Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) No transfer or
assignment of any permit may be made without the prior written approval of the
department.
(2) The department may
not approve any transfer or assignment of any permit unless the potential
transferee or assignee:
(a) obtains the
performance bond coverage of the original permittee by:
(i) obtaining transfer of the original
bond;
(ii) obtaining a written
agreement with the original permittee and all subsequent successors in interest
(if any) that the bond posted by the original permittee and all successors
shall continue in force on all areas affected by the original permittee and all
successors, and supplementing such previous bonding with such additional bond
as may be required by the department. If such an agreement is reached, the
department may authorize for each previous successor and the original permittee
the release of any remaining amount of bond in excess of that required by the
agreement; or
(iii) providing
sufficient bond to cover the original permit in its entirety from inception to
completion of reclamation operations; and
(b) provides the department with an
application for approval of such proposed transfer, assignment, or sale,
including:
(i) the name and address of the
existing permittee;
(ii) the name
and address of the person proposing to succeed by such transfer, assignment, or
sale and the name and address of that person's resident agent and a brief
description of the proposed transaction; and
(iii) the same information as is required in
ARM 17.24.303 for applications for new
permits.
(3)
(a) The applicant for transfer, assignment or
sale of rights granted by a permit shall advertise the filing of the
application in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the
operations involved, indicating the name and address of the applicant, the
original permittee, the number and particular geographic location of the
permit, the address of the department, and a statement that written comments
may be sent to the department within 15 days of publication of the
notice.
(b) Any person may submit
written comments on the application for approval to the department within 15
days of the publication of the newspaper notice described above.
(4) The department may, upon the
basis of the applicant's compliance with the requirements of (1) through (3),
grant written approval for the transfer, sale, or assignment of rights under a
permit, if it first finds, in writing, that:
(a) the person seeking approval is qualified
under the Act and ARM
17.24.405 to receive a permit and
will conduct the operations covered by the permit in accordance with the Act
and the rules adopted pursuant thereto;
(b) the applicant has submitted a performance
bond at least equivalent to the bond or other guarantee of the original
permittee; and
(c) the applicant
will continue to conduct the operations involved in full compliance with the
terms and conditions of the original permit.
(5)
(a) The
department shall notify the permittee, successors, commentors, and the federal
coal regulatory authority of its findings and publish a summary of the decision
in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the permit
area.
(b) The successor shall
immediately provide notice to the department of the consummation of the
transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights. Upon receipt of this notice,
the department shall release the original permittee from all obligations not
retained under (2).
(6)
Any successor in interest seeking to change the boundaries of its operations or
any of the terms or conditions of the original permit must:
(a) make application for a permit amendment
if the change involves conducting operations outside the original permit area;
or
(b) make application for permit
revision if the change does not involve conducting operations outside the
original permit area.
AUTH:
82-4-205, MCA; IMP:
82-4-238,
MCA