The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) established permitting guidelines for existing and future mines and instructions for providing reclamation bonds. It ensures that coal mining operations are conducted in an environmentally responsible manner and that the land is adequately reclaimed during and following the mining process. Although a coal production tax of $0.12 cents per ton for underground mined coal and $0.28 cents per ton for surfaced mined coal are put into the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, it is the OPERATOR’S responsibility to pay for its reclamation work. To guarantee that an operation will reclaim it must post a reclamation bond to ensure that monies will be available to complete the reclamation if the operation goes out of business prior to finishing the reclamation or is otherwise unable to complete the reclamation. The amount of the performance bond must equal the amount of the proposed reclamation plan and released to the operator until after the state or federal regulatory office has concluded that the reclamation is successful, which could be over ten years after the reclamation process has been completed.
Although these are tough, long term obligations Surety One, Inc., a leader in environmental surety bonding offers reclamation bond capacity for coal, uranium, metal mining, and hydraulic fracturing “fracking”. We will write these for ALL state departments of environmental protection, Railroad Commission of Texas, federal Bureau of Land Management, and all other state agencies. Call (800) 373-2804, or email Underwriting@SuretyOne.com for more!
