Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 11 - Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality › Part 8 - Geology Regulations › Chapter 1 - Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality Surface Mining and Reclamation Rules and Regulations › Subchapter 3 - Performance Bonds › Rule 11-8-1.3.2 - Form of the Bond

Current through June 25, 2024
A. Before a permit
				  is issued by the Permit Board, the applicant shall file with the Department, in
				  the manner and form prescribed by the Department, a bond for performance
				  payable to the Commission and conditioned on full and satisfactory performance
				  of the requirements of this rule and the permit. The bond shall not be less
				  than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Two Thousand Five Hundred
				  Dollars ($2,500.00) for each estimated acre of the permit area of the
				  respective operation. The Department shall make a recommendation to the Permit
				  Board as to the amount of the bond. The Permit Board shall make its decision
				  based on the Department's recommendation, topographical features of the
				  proposed affected area, impact on the environment, and all other factors deemed
				  appropriate by the Permit Board.
B.
				  The bond is a performance bond designed to insure that the operator
				  satisfactorily performs all of the requirements of the Act, these Regulations,
				  and the permit. The bond shall cover that area of land within the permit area
				  upon which the operator will initiate and conduct surface mining and
				  reclamation operations within the initial term of the permit. Any operator who
				  fails to comply with the Act, these Regulations, or the permit shall be
				  declared by the Commission to be in violation, and the Commission may rule that
				  he shall forfeit the bond, collateral, or deposit. Should the operator default,
				  the bond shall be expended to reclaim, in accordance with the provisions of the
				  Act and these Regulations, the lands with respect to which the bond,
				  collateral, or deposit was filed. Any unused funds may be used to reclaim other
				  unreclaimed lands.
C. The bond
				  shall be executed by the applicant and a corporate surety licensed to do
				  business in the state. The applicant may elect to deposit the following in lieu
				  of the surety bond: cash, negotiable bonds of the United States government or
				  the state, assignment of real or personal property, or a savings account
				  acceptable to the Department, negotiable certificates of deposit or a letter of
				  credit of any bank organized or transacting business in the state and insured
				  by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the Federal Savings and
				  Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) or a similar federal banking or savings and
				  loan insurance organization. The cash deposit or market value of the securities
				  shall be equal to or greater than the amount of the bond required for the
				  permit area. Cash, negotiable bonds, negotiable certificates of deposit, letter
				  of credit, assignment of real or personal property, or a savings account or
				  other securities shall be deposited on the same terms as the terms on which
				  surety bonds may be deposited.
D.
				  The amount of the bond or deposit required and the terms of acceptance of the
				  applicant's bond or deposit may be increased or decreased by the Permit Board
				  from time to time to reflect changes in the cost of future reclamation of land
				  mined or to be mined subject to the limitations on the amount of the bond set
				  forth in this section.
E. All state
				  agencies, political subdivisions of the state and local governing bodies shall
				  be exempt from the bonding requirements of this rule.
Miss. Code Ann.
					 §§
											53-7-1, et
					 seq., 49-2-1, et seq., and 49-17-1, et seq.