La. Admin. Code tit. 43 § XV-3901

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 12, December 20, 2024

Section XV-3901 - Requirement to File a Bond

A. After a permit application under Subpart 3 has been approved, but before a permit is issued, the applicant shall file with the office, on a form prescribed and furnished by the office, a bond or bonds for performance made payable to the office and conditioned upon the faithful performance of all the requirements of the Act, the regulatory program, the permit and the reclamation plan. The amount, duration, form, conditions and terms of the performance bond shall conform to Chapters 41 and 43.

B. An operator shall not disturb surface acreage or extend any operations prior to receipt of approval from the office of the performance bond covering the surface acreage to be affected.

1. The bond or bonds shall cover the entire permit area, or an identified increment of land within the permit area upon which the operator will initiate and conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations during the initial term of the permit.

2. As surface coal mining and reclamation operations on succeeding increments are initiated and conducted within the permit area, the permittee shall file with the office an additional bond or bonds to cover such increments in accordance with this Section.

3. The operator shall identify the initial and successive areas or increments for bonding on the permit application map submitted for approval as provided in the application and shall specify the bond amount to be provided for each area or increment.

4. Independent increments shall be of sufficient size and configuration to provide for efficient reclamation operations should reclamation by the office become necessary pursuant to Chapter 47.

C. An operator shall not disturb any surface areas, succeeding increments, or extend any underground shafts, tunnels or operations prior to acceptance by the office of the required performance bond.

D. The applicant shall file, with the approval of the office, a bond or bonds under one of the following schemes to cover the bond amounts for the permit area as determined in accordance with §4101:

1. a performance bond or bonds for the entire permit area;

2. a cumulative bond schedule and the performance bond required for full reclamation of the initial area to be disturbed; or

3. an incremental-bond schedule and the performance bond required for the first increment in the schedule.

E. The amount, duration, form, conditions and terms of the performance bond shall conform to Chapters 41 and 43.

La. Admin. Code tit. 43, § XV-3901

Promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, LR 5:395 (December 1979), amended LR 14:441 (July 1988), LR 20:447 (April 1994).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:901-932.