II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 800 

To protect taxpayers from liability associated with the reclamation of surface 

coal mining operations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2017 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced 

the following bill; 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 operations, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coal Cleanup Taxpayer 

5 Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SURFACE COAL MINING BONDING. 

7 Section 509 of the Surface Mining Control and Rec8 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1259) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(c) ALTERNATIVE BONDING SYSTEM.—The Sec4 retary may approve as part of a State or Federal program 

5 an alternative system that will— 

6 ‘‘(1) achieve the objectives and purposes of the 

7 bonding program pursuant to this section; and 

8 ‘‘(2) result in no greater risk of financial liabil9 ity to the Federal Government or a State govern10 ment than the bonding program under this section.’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(f) SELF-BONDING.— 

14 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL PROGRAMS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date 

16 of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary— 

17 ‘‘(i) may not accept the bond of the 

18 applicant itself (referred to in this sub19 section as a ‘self-bond’); but 

20 ‘‘(ii) may accept a separate surety or 

21 collateral bond, consistent with the terms 

22 under subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(B) EXISTING SELF-BONDS.—For coal 

24 mining operations covered by a self-bond ac25 cepted by the Secretary prior to the date of enVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Apr 06, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S800.IS S800

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1 actment of this subsection, the permittee shall 

2 replace the self-bond with another form of bond 

3 acceptable to the Secretary under this section 

4 by not later than the earlier of— 

5 ‘‘(i) the date of renewal of the permit 

6 under section 506(d); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the date of any major permit 

8 modification under section 506. 

9 ‘‘(2) STATE PROGRAMS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

11 days after the date of enactment of this sub12 section, the Secretary shall notify all State reg13 ulatory authorities that allow applicants to self14 bond that the approved regulatory programs of 

15 the State regulatory authority must be amend16 ed— 

17 ‘‘(i) to remove the authority for appli18 cants to self-bond; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) to require coal mining operations 

20 covered by a self-bond accepted by the 

21 State regulatory authority prior to the date 

22 of enactment of this subsection to replace 

23 the self-bond with another form of bond 

24 acceptable under this section by not later 

25 than the earlier of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the date of renewal of the 

2 permit under section 506(d); and 

3 ‘‘(II) the date of any major per4 mit modification under section 506. 

5 ‘‘(g) BONDS ISSUED BY SURETY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of enactment of this subsection, the Sec8 retary shall issue rules establishing limitations on 

9 surety bonds accepted under this section to minimize 

10 the risk of financial liability to the Federal Govern11 ment or a State government, including rules regard12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(A) the maximum quantity of corporate 

14 surety bonds issued by any 1 corporate surety 

15 as a percentage of the total quantity of coal 

16 mine reclamation bonds in any 1 State; 

17 ‘‘(B) the minimum percentage of surety 

18 bonds unrelated to activities regulated pursuant 

19 to this Act required to reinsure corporate surety 

20 bonds; 

21 ‘‘(C) the minimum collateralization re22 quired for corporate surety bonds; and 

23 ‘‘(D) the minimum amount of cash assets 

24 required to be held by a corporate surety as a 


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1 percentage of coal mine reclamation bonds 

2 issued by the corporate surety. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXISTING CORPORATE BONDS.—Corporate 

4 surety bonds in existence on the date of enactment 

5 of this subsection must be modified or replaced as 

6 necessary by not later than 1 year after the date on 

7 which the rule is issued under paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(h) COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS.—Real property 

9 posted as collateral for a bond may not include— 

10 ‘‘(1) coal; 

11 ‘‘(2) a coal mine; 

12 ‘‘(3) land that includes a coal mine; 

13 ‘‘(4) land that is located above a coal mine; 

14 ‘‘(5) a coal processing facility; 

15 ‘‘(6) a coal waste disposal site; 

16 ‘‘(7) coal mining equipment unlikely to retain 

17 salvage or resale value; or 

18 ‘‘(8) any other property determined by the Sec19 retary. 

20 ‘‘(i) EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.—The Secretary 

21 may require the inclusion of executive compensation, in22 cluding salaries and bonuses of officers and executives, of 

23 an applicant under this section, and any affiliated com24 pany, as collateral for a bond under this section.’’. 

Æ 


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