ sets for the specific facility, so confirm the amount, the bond form and the filing steps with DEQ's No-Discharge Section before the bond is issued.

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How to Apply for a No Discharge Permit for Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure Bond:

• Find the closure financial assurance condition and dollar amount in your DEQ no-discharge permit or DEQ correspondence.
• Have the permittee name, permit number and AFIN exactly as DEQ shows them.
• Complete the bond application with the surety and provide owner and company financial information.
• Have the bond executed with the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality named as obligee.
• File the original bond with DEQ's No-Discharge Section and keep it in force until DEQ releases it.
• Notify DEQ at least 60 days before closure and get the closure plan approved before work begins.

Detailed Information About the Arkansas No Discharge Permit for Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure Bond:

Who needs it

Under the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act, Ark. Code Ann. 8-4-101 and following, any waste disposal system that does not discharge directly to waters of the state must operate under a No-Discharge Water Permit from DEQ. That covers land application and storage of biosolids or industrial waste, subsurface wastewater disposal, drip irrigation systems and similar facilities. Individual no-discharge permits are written for each facility, which lets DEQ attach conditions such as closure financial assurance. If your permit or a DEQ letter calls for a closure bond, this is the bond.

What closure involves

DEQ's Waste Storage Pond Closure Guidelines require permitted facilities to notify DEQ at least 60 days before any planned removal, closure or abandonment of a waste storage or treatment structure. A closure plan has to be approved before work starts, and it must be prepared by NRCS, an Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation District water quality technician or an Arkansas licensed professional engineer. The plan covers the structure, the quality and quantity of waste left in it, how that waste will be disposed of and the final status of the structure. Earthen ponds converted to fresh water ponds need at least six inches of soil removed from the bottom and inside levees.

What the bond guarantees

The bond promises DEQ that the permittee will carry out that closure. If the permittee fails to do so, DEQ can claim against the bond to pay for the work, and the surety will then seek repayment from the permittee. The bond is not insurance for the facility owner.

A separate requirement for domestic sewage systems

Nonmunicipal domestic sewage treatment works have their own financial requirement under Ark. Code Ann. 8-4-203(b). Those applicants file a trust fund certification with an engineer's five year operating cost estimate, and new or expanding systems pay an initial trust fund fee of 8% of estimated construction cost, capped at $100,000. That trust fund is separate from a closure bond, so check your permit for both.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Arkansas No Discharge Permit for Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure Bond:

• Bond amount matching the figure DEQ sets for the facility.
• Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality named as obligee.
• Closure plan prepared by NRCS, a conservation district technician or an Arkansas licensed professional engineer.
• Compliance with the facility's individual no-discharge permit conditions.
• Credit and financial review of the permittee by the surety.

Arkansas No Discharge Permit for Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Arkansas No Discharge Permit for Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure Bond: