01.
Bonding Requirements. Each
licensed company shall submit a surety bond or cash bond in an amount
determined by the director, within the limits of 42-238, Idaho Code, covering
all drillers and operators employed by the company, payable to the director for
the licensing period. If the licensed driller drills wells as an individual and
not for a company, a separate bond must be filed with the director. (3-30-23)
a. The amount of the bond will be determined
by the director based on the applicant's compliance history, the size and depth
of wells the applicant proposes to construct and is authorized to drill, the
complexity of the wells, the resource to be recovered, the area of operation of
the applicant, the number of drillers and operators employed by a company, and
other relevant factors. (3-30-23)
b. The amount of the bond required prior to
drilling in an area of drilling concern, and/or drilling monitoring wells,
public water supply wells, or wells with a bottom hole temperature meeting the
definition of a low temperature geothermal resource as defined by Section
42-233, Idaho Code, shall be the
maximum amount allowed by Section
42-238, Idaho Code.
(3-30-23)
c. All bonds and
continuation certificates shall commence on April 1 or date of licensure for a
new company and be valid until March 31 of the year the driller or company
license expires. Bonds and continuation certificates must be on a form approved
or provided by the Department. (3-30-23)
02.
Cash Bonds. (3-30-23)
a. Cash bonds shall be in a separate account
readily accessible to the director for use as provided in these rules. The
director will review cash bond proposals made by an applicant. Cash bonds shall
be retained in financial institutions within the state of Idaho unless waived
by the director. (3-30-23)
b. The
director will retain cash bonds for two (2) years from the date the driller
requests that the bond be released unless replaced by another bond or the
director determines that all wells drilled by the driller satisfy well
construction standards. The release of a cash bond must be requested in
writing. (3-30-23)
03.
License Void Without Bond. If the surety cancels a bond, the bond
expires or otherwise becomes non-effective during the term of a license, the
license shall immediately become void and of no further effect until an
adequate replacement bond is received by the Department. (3-30-23)
