(a) Upon
completion of the technical review of a permit application and receipt of a
request for bond, an operator may apply to participate in the financial
guarantees program for a remining area if the requirements of §
86.253 (relating to operator and
project qualification) are met. To participate in this program, an operator
shall demonstrate to the Department's satisfaction one of the following:
(1) The operator would be able to post a
collateral bond otherwise required by this chapter and demonstrate appropriate
experience in coal mining and reclamation.
(i)
The operator shall demonstrate ability to post a collateral bond by meeting the
following conditions for the operator's most recently completed fiscal year and
the 2 preceding fiscal years:
(A) A ratio of
current assets to current liabilities of 1.5 or greater.
(B) A ratio of total liabilities to tangible
net worth of 3 or less.
(ii) The operator shall submit a notarized
statement signed by the operator and an independent certified public accountant
(CPA), an officer of a financial institution with which the operator conducts
business or other person or entity responsible for the accounts of the
operator. The statement shall list the operator's ratio of current assets to
current liabilities and the operator's ratio of total liabilities to tangible
net worth for the most recently completed fiscal year and the 2 preceding
fiscal years.
(iii) The operator
shall demonstrate appropriate experience in coal mining and reclamation by
showing that he has had a coal mining license under section 3.1 of the act
(52
P. S. §
1396.3a) for 5 years or the
person designated by the operator to manage the operation has a minimum of 5
years of experience in coal mining and reclamation.
(2) The operator would be able to obtain a
surety bond otherwise required under this chapter. The operator will
demonstrate this by submitting a letter of acceptance from a surety company
licensed to do business in this Commonwealth and which writes bonds for
reclamation of mine sites located in this Commonwealth or by submitting a
surety bond for an equal portion of the remaining reclamation liability for the
proposed remining site. The acceptance letter shall indicate the complete name
and address of the surety company and state that the surety company would write
the bond.
(3) The operator would be
eligible to self-bond under §
86.159 (relating to
self-bonding).
(4) The operator has
previously participated in the remining financial guarantee program and met its
reclamation obligations and made timely payments. An operator will be eligible
under this subsection if it has not been cited through a notice of violation
under §
86.165(a)
(relating to failure to maintain proper bond) within the previous 3 years prior
to the request for a remining financial guarantee.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), an
operator will not be approved to participate in the financial guarantees
program when the financial guarantees exceed the limits established in §
86.281(d)
(relating to financial guarantees to insure reclamation-general).
(c) If an operator, CPA or other person
submits false information in the financial test or falsifies other information
required by this section, the operator shall be ineligible to participate in
the financial guarantees program. In addition, the operator, the CPA or other
person are subject to
18 Pa.C.S. §§
4903 and
4904 (relating to false
swearing; and unsworn falsification to authorities).