,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #hjj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #cj1         
#bjag,ms4 ,cantwell 7for herself1 ,mr4  
,whitehouse1 and ,mr4 ,durbin7          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,natural      
,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to protect      
taxpayers from liability associated with
 the reclamation of surface coal mining 
operations1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,coal ,cleanup ,taxpayer           
,protection ,act4  #b4 ,surface coal    
mining bonding ,section #eji of the     
,surface ,mining ,control and           
,reclamation ,act of #aigg 7#cj         
,u4,s4,c4 #abei7 is amended--  7#a7 by  
striking subsection 7c7 and inserting   
the following3  7c7 ,alternative        
,bonding ,system ,the ,secretary may    
approve as part of a ,state or ,federal 
program an alternative system that      
will--  7#a7 achieve the objectives and 

purposes of the bonding program pursuant
 to this section2 and  7#b7 result in no
 greater risk of financial liability to 
the ,federal ,government or a ,state    
government than the bonding program     
under this section4  2 and  7#b7 by     
adding at the end the following3  7f7   
,self-,bonding  7#a7 ,federal programs  
7,a7 ,in general ,effective on the date 
of enactment of this subsection1 the    
,secretary--  7i7 may not accept the    
bond of the applicant itself 7referred  
to in this subsection as a self-bond72  
but  7ii7 may accept a separate surety  
or collateral bond1 consistent with the 
terms under subsection 7b74  7,b7       
,existing self-bonds ,for coal mining   
operations covered by a self-bond       
accepted by the ,secretary prior to the 
date of enactment of this subsection1   
the permittee shall replace the         
self-bond with another form of bond     
acceptable to the ,secretary under this 
section by not later than the earlier   
of--  7i7 the date of renewal of the    

permit under section #ejf7;d72 and  7ii7
 the date of any major permit           
modification under section #ejf4  7#b7  
,state programs  7,a7 ,in general ,not  
later than #ij days after the date of   
enactment of this subsection1 the       
,secretary shall notify all ,state      
regulatory authorities that allow       
applicants to self-bond that the        
approved regulatory programs of the     
,state regulatory authority must be     
amended--  7i7 to remove the authority  
for applicants to self-bond2 and  7ii7  
to require coal mining operations       
covered by a self-bond accepted by the  
,state regulatory authority prior to the
 date of enactment of this subsection to
 replace the self-bond with another form
 of bond acceptable under this section  
by not later than the earlier of--  7,i7
 the date of renewal of the permit under
 section #ejf7;d72 and  7,,ii7 the date 
of any major permit modification under  
section #ejf4  7g7 ,bonds issued by     
surety  7#a7 ,in general ,not later than

 #a year after the date of enactment of 
this subsection1 the ,secretary shall   
issue rules establishing limitations on 
surety bonds accepted under this section
 to minimize the risk of financial      
liability to the ,federal ,government or
 a ,state government1 including rules   
regarding--  7,a7 the maximum quantity  
of corporate surety bonds issued by any 
#a corporate surety as a percentage of  
the total quantity of coal mine         
reclamation bonds in any #a ,state2     
7,b7 the minimum percentage of surety   
bonds unrelated to activities regulated 
pursuant to this ,act required to       
reinsure corporate surety bonds2  7,c7  
the minimum collateralization required  
for corporate surety bonds2 and  7,d7   
the minimum amount of cash assets       
required to be held by a corporate      
surety as a percentage of coal mine     
reclamation bonds issued by the         
corporate surety4  7#b7 ,existing       
corporate bonds ,corporate surety bonds 
in existence on the date of enactment of

 this subsection must be modified or    
replaced as necessary by not later than 
#a year after the date on which the rule
 is issued under paragraph 7#a74  7h7   
,collateral requirements ,real property 
posted as collateral for a bond may not 
include-- 7#a7 coal2  7#b7 a coal mine2 
7#c7 land that includes a coal mine2    
7#d7 land that is located above a coal  
mine2  7#e7 a coal processing facility2 
7#f7 a coal waste disposal site2  7#g7  
coal mining equipment unlikely to retain
 salvage or resale value2 or  7#h7 any  
other property determined by the        
,secretary4  7i7 ,executive compensation
 ,the ,secretary may require the        
inclusion of executive compensation1    
including salaries and bonuses of       
officers and executives1 of an applicant
 under this section1 and any affiliated 
company1 as collateral for a bond under 
this section4  4