Protecting Taxpayers from Coal Mine Reclamation Costs
This act aims to protect citizens from bearing the costs of reclaiming coal mining sites when mining companies fail to meet their obligations. It introduces new rules for financial bonds that companies must provide to cover future cleanup and environmental restoration costs. This ensures that if a company goes bankrupt, taxpayers will not have to pay for the reclamation.
Key points
End of "Self-Bonding": Mining companies will no longer be able to self-guarantee reclamation costs; they must provide other forms of security, such as sureties or collateral.
Increased Financial Security: New, stricter rules will be introduced regarding the types and values of bonds to minimize the risk of federal or state governments having to cover reclamation costs.
Restrictions on Collateral: Properties such as coal mines, land above coal mines, or mining equipment that loses value will not be accepted as collateral.
Regular Collateral Re-evaluation: The value of non-liquid collateral will be regularly re-evaluated every three years to ensure it remains sufficient.
Expired
Citizen Poll