NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Bond Rate Guidelines for the Calculation of Land Reclamation Bonds on Coal Mining Operations
[53 Pa.B. 1480]
[Saturday, March 11, 2023]The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) announces the 2023 land reclamation bond rate guidelines for anthracite and bituminous coal mining operations. These rates become effective April 1, 2023. The authority for bonding coal mining operations is found under The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §§ 691.1—691.1001), the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. §§ 1396.1—1396.19b), the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P.S. §§ 30.51—30.66) and the regulations promulgated thereunder at 25 Pa. Code Chapter 86, Subchapter F (relating to bonding and insurance requirement).
The unit costs listed in these guidelines will be used in calculating the land reclamation bonds for surface coal mining operations including, surface mines, coal refuse disposal sites, coal refuse reprocessing sites, coal processing facilities and the surface facilities associated with underground mining operations.
The procedures for calculating land reclamation bonds are described in the Department's Technical Guidance Document 563-2504-001, ''Conventional Bonding for Land Reclamation—Coal,'' which is available on the Department's eLibrary web site at http://www.depgreenport.state.pa.us/elibrary/ (select ''Technical Guidance Final Documents,'' then ''Mining Programs'' or use the eLibrary search functions to search by document number or document name). The Department calculated the rate of inflation using 5-year averages. For the rate of inflation, the Consumer Price Index (Northeast Urban) from the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, was averaged for the calendar years 2018—2022, resulting in a rate of 3.19%. This rate of inflation will be used in calculating bond amounts for permit renewal or permit mid-term bond liability reviews on or after April 1, 2023.
The Department may review the adequacy of bonds on existing permits based on the bond rate guidelines at any time. The Department will conduct these reviews before issuing permit renewals. The Department may conduct similar reviews at the midterm of a permit and before approving a permit revision.
These bond rate guidelines do not apply to bonds ensuring replacement of water supplies under section 3.1(c) of the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. § 1396.3a(c)) or to bonds ensuring compliance with the requirements of The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act (52 P.S. §§ 1406.1—1406.21).
General Methodology
The Department developed the bond rate guidelines for 2023 from the unit costs for competitively bid contracts for abandoned mine reclamation projects using the lowest total bid for each contract. Contract bid data is available for various unit operations needed to complete reclamation of a mine site for the years 1998—2022. For most categories, a 3-year (2020—2022) average was used to calculate the guidelines. Some categories require another approach due to limited data represented in the bid contracts, such as selective grading. As discussed with the Department's Mining and Reclamation Advisory Board, the Department has quantified the cost increases for 2022 compared to 2021 and has calculated a 17% increase for any items not represented in a bid contract that year. For example, there were no contracts in 2022 that included selective grading. Therefore, using the 17% increase factor, the selective grading bond rate cost went up $300. Prior to this increase, the selective grading cost per acre had remained at $1700 for the last 8 years. It was likely this amount did not represent the actual cost. If a project with selective grading occurs, the actual rate would be higher and would be reflected in a dramatic increase for this rate. The new approach by the Department is intended to minimize these dramatic increases by ensuring bond rates stay reasonable based on increases seen in other unit operations. The Department used the weighted average of the lowest total bid contract for the previous 3 years for the 2023 bond rate guidelines.
If a unit operation necessary to calculate a reclamation bond is not listed in Tables 1 or 2, then additional cost information available may be used. Unit costs (such as haulage over 1 mile for grading) may be calculated using a standard reference such as the most recent edition of Means Building Construction Cost Data or the most recent version of the Office of Surface Mining Handbook for Calculation of Reclamation Bond Amounts. Specific unit costs may be adjusted using information provided by other stakeholders including permittee-provided reclamation cost estimates which include supporting calculations such as prevailing wage costs, installation costs and the like.
The fees associated with the Land Maintenance Bond Program are presented in Table 3. There has been no change in these rates for 2023.
The bond rate guidelines are available on the Department's web site at http://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Land/Mining/BureauofMiningPrograms/Bonding/Pages/Bond Rates.aspx. For background information and supporting documentation regarding bonding rate guidelines, contact the Bureau of Mining Programs, Division of Permitting and Compliance, P.O. Box 8461, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8461, (717) 787-5103.
Mine Sealing Costs
The mine sealing bond rate guidelines are presented in Table 2.
Effective Date
The bond rate guidelines in this notice become effective April 1, 2023.
Table 1
Standard Bond Rate Guidelines for Year 2023
Unit Operation Unit Measure Unit Costs ($) Mobilization/Demobilization Job 4.5% of direct costs or $45,000, whichever is less Grading (< 500 ft. push) Cubic Yard 1.50 Load/Haul/Dump/Grading (≥500 ft.) Cubic Yard 2.50 Load/Haul/Dump/Grading
(1,000 ft. up to 1 mile)
Underground and Refuse OnlyCubic Yard 3.00 Load/Haul/Dump/Grading ( > 1 mile) Underground and Refuse Only Cubic Yard Use Standard References Selective Grading Acre 2,000.00 Revegetation Acre 3,200.00 Tree Planting Tree 0.75 Ditch Excavation Cubic Yard 7.00 Jute Matting Square Yard 4.50 High Velocity Erosion Control Square Yard 2.50 AASHTO No. 1 Ton 35.00 AASHTO No. 57 Ton 70.00 R3 Rock Lining Square Yard 41.00 R4 Rock Lining Square Yard 33.00 R5 Rock Lining Square Yard 43.00 Geotextile/Filter Fabric Square Yard 6.00 Subsurface Drain Lineal Foot 26.00 Erosion and Sedimentation Control (Temporary Installation) Job Lump sum (5% of direct costs for site) Pond Removal Active Phase1 Pond 3,800.00 Stage 3 Maintenance Bond Non-Cropland Areas (Land Uses Where Crop Yields Are Not Required) Acre 100.00 Stage 3 Maintenance Bond Cropland (Not Row Crops) Pastureland or Land Occasional Cut for Hay (Excludes Seed Cost) Acre 500.00 Stage 3 Maintenance Bond Cropland Area-Row Crops (includes seed cost) Acre 900.00 Stage 3 Mobilization Job 2,500.00 Pond Removal—Stage 3 Cubic Yards (Embankment Volume) Plus Top Soiling and Revegetation Cost Use <500 Grading for Pond Embankment Volume Plus Top Soiling and Revegetation Cost for The Area Disturbed Ditch Removal—Stage 3 Lineal Foot 0.75 Equipment Tire Removal and Disposal Tire 300.00 Structure Demolition Costs will be Calculated Using Costs Listed in the
Construction Industry's Latest Annual Cost Publications, such as
Means Building Construction Cost Data
Table 2
Mine Sealing Bond Rate Guidelines for Year 2023
Sealing Bituminous Underground Mine Drift and Slope Openings Unit Operation Unit Measure Unit Costs ($) Concrete Work Cubic yard 114.00 Masonry Work Square foot 16.50 Fill Material and Earthwork2 Cubic yard 19.00 Security Fencing Lineal foot 32.50 Mobilization Cost Job 4.5% of Total Amount
Sealing Bituminous Underground Mine Shaft Openings Concrete Material Cubic Yard 110.00 Aggregate Material Cubic Yard 32.50 Fill material and Earthwork2 Cubic Yard 8.50 Security Fencing Lineal Foot 32.50 Mobilization Cost Job 45% of Total Amount
Sealing Boreholes at Bituminous Underground Mines Dimension Minimum Cost Per Hole ($) Unit Cost ($) Per Lineal Foot 12 Inch or Less Diameter 1,850 6.50 Larger Than 12 Inch Diameter 2,450 9.00 1 Unit cost not from the bids received by the Department's Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR); includes dewatering, grading, topsoil placement and revegetation.
2 Mine sealing costs are minimum costs. Additional costs per mine seal will be assessed based on specific design criteria, such as the thickness of the seal and the volume of backfill material required, using appropriate material, equipment and labor costs from BAMR bid abstracts or from an industry-standard cost estimation publication, for example, Means Estimating Handbook or Walker's Building Estimator's Reference Book.
Table 3
Land Maintenance Financial Guarantee Fees for Year 2023
Fee Category Fee ($) Publication 1,000.00 Administrative 300.00 RICHARD NEGRIN,
Acting Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 23-326. Filed for public inspection March 10, 2023, 9:00 a.m.]
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