(1) After a permit application has been approved but before a permit is issued, the applicant shall file with the division, on a form prescribed and furnished by the board, a performance bond, payable to this state and conditioned upon faithful performance of all the requirements of this article and the permit. The bond shall cover the area of land within the permit area upon which the applicant will initiate and conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations within the initial term of the permit. As succeeding increments of surface coal mining and reclamation operations are initiated and conducted within the permit area, the permittee shall file with the board an additional bond or bonds to cover such increments in accordance with this section. The amount of the bond required for each bonded area shall depend upon the reclamation requirements of the approved permit, shall reflect the probable difficulty of reclamation, giving consideration to such factors as topography, geology of the site, hydrology, and revegetation potential, and shall be determined as part of the proposed decision of the office pursuant to section 34-33-114, and subject to review by the board as provided in section 34-33-119. The amount of the bond shall be sufficient to assure the completion of the reclamation plan if the work had to be performed by the board in the event of forfeiture, and in no case shall the bond for the entire area under one permit be less than ten thousand dollars.
Liability under the bond shall be for the duration of the surface coal mining andreclamation operations and for a period coincident with the operator's responsibility for revegetation requirements in section 34-33-120. The bond shall be executed by the applicant and a corporate surety licensed to do business in this state; except that the applicant may elect to deposit cash, negotiable bonds of the United States government or any political subdivision of this state, or negotiable certificates of deposit of any bank or other savings institution organized or transacting business in the United States. The cash deposit or market value of such securities shall be equal to or greater than the amount of the bond required for the bonded area. Cash or securities so deposited shall be deposited on the same terms upon which surety bonds may be deposited.
The office may accept the bond of the applicant itself without separate surety whenthe applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the office that the applicant has the financial means sufficient to self-bond for reclamation, pursuant to reasonable bonding regulations promulgated by the board, consistent with the purposes and provisions of this article.
Cash or securities posted as bond shall be deposited by the state treasurer in separateescrow accounts, to be known as reclamation surety accounts, and interest accruing on said funds shall be paid to the operator annually.
The amount of the bond or deposit required and the terms of each acceptance of theapplicant's bond shall be adjusted by the office from time to time for good cause as affected land acreages are increased or decreased or when the cost of future reclamation changes.
Source: L. 79: Entire article added, p. 1266, § 1, effective July 1. L. 92: (1), (3), and (5) amended, p. 1950, § 56, effective July 1. L. 97: (3) amended, p. 172, § 1, effective March 28.