AGO 96-F-019.

• Court: North Dakota

North Dakota Attorney General Opinions 1996. AGO 96-F-019. STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION 96-F-19Date issued: October 4, 1996Requested by: Jon R. Rice, MD, State Health Officer Glenn Pomeroy, Insurance Commissioner- QUESTION PRESENTED - Whether the "Environmental Protection Act" to be codified as N.D.C.C. § 23-29-16 requires an actual insurance policy be issued to cover a one hundred-year period following closure of an industrial or municipal waste landfill disposal facility or whether financial assurances or other economic mechanisms can be used to satisfy the provisions of the section. - ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION - It is my opinion that the provisions of N.D.C.C. § 23-29-16 requiring maintenance of the insurance policy for one hundred years after the closure of an industrial or municipal waste landfill disposal facility can be met through financial assurance or other economic mechanisms and does not require an actual insurance policy be issued for the one hundred-year period. - ANALYSIS - The "Environmental Protection Act" was enacted pursuant to an initiated measure approved by the voters on June ll, 1996, and will be codified as N.D.C.C. § 23-29-16. N.D.C.C. § 23-29-16(2) provides, in part, that "[t]he insurance policy required by this section shall be maintained for l00 years after the closure of the [industrial or municipal waste landfill disposal] facility." The Legislature has granted the State Department of Health the responsibility for administration and enforcement of N.D.C.C. ch. 23-29. N.D.C.C. § 23-29-04. Specifically, subsection 13 of section 23-29-04 authorizes the State Department of Health to: Adopt rules to establish financial assurance requirements to be met by any person proposing construction or operation of a solid waste management facility sufficient to provide for closure and postclosure activities. Financial assurance requirements must include any or all of the following: insurance, trust funds, surety bonds, letters of credit, personal bonds, certificates of deposit, and financial tests or corporate guarantees. (Emphasis added.) N.D.C.C. § 23-29-04(8) authorizes the State Department of Health to "[a]dopt and enforce rules governing solid waste management, in order to conserve the air, water, and land resources of the state; protect the public health; prevent environmental...