9-2-1012(e) and 9-4-207(a), funds deposited in this account

9-2-1012(e) and 9-4-207(a), funds deposited in this account shall not revert without further action of the legislature.

Note: Effective 7/1/2026 this subsection will read as:  (b) There is created the municipal solid waste cease and transfer loan account. Monies from the account shall be awarded for loans to fund approved activities pursuant to W.S. 35-11- 528. Interest earned by this account shall be deposited in the general fund. Notwithstanding W.S. 9-2-1008, 9-2-1012(e) and 9- 4-207(a), funds deposited in this account shall not revert without further action of the legislature.

35-11-530. Rules and regulations.

(a) The state loan and investment board in consultation with the department of environmental quality shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to administer the municipal solid waste facility cease and transfer program. Those rules shall include:

(i) Criteria for eligibility under the program based on W.S. 35-11-528(d);

(ii) Specific cease and transfer activities which are eligible for funding under the program;

(iii) Application form and procedure under the program;

(iv) Criteria for grant and loan prioritization based on:

(A) Funding availability;

(B) Cost efficiencies achieved by allocation of resources;

(C) Opportunities for increased cost sharing between cease and transfer actions at multiple leaking municipal solid waste facilities;

(D) Timeliness of cease and transfer actions in reducing risk to public health, safety and welfare or the environment;

(E) Remaining life of the existing municipal solid waste facility;

(F) Whether the proposed actions are a cost- effective alternative in accordance with the integrated solid waste management plan approved for the municipal solid waste facility;

(G) Whether the proposed action is reasonable and appropriate for the current and projected volumes of all solid waste for the area served by the facility;

(H) Whether the proposal contains recycling and other forms of waste diversion as a component of the proposed facilities and management practices; and

(J) The likelihood that the cease and transfer actions will reduce or eliminate the threat posed to public health, safety and welfare or the environment by continuing releases.

35-11-531. General permit for cease and closure for small landfills; rulemaking authority.

(a) The department shall develop a general permit in accordance with W.S. 35-11-801(d) for closing municipal solid waste landfills with a total surface area of less than thirty (30) acres, and shall provide assistance to municipalities in the general permitting process. The general permit shall comply with federal requirements for municipal solid waste landfill closure and post-closure.

(b) The department shall provide assistance for permitting municipal solid waste transfer facility activities at closing municipal solid waste landfills with a total surface area of less than thirty (30) acres.

(c) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to achieve the purposes of this section.

(d) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 186, § 2.

35-11-532. Municipal solid waste facility operator financial responsibility; penalties.

(a) Municipal solid waste facility operators shall ensure continued revenue or funding streams sufficient to provide for all foreseeable costs of the facility, including but not limited to the full costs of:

(i) Operations;  (ii) Monitoring;

(iii) Recycling, composting and other diversion activities;

(iv) Closure; and

(v) Post-closure activities.

(b) On or before January 1, 2014 and at least once every four (4) years thereafter, municipal solid waste facility operators shall submit to the department written documentation demonstrating compliance with subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Municipal solid waste facility operators shall employ accounting principles pursuant to the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act, W.S. 16-4-101 through 16-4-125, which recognize liabilities associated with:

(i) Closure and post-closure costs; and

(ii) The long-term cost of waste disposal compared to recycling, composting or other diversion activities.

(d) Compliance with this section shall be a prerequisite for eligibility for any state grant and loan program available to a municipal solid waste facility and state funding for solid waste landfill monitoring and remediation.

35-11-533. Municipal solid waste landfill remediation program created; purpose.

(a) There is created the municipal solid waste landfill remediation program. The program shall be administered by the solid and hazardous waste division of the department of environmental quality with the input of the waste and water advisory board as provided in W.S. 35-11-533 through 35-11-537.

(b) The legislature recognizes the threat to the public health, safety, welfare and the environment caused by pollution to soil and water from leaking municipal solid waste landfills. The purpose of this program is to take state primacy of the municipal solid waste landfill remediation program and to provide funding to take remediation actions at eligible leaking municipal solid waste landfills.  35-11-534. Program criteria; requirements for local operator.

(a) The department shall contract with entities, including contractors and local operators, to provide monitoring and remediation activities, including but not limited to groundwater remediation and monitoring, methane mitigation and monitoring and landfill capping, at eligible leaking municipal solid waste landfills. The department shall oversee and fund up to seventy- five percent (75%) of the cost of the investigation of contamination, the design and installation of monitoring and remediation systems and the operation and maintenance of monitoring and remediation systems for up to ten (10) years. The department may operate and maintain a system for a longer period of time in consideration of site specific circumstances. The period of time during which the department shall have responsibility for the monitoring and remediation activities at a leaking municipal solid waste landfill shall be communicated to the local operator prior to installation of the monitoring and remediation systems.

(b) The department shall contract for monitoring and remediation activities under the program at leaking municipal solid waste landfills based upon the priority list of landfills developed pursuant to W.S. 35-11-524 and other factors as provided in W.S. 35-11-536(a)(iv). The department shall update the priority list of leaking landfills requiring monitoring and remediation activities periodically as conditions warrant and may consider all relevant factors when developing and updating the priority list.

(c) To be eligible for enrollment under the program, the local operators of a leaking municipal solid waste landfill shall:

(i) Enter into a written agreement with the department to meet all regulatory obligations under the program;

(ii) Implement and revise the community's solid waste management plan as necessary to comply with all regulatory obligations;

(iii) Cease disposal of all waste streams at a leaking closed facility or the leaking portion of an operating facility which is undergoing remediation activities pursuant to department rules and regulations and the written agreement between the department and the local operator;  (iv) Cease disposal into units and facilities regulated under this article which do not have engineered containment systems or do not conform to performance based design standards;

(v) Agree to provide funding from any available funding source for at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the total costs of monitoring and remediation under the program;

(vi) Control the source of releases of pollution so as to reduce or eliminate further releases from the leaking municipal solid waste landfill;

(vii) Ensure continued revenue or funding streams sufficient to provide for all foreseeable costs of solid waste facilities under the control of the local operator or political subdivision, including but not limited to the full costs of:

(A) Operations;

(B) Monitoring;

(C) Recycling, composting and other diversion activities;

(D) Closure; and

(E) Post-closure activities.

(viii) Employ accounting principles in managing all solid waste facilities under the control of the local operator or political subdivision, pursuant to the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act, W.S. 16-4-101 through 16-4-125, which recognize liabilities associated with:

(A) Closure and post-closure costs; and

(B) The long-term cost of waste disposal compared to recycling, composting or other diversion activities.

(d) In carrying out monitoring and remediation activities under the program the department has the right to construct and maintain any structure, monitor well, recovery system or any other reasonable and necessary item associated with taking remediation and monitoring actions.  (e) The department shall notify the affected public of all confirmed releases requiring a plan for remediation, and upon request, provide or make available to the interested public information concerning the nature of the release and the remediation actions planned or taken.

(f) The department shall delegate and authorize a local operator to conduct or oversee monitoring and remediation under the program pursuant to a written agreement between the department and the local operator acknowledging that the local operator shall adhere to all regulatory requirements of the program in conducting monitoring and remediation activities. The department shall approve the local operator's monitoring and remediation plan prior to authorizing the local operator to conduct or oversee the monitoring and remediation program. The department shall take all actions necessary to ensure that a local operator granted authority to conduct or oversee monitoring and remediation activities under this subsection complies with all regulatory requirements of the program.

35-11-535. Municipal solid waste landfill remediation account; authorized expenditures from the account.

(a) There is created the municipal solid waste landfill remediation account. The department shall use monies from the municipal solid waste landfill remediation account as appropriated by the legislature for the administration of the program. Interest earned by this account shall be deposited in the general fund. Notwithstanding W.S. 9-2-1008, 9-2-1012(e) and 9-4-207(a), funds deposited in this account shall not revert without further action of the legislature.

(b) For a leaking municipal solid waste landfill to be eligible for use of monies in the account, the owner or operator of the site shall comply with all requirements of the program and regulations of the council adopted pursuant to W.S.