BONDING INCENTIVES
§ 86.281. Financial guarantees to insure reclamation—general.
(a) In the Remining Financial Assurance Fund there is a special account providing financial guarantees for qualified operators who conduct remining. Funds in this special account may be used to financially assure bonding obligations under § 86.143 (relating to requirement to file a bond) of a qualified operator engaged in remining.
(b) The financial guarantee applies to a permit with remining areas approved by the Department. Operators who wish to participate in this program shall demonstrate, for each permit, their eligibility under § § 86.253 and 86.282 (relating to operator and project qualification; and participation requirements). The amount will be the estimated cost for the Department to reclaim the remining area, subject to the limitations established in subsection (d).
(c) The Department will designate a specified amount of the financial guarantees special account in the Remining Financial Assurance Fund to financially assure reclamation obligations on the permits with an approved remining area.
(d) The Department may not issue financial guarantees on a permit in excess of 10% of the then current designated amount in the special account in the Remining Financial Assurance Fund. The Department will not issue financial guarantees to a mine operator if the aggregate amount of financial guarantees on permits issued to the operator will exceed 30% of the then current designated amount in the special account in the Remining Financial Assurance Fund. The Department will not issue additional financial guarantees when the aggregate amount of outstanding financial guarantees exceeds that amount resulting from dividing the current designated amount in the special account in the Remining Financial Assurance Fund by the historical rate of bond forfeiture under § 86.181 (relating to general) with a margin of safety determined by the Department.
(e) Upon declaration of forfeiture, the specified amount of the financial guarantee from the financial guarantee special account will be used with other bonds forfeited on the permit by the Department to complete reclamation of the mine site in accordance with the procedures and criteria in § § 86.187—86.190. If the actual cost of reclamation by the Department exceeds the specified amount of the financial guarantee, additional funds from the Remining Financial Assurance Fund may be used to complete reclamation.
(f) The Department will hold in reserve in the remining financial assurance fund funds that are not designated to underwrite remining financial guarantees. The Department will use funds held in reserve in the remining financial assurance fund to assure the availability of funds to cover reclamation liabilities when there is a mine operator bond forfeiture under § 86.181.
Authority The provisions of this § 86.281 amended under section 5 of The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. § 691.5); sections 4(a) and 4.2 of the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. § § 1396.4(a) and 1396.4b); section 3.2 of the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P.S. § 30.53b); section 7(b) of The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act (52 P.S. § 1406.7(b)); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 510-20).
Source The provisions of this § 86.281 amended June 17, 2011, effective June 18, 2011, 41 Pa.B. 3084; amended March 13, 2020, effective March 14, 2020, 50 Pa.B. 1508. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (357510).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 86.282 (relating to participation requirements).
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