(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.