Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) If
a permittee refuses or is unable to conduct reclamation of an unabated
violation due to bankruptcy, insolvency, creditor attachment of equipment or to
the collateral supporting the performance bond being repledged, if the terms of
the permit are not met, or if the permittee defaults on the conditions under
which the bond was accepted, the Department shall take the following action to
forfeit all or part of a bond or bonds for any permit area or an increment of a
permit area:
1) Send written notification by
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the permittee and the surety on
the bond, if any, informing them of the determination to forfeit all or part of
the bond, including the reasons for the forfeiture and the amount to be
forfeited.
2) The amount shall be
based on the estimated total cost of achieving the reclamation plan
requirements.
b) Prior
to the bond forfeiture notification under subsection (a)(1) above, the
Department shall advise the permittee and surety, if applicable, of the
conditions under which forfeiture may be avoided. Such conditions include, but
are not limited to:
1) Agreement by the
permittee or another party to perform reclamation operations in accordance with
a compliance schedule which meets the conditions of the permit, the reclamation
plan, and the regulatory program and a demonstration that such party has the
ability to satisfy the conditions; or
2) The Department may allow a surety to
complete the reclamation plan, or the portion of the reclamation plan
applicable to the bonded phase or increment, if the surety can demonstrate an
ability to complete the reclamation in accordance with the approved reclamation
plan. Except where the Department may approve partial release authorized under
Section
1800.40, no
surety liability shall be released until successful completion of all
reclamation under the terms of the permit, including the applicable liability
periods of Section
1800.13.
c) In the event forfeiture of the
bond is required by subsection (a) above, the Attorney General, on request of
the Department, shall file suit to collect any unpaid, forfeited bonds pursuant
to Section 6.07 of the State Act.
1) Before
making a request to the Attorney General to collect the forfeited bonds, or
before presenting the collateral bond for collection, the Department shall
afford the permittee the right to a hearing to be held not less than thirty
(30) days after the permittee's receipt of the bond forfeiture notification
under subsection (a)(1).
2) The
Department shall hold the hearing provided in subsection (c)(1) in accordance
with the procedures set forth in 62 Ill. Adm. Code
1847.7.
d) The Department shall use funds
collected from bond forfeiture to complete the reclamation plan, or portion
thereof, on the permit area or increment and to cover associated administrative
expenses to which bond coverage applies. Unless specifically limited, as
provided in Section
1800.11(b),
bond liability shall extend to the entire permit area under
forfeiture.
e) Reclamation costs.
1) In the event the estimated amount
forfeited is insufficient to pay for the full cost of reclamation, the operator
shall be liable for remaining costs. The Department may complete, or authorize
completion of, reclamation of the bonded area and may recover from the operator
all costs of reclamation in excess of the amount forfeited.
2) In the event the amount of performance
bond forfeited was more than the amount necessary to complete reclamation, the
unused funds shall be returned by the Department to the party from whom they
were collected.
f) No
permittee who has forfeited any bond shall be issued a permit from the
Department for surface coal mining and reclamation operations unless the permit
applicant provides the following assurances to the Department that such
proceedings will not again become necessary:
1) The permit applicant submits a cash bond
or certificate of deposit for the proposed permit area, pursuant to Section
1800.11.
2) The officers,
directors, ten percent (10%) or greater shareholders of the permit applicant,
if a corporation, agree to be held personally liable for violations of the
State Act caused by the permittee.
3) The permit applicant has compensated the
entity that completed reclamation of the permit area for all costs attributable
to bond forfeiture.
4) All prior
violations of the State Act attributable to the permit applicant have been
corrected, including payments of all outstanding civil penalties.