,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gbdi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #bg1 #bjbf,mr4 ,deluzio 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,pennsylvania1 and ,mr4 ,beyer7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg to establish additional considerations with regard to the adequacy of permit performance bonds1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,bond ,improvement and ,reclamation ,assurance ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg reform 7a7 ,permit performance bonds ,section #eji of the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #abei7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a71 to read as follows3 7a7 7#a7 ,after a surface coal mining and reclamation permit application has been approved but before such a permit is issued1 the applicant shall file with the regulatory authority1 on a form prescribed and furnished by the regulatory authority1 a bond for performance payable1 as appropriate1 to the ,united ,states or to the ,state1 and conditional upon faithful performance of all the requirements of this ,act and the permit4 7#b7 ,the bond shall cover that area of land within the permit area upon which the operator will initiate and conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations within the initial term of the permit4 7#c7 ,as succeeding increments of surface coal mining and reclamation operations are to be initiated and conducted within the permit area1 the permittee shall file with the regulatory authority an additional bond to cover such increments in accordance with this section4 7#d7 ,the amount of the bond required for each bonded area shall-- 7,a7 be determined by the regulatory authority2 7,b7 depend upon the reclamation requirements of the approved permit2 7,c7 reflect the probable difficulty of reclamation giving consideration to factors including topography1 geology of the site1 hydrology1 and revegetation potential2 7,d7 be sufficient to ensure the completion of the reclamation plan if the work had to be performed by the regulatory authority in the event of bond forfeiture2 and 7,e7 be set at a level consistent with the rebuttable presumption that the mine will close #e years after the permit is issued4 7#e7 ,in setting the amount of the bond under paragraph 7#d71 the regulatory authority shall consider-- 7,a7 the impact of a reasonably expected level of inflation over the time period that the reclamation is likely to occur2 7,b7 the impact of an unplanned or early mine closure on the cost of reclamation1 including whether there will be sufficient spoil available to reclaim the mine2 and 7,c7 any additional costs likely to be incurred as a result of the regulatory authority undertaking reclamation operations upon bond forfeiture4 7#f7 ,the amount of a bond for the entire area under #a permit may not be less than #eb1eic1 annually adjusted for inflation in accordance with the ,consumer ,price ,index for all ,urban ,consumers1 as published by the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics4 2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7e71 to read as follows3 7e7 ,the amount of the bond or deposit required and the terms of each acceptance of the bond of the applicant shall be adjusted by the regulatory authority-- 7#a7 from time to time-- 7,a7 as affected land acreages are increased or decreased2 or 7,b7 where the cost of future reclamation changes due to changing circumstances1 including-- 7i7 long-term water pollution discharge2 7ii7 coal market conditions2 7iii7 unanticipated mine closures2 and 7iv7 changes in the reclamation plan2 7#b7 whenever a permit is renewed2 and 7#c7 whenever a permit is transferred to a new operator4 4 7b7 ,revision of permits ,section #eaa of the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #abfa7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7c7 as subsection 7d72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7b7 the following3 7c7 7#a7 ,before approving a transfer1 assignment1 or sale of the rights granted under a permit issued pursuant to this ,act or an application for a revision of a permit submitted under subsection 7a71 the regulatory authority shall recalculate the amount of the bond required under section #eji for such permit and require the transferee1 assignee1 or purchaser of the rights granted under the permit or the permittee1 respectively1 to post such amount4 7#b7 ,a permittee and each covered person-- 7,a7 may not be released from liability under the permit2 and 7,b7 shall be jointly and severally liable for all reclamation costs incurred by the regulatory authority to complete reclamation under the permit1 including treatment of all postmining water pollution4 7#c7 ,in this subsection1 the term covered person means1 with respect to a permittee-- 7,a7 a person that owns or otherwise controls #cj percent or more of the capital interests of the permittee2 and 7,b7 a person that owns or otherwise controls #cj percent or more of the capital interests of a person described in subparagraph 7,a74 4 7c7 ,inspections and monitoring ,section #eag of the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #abfg7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7e7-- 7,a7 by striking ,each inspector and inserting 7#a7 ,each inspector2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,each inspector1 upon completion of an inspection of any surface coal mining and reclamation operations1 shall forthwith inform the regulatory authority of any changes to conditions at such surface coal mining and reclamation operations that may-- 7,a7 result in an unanticipated increase in the cost of reclamation of such surface coal mining and reclamation operations2 and 7,b7 necessitate a change to the amount of the bond established for the permit associated with such surface coal mining and reclamation operations under section #eji4 2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7f71 by inserting electronically and also after available to the public4 7d7 ,rulemaking 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this section1 taking into account the standards in subsections 7a7 and 7e7 of section #eji of the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #abei7 regarding bond adequacy1 as amended by this section1 the ,secretary shall issue regulations to establish guidelines and benchmarks for each ,federal and ,state regulatory authority to determine minimum bond amounts under section #eji of that ,act 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #abei74 7#b7 ,data ,in issuing the regulations described in paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall use data from a representative sample of recent reclamation projects completed by ,federal and ,state regulatory authorities as a result of bond forfeiture by a permittee4 7#c7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,regulatory authority ,the term regulatory authority has the meaning given the term in section #gja of the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #abia74 7,b7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of the ,interior1 acting through the ,director of the ,office of ,surface ,mining ,reclamation and ,enforcement4