OAR 340-064-0155
Reimbursements to Users of Waste Tires and Cleanup Funds for Tire Storage Sites: Criteria for Use of Funds to Clean Up Permitted Waste Tire Sites or Conclude Negotiated Settlements for Cleanups
(1)
The Department shall establish an environmental ranking for waste tire piles of permittees requesting cleanup funds or of applicable parties requesting a negotiated settlement for cleanup, based on potential degree of environmental risk created by the tire pile. Sites with a higher ranking will in general be cleaned up before lower ranked sites. The following special circumstances shall serve as criteria in determining the degree of environmental risk. The criteria, listed in priority order, include but are not limited to:(a)
Susceptibility of the tire pile to fire. In this, the Department shall consider:(A)
The characteristics of the pile that might make it susceptible to fire, such as how the tires are stored (height and bulk of piles), the absence of fire lanes, lack of emergency equipment, presence of easily combustible materials, and lack of site access control;(B)
How a fire would impact the local air quality; and(C)
How close the pile is to natural resources or property owned by third persons that would be affected by a fire at the tire pile.(b)
Other characteristics of the site contributing to environmental risk, including susceptibility to mosquito infestation;(c)
Other special conditions which justify immediate cleanup of the site;(d)
A local fire district or a local government deems the site to be a danger or nuisance, or an environmental concern that warrants immediate removal of all waste tires.(2)
In determining the degree of environmental risk involved in the two criteria above, the Department shall consider:(a)
Size of the tire pile (number of waste tires);(b)
How close the tire pile is to population centers. The Department shall especially consider the population density within five miles of the pile, and location of any particularly susceptible populations such as hospitals.(3)
In the case of a waste tire storage permittee which is also a local government:(a)
The following special circumstances may also be considered by the Department in determining whether financial assistance to remove waste tires is appropriate:(A)
The tire pile was in existence before January 1, 1988;(B)
The waste tires were collected from the public, and the local government did not charge a fee to collect the tires for disposal;(C)
The pile consists of at least 1,000 waste tires.(b)
If all the above conditions are present, the Department may assist the local government with up to 80 percent of the net cost of tire removal, based on an index. The index will be determined by dividing the local government’s population by the number of waste tires at the site. The percentage of cleanup cost which could be covered by financial assistance is as follows:(c)
If a local government is out of compliance with its waste tire storage permit, the percentage of financial assistance from Table 1 may be reduced by ten percentage points.(4)
For waste tire pile cleanups initiated after the effective date of this rule, in determining the amount of financial assistance to a permittee who is not a local government, or the share of the applicable parties’ costs under a negotiated settlement, the Department may use the following criteria:(a)
If the waste tire pile contains fewer than 1,000 passenger tire equivalents: The Department may pay 100 percent of the cost;(b)
If the waste tire pile contains from 1,000 to 100,000 passenger tire equivalents: The Department may pay 90 percent of the cost if the permittee or applicable party is a private individual or partnership; the Department may pay 80 percent of the cost for a corporation;(c)
If the waste tire pile contains more than 100,000 passenger tire equivalents: The Department will perform an analysis of the financial situation of the person. The person will be subject to a “spend-down” contribution to the cost of the cleanup based on the following:(A)
For individuals and partnerships:(i)
Income spend-down: The amount of the person’s average gross income for the three preceding years less $32,000 must be contributed to the cost of the cleanup; and(ii)
Asset spend-down: The amount of the person’s net assets (excluding one automobile and homestead, and, for businesses, excluding building, equipment and inventory) less $20,000 must be contributed to the cost of the cleanup;(iii)
However, the total spend-down requirement shall not exceed half of the person’s average gross annual income for the preceding three years.(B)
For corporations:(i)
Income spend-down: The average gross household income for the three preceding years of each of the corporate officers who are also corporate stockholders, less $32,000 for each officer, must be contributed to the cost of the cleanup;(ii)
Asset spend-down: The amount of the corporation’s net assets (excluding building, equipment and inventory) less $20,000 must be contributed to the cost of the cleanup; and(iii)
The Department’s contribution to the cost of a cleanup for a corporation shall not exceed 80 percent.(d)
If a permittee or applicable party (other than a corporation) believes that the contribution required by the criteria in subsection (4)(b) of this rule would cause him or her financial hardship, he or she may request that the Department perform a financial analysis. After the analysis, the Department may reduce the required contribution as follows:(A)
The person’s contribution may be limited to 50 percent of his or her average gross annual income for the preceding three years; or(B)
If the person’s combined average income for the preceding three years and current net assets (excluding one automobile and homestead, and, for businesses, excluding building, equipment and inventory) are less than $32,000, the person’s cost share may be reduced to $0.(e)
In order for the Department to complete any financial analysis under subsection (c) or (d) of this section, the person must submit state and federal tax returns for the past three years, a business statement of net worth, and similar materials. If the person is a business, the income and net worth of other business enterprises in which the principals of the person’s business have a legal interest must also be submitted.(5)
The criteria in section (4) of this rule may not be applied retroactively to waste tire pile cleanups completed before the effective date of the rule.(6)
The criteria in section (4) of this rule may be applied to the cleanup of only those waste tire piles that existed before January 1, 1988, unless the Department determines that special circumstances exist which justify an exception.(7)
The director retains the discretion to depart from the criteria in subsections (4)(b) and (c) of this rule in extraordinary circumstances.(8)
A permittee or applicable party may receive financial assistance or conclude a negotiated settlement with the Department for no more than one complete waste tire removal or processing job.(9)
The Department may advance funds for up to 100 percent of the cost of the removal of processing of waste tires or waste tire materials from a permitted waste tire site, if:(a)
The permittee demonstrates that it cannot pay its share of the cleanup cost, as calculated according to section (4) of this rule, at the time the cleanup is completed; and(b)
The permittee signs an agreement to repay the Department its share of the cleanup costs within a schedule agreeable to the Department, and with such guarantees as the Department deems appropriate.
Source:
Rule 340-064-0155 — Reimbursements to Users of Waste Tires and Cleanup Funds for Tire Storage Sites: Criteria for Use of Funds to Clean Up Permitted Waste Tire Sites or Conclude Negotiated Settlements for Cleanups, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=340-064-0155.