62-761.420. Financial Responsibility  


Effective on Sunday, June 25, 2023
  • 1(1) Financial responsibility is the ability to pay for cleanup of a discharge and third-party liability resulting from a discharge of petroleum or petroleum product at the facility.

    29(2) Financial responsibility shall be maintained and demonstrated to the county or Department for all storage tank systems until the storage tank systems are properly closed pursuant to subsections 5862-761.800(2) 59and (3), F.A.C., and the Closure Report or the Limited Closure Report Form for USTs 7462-761.900(8), 75effective date, October 2019, hereby adopted and incorporated by reference, is submitted to and approved by the county or the Department. 96To obtain copies of Form 10162-761.900(8), 102see Rule 10462-761.900, 105F.A.C., or 107http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-10740, 109or the Department’s website at https://floridadep.gov/waste/permitting-compliance-assistance/content/storage-tank-system-rules-forms-and-reference. Pursuant to section 118376.309(1), F.S., 120t121he facility owner is required to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility and is liable in event of noncompliance. If the facility owner, facility operator, tank owner, and tank operator are separate persons, then evidence of financial responsibility may be demonstrated if one of those persons obtains financial responsibility on behalf of the facility owner.

    177(3) 178The demonstration of financial responsibility for storage tank systems shall be made in accordance with reference guideline 195Technical Standards and Corrective Action Requirements for Owners and Operators of Underground Storage Tanks (UST), Financial Responsibility, 21240 CFR Part 280, 216Subpart H, Financial Responsibility, July 15, 2015, 223hereby adopted and incorporated by reference 229and accessible here: Government Printing Office, Code of Federal Regulations, 732 North Capitol Street, N.W., Washington DC 20401-0001, or 248https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-15341250. However, Department Form 25462-761.900(3), 255Financial Mechanisms for Storage Tanks, June 2023, shall be used in lieu of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s financial wording. Form 27762-761.900(3) 278is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference, and available on the Department’s website at https://floridadep.gov/waste/permitting-compliance-assistance/content/storage-tank-financial-responsibility 293or 294http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-15410296.

    297(4) The appropriate part(s) of Form 30362-761.900(3) 304shall be completed and maintained when demonstrating proof of financial responsibility under this rule, 318and Form 32062-761.900(3) 321Part P will satisfy the 326Certification of Financial Responsibility 330requirements of 33240 CFR 280.111(b)(11)335. Facility owners shall ensure that copies of the current financial responsibility document(s) are available for inspection at the facility where the storage tank system(s) is located or at their place of business. Records kept off-site shall be made available for inspection by the Department or County within five business days 386from the receipt of the Department’s or county’s request395. Facility owners are required to maintain evidence of financial responsibility mechanisms in accordance with paragraph 41162-761.710(3)(h), 412F.A.C., and are encouraged to maintain all correspondence associated with coverage and claims.

    425(5) Financial requirements for the purpose of this rule, regardless of the date of installation of storage tank systems, 444shall compl446y with 448this rule450.

    451(6) Notwithstanding the facility owner’s financial responsibility status, those persons specified in Sections 464376.308(1), 465and 466403.141 467and 468403.161, F.S., 470shall be liable for any discharge at the facility.

    479(7) Financial responsibility mechanisms may not include choice of law and venue in favor of jurisdictions other than Florida.

    498(8) Government-owned facilities demonstrating proof of financial responsibility using a financial test or government fund must prepare the relevant parts of Form 52062-761.900(3), 521within 180 days after the close of each succeeding fiscal year.

    532Rulemaking Authority 534376.303 FS. 536Law Implemented 538376.303, 539376.308, 540376.309, 541403.091, 542403.141, 543403.161 FS. 545History–New 1-11-17, Amended 10-13-19, 6-25-23.
    550Editorial Note: 552Portions of this rule were copied from Rule 56062-761.400, 561F.A.C., on 1-11-2017.