HR7249-119

What This Bill Does

The Bond Improvement and Reclamation Assurance Act rewrites Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act bonding rules for surface coal mines. Permit applicants must post performance bonds before permits issue, and regulatory authorities must set bond amounts high enough to complete reclamation if the authority has to do the work after forfeiture. The calculation must consider terrain, hydrology, revegetation, inflation, early mine closure, spoil availability, long-term water pollution, permit renewals, permit transfers, and changes in reclamation plans. The bill also creates a $52,593 inflation-adjusted minimum bond and requires permit transferees to post recalculated bonds before transfers are approved.

Who Benefits and How

Coalfield communities and downstream water users benefit because reclamation funds must be sized for the actual cost of restoring mine land and treating post-mining water pollution instead of relying on underfunded bonds. State mining regulators and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement benefit from clearer statutory factors for setting and updating bonds, which reduces the chance that public agencies inherit unpaid reclamation bills. Federal taxpayers and State reclamation funds benefit when permittees, transferees, and covered controlling owners remain financially responsible for cleanup costs.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Surface coal mine operators must post larger and more frequently updated bonds, including additional bonds for new mining increments, renewed permits, transferred permits, and changed reclamation costs. Permit transferees must post recalculated bonds before acquiring permit rights. Owners that control 30 percent or more of a permittee must remain jointly and severally liable for reclamation costs, including post-mining water-pollution treatment. Regulatory authorities must recalculate bonds, consider inflation and early-closure scenarios, and enforce liability instead of releasing permittees at transfer.

Key Provisions

• Requires surface coal mining permit applicants to post performance bonds before a permit is issued.
• Directs regulators to set bonds at amounts sufficient for the government to complete reclamation after forfeiture.
• Adds inflation, early closure, spoil availability, water pollution, permit renewal, and transfer risk to bond calculations.
• Creates joint and several reclamation liability for permittees and covered owners controlling at least 30 percent of the permittee.