Current through August 31, 2023
01.
Submittal of Bond. Prior to issuance of a placer or dredge mining permit, an applicant must submit to the Director, on a placer or dredge mining bond form, a performance bond meeting the requirements of this rule. (3-18-22)
a. The amount of the initial bond is in the amount determined by the Board to be the estimated reasonable costs of reclamation of lands proposed to be disturbed in the permit area, plus ten percent (10%). The determination by the Board of the bond amount constitutes a final decision subject to judicial review as set forth in Section 002 of these rules. The bond may be submitted in the form of a surety, cash, certificate of deposit, or other bond acceptable to the Director. (3-18-22)
b. Acreage on which reclamation is completed must be reported in accord with Subsections 035.06 and 035.07. Acreage may be released upon approval by the Director. The bond may be reduced by the amount appropriate to reflect the completed reclamation. (3-18-22)
02.
Form of Performance Bond. (3-18-22)
a. Corporate surety bond: This is an indemnity agreement executed for the Permittee by a corporate surety licensed to do business in the state of Idaho submitted on a placer and dredge mining bond form, or exact copy, supplied by the Director. The bond is to be conditioned upon the Permittee faithfully performing all requirements of the act, these rules, the permit, and reclamation plan, and must be payable to the state of Idaho. (3-18-22)
b. Collateral bond: This is an indemnity agreement executed by or for the Permittee, and payable to the Idaho Department of Lands, pledging cash deposits, governmental securities, or negotiable certificates of deposit of any financial institution doing business in the United States. Collateral bonds are subject to the following conditions: (3-18-22)
i. The Director will obtain possession, and upon receipt of such collateral bonds, deposit such cash or securities with the state treasurer to hold in trust for the purpose of bonding reclamation performance; (3-18-22)
ii. The Director will value collateral at its current market value, not face value; (3-18-22)
iii. Certificates of deposit will be issued or assigned to the Department, in writing, and upon the books of the financial institution issuing such certificates. Interest will be allowed to accrue and may be paid by the bank, upon demand, to the Permittee, or other person which posted the collateral bond; (3-18-22)
iv. Amount of an individual certificate may not exceed the maximum amount insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation or their successors; (3-18-22)
v. Financial institutions issuing such certificates will waive all rights of set-off or liens which it has or might have against such certificates; (3-18-22)
vi. Any such certificates will be automatically renewable; and (3-18-22)
vii. The certificate of deposit will be of sufficient amount to ensure that the Director would be able to liquidate such certificates prior to maturity, upon forfeiture, for the amount of the required bond, including any penalty for early withdrawal. (3-18-22)
c. Letters of credit: (3-18-22)
i. A letter of credit ("credit") is an instrument executed by a bank doing business in Idaho, made at the request of a customer, that states that the issuing bank will honor drafts for payment upon compliance with the terms of the credit; (3-18-22)
ii. All credits are irrevocable and prepared in a format prescribed by the Director; (3-18-22)
iii. All credits must be issued by an institution authorized to do business in the state of Idaho or through a confirming bank authorized to do business in the state of Idaho which engages that it will itself honor the credit in full. In the alternative, a foreign bank may execute or consent to jurisdiction of Idaho courts on a form prescribed by the Director; and (3-18-22)
iv. The account party on all credits must be identical to the entity identified on the placer mining permit as the Permittee. (3-18-22)
03.
Blanket Bond. Where a Permittee is involved in numerous placer or dredge operations, the Director may accept a blanket bond in lieu of separate bonds under approved permits. The amount of such bond must comply with other applicable provisions of Section 035 and are equal to the total of the penalties of the separate bonds being combined into a single bond. (3-18-22)
04.
Bond Cancellation. Any surety company canceling a bond must give the department at least one hundred twenty (120) days' notice prior to cancellation. The Director will not release a surety from liability under an existing bond until the Permittee has submitted to the Director an acceptable replacement bond or reclaimed the site. Replacement bonds must cover any liability accrued against the bonded principal under the permit. If a Permittee fails to submit an acceptable replacement bond prior to the effective date of cancellation of the original bond, or within thirty (30) days following written notice of cancellation by the Director, whichever is later, the Director may issue a cease and desist order and seek injunctive relief to stop the Permittee from conducting placer or dredge mining operations on the lands covered by the bond until such replacement has been received by the department. The Permittee must cease mining operations on lands covered by the bond until a suitable bond is filed. (3-18-22)
05.
Substitute Surety. If a surety's Idaho business license is suspended or revoked, the Permittee must, within thirty (30) days after notice by the department, find a substitute for such surety. The substitute surety must be licensed to do business in Idaho. If the Permittee fails to secure such substitute surety, the Director may issue a cease-and-desist order and seek injunctive relief to stop the Permittee from conducting placer and dredge mining operations on the lands covered by the bond until a substitution has been made. The Permittee must cease mining operations on lands covered by the bond until a bond acceptable to the department is filed. (3-18-22)
06.
Bond Reduction. Upon finding that any land bonded under a placer or dredge mining permit will not be affected by mining, the Permittee must notify the Director by submitting an application amending the permitted acreage, pursuant to Section 025. When the Director has verified that the bonding requirement for the amended permit is adequate, any excess reclamation bond will be released. Any request for bond reduction will be answered by the Director within thirty (30) days of receiving such request unless weather conditions prevent inspection. (3-18-22)
07.
Bond Release. Upon completion of the reclamation, specified in the permit, the Permittee must notify the Director in writing, of his desire to secure release from bonding. When the Director has verified that the requirements of the placer or dredge mining permit have been met, as stated in the permit, the bond will be released. (3-18-22)
a. Any request for bond release will be answered by the Director within thirty (30) days of receiving such request unless weather conditions prevent inspection. (3-18-22)
b. If the Director finds that a specific portion of the reclamation has been satisfactorily completed, the bond may be reduced to the amount required to complete the remaining reclamation. The following schedule will be used to complete these bond reductions unless the Director determines in a specific case that this schedule is not appropriate and specifies a different schedule: (3-18-22)
i. Sixty percent (60%) of the bond may be released when the Permittee completes the required backfilling, regrading, topsoil replacement, and drainage control of the bonded area in accordance with the approved placer mining permit; and (3-18-22)
ii. After revegetation activities have been performed by the Permittee on the regraded lands according to the approved placer mining permit and Section 040, the department may release an additional twenty-five percent (25%) of the bond. (3-18-22)
c. The remaining bond will not be released: (3-18-22)
i. As long as the disturbed lands are contributing sediment or other pollution to surface waters outside the disturbed land in excess of state water quality standards established under Title 39, Chapter 1, Idaho Code; (3-18-22)
ii. Until final removal of equipment and structures related to the mining activity, or until any remaining equipment and structures are brought under an approved placer or dredge mining permit and bond by a new Permittee (this rule does not require a Permittee to remove equipment or structures from patented lands when the landowner has authorized the equipment and structures to remain on the site); (3-18-22)
iii. Until all temporary sediment or erosion control structures have been removed and reclaimed or until such structures are brought under an approved placer mining permit and bond by a new Permittee; and (3-18-22)
iv. Until vegetation productivity is returned to levels of yields at least comparable to productivity which the disturbed lands supported prior to the permitted mining, except as stated in Subsection 040.17.b. (3-18-22)
08.
Forfeiture. In accord with Subsection 050.02, a bond may be forfeited if the Director determines that the Permittee has not conducted the placer and dredge mining and reclamation in accord with the act, these rules, the approved permit, and the reclamation plan. (3-18-22)
09.
Correction of Deficiencies. The Director may, through cooperative agreement with the Permittee, devise a schedule to correct deficiencies in complying with the permit and thereby postpone action to recover the bond. (3-18-22)
10.
Bonding Rate. A Permittee may petition the Director for a change in the initial bond rate. The Director will review the petition, and if satisfied with the information presented, a special bond rate will be set based upon the estimated cost that the Director would incur should a forfeiture of bond occur and it becomes necessary for the Director to complete reclamation to the standards established in the permit and reclamation plan. (3-18-22)
11.
Federal Bonds Recognized. The Director may accept as a bond, evidence of a valid reclamation bond with the United States government. The bond must equal or exceed the amount determined in Subsection 03 5.01.a. This does not release a Permittee from bonding under these rules if the Permittee fails to continuously maintain a valid federal bond. (3-18-22)
12.
Insufficient Bond. In the event the amount of the bond is insufficient to reclaim the land in compliance with the act, these rules, the approved permit, and the reclamation plan, the attorney general is empowered to commence legal action against the Permittee in the name of the Board to recover the amount, in excess of the bond, necessary to reclaim the land in compliance with the act, these rules, the approved permit, and the reclamation plan. (3-18-22)
