§ 86.151. Period of liability.
(a) Liability under bonds posted for a coal surface mining activity shall continue for the duration of the mining activities and its reclamation as provided in the acts, regulations adopted thereunder and the conditions of the permit and for 5 additional years after completion of augmented seeding, fertilization, irrigation or other work necessary to achieve permanent revegetation of the permit area.
(b) Liability under bonds posted for the surface effects of an underground mine, coal preparation activity or other long-term facility shall continue for the duration of the mining operation or use of the facility, its reclamation as provided in the acts, regulations adopted thereunder and the conditions of the permit, and for 5 years thereafter, except for:
(1) The risk of water pollution for which liability under the bond shall continue for a period of time after completion of the mining and reclamation operation. This period of time will be determined by the Department on a case-by-case basis.
(2) The risk of subsidence from bituminous underground mines for which liability under the bond shall continue for 10 years after completion of underground mining operations.
(c) Liability under bonds posted for coal refuse disposal activities shall continue for the duration of the activities and for 5 years after the last year of augmented seeding and fertilizing and other work to complete reclamation to meet the requirements of the acts, regulations adopted thereunder, the conditions of the permit and to otherwise protect the environment. Liability under the bond related to the risk of water pollution from activities shall continue for a period of time after completion of the coal refuse disposal activities. This period of time will be determined by the Department on a case-by-case basis.
(d) The extended period of liability which begins upon completion of augmenting seeding, fertilization, irrigation or other work necessary to achieve permanent revegetation of the permit area shall include additional time taken by the permittee to repeat augmented seeding, fertilization, irrigation or other work under a requirement by the Department but may not include selective husbandry practices approved by the Department, such as pest and vermin control, pruning, repair of rills and gullies or reseeding or transplanting, or both, which constitute normal conservation practices within the region for other land with similar land uses. Seeding, fertilization, irrigation and repair of rills and gullies performed at levels or degrees of management which exceed those normally applied in maintaining use or productivity of comparable unmined land in the surrounding area, would necessitate extending the period of liability.
(e) A portion of a permit area requiring extended liability may be separated from the original area and bonded separately upon approval by the Department. Before determining that extended liability should apply to only a portion of the original permit area, the Department will determine that the area portion is:
(1) Not significant in extent in relation to the entire area under bond.
(2) Limited to a distinguishable contiguous portion of the permit area.
(f) If the Department approves a long-term intensive agricultural postmining land use, in accordance with § 87.159, § 88.133, § 88.221, § 88.334, § 88.381, § 88.492,§ 89.88 or § 90.165, the 5-year period of extended liability shall commence at the date of initial planting for the long-term intensive agricultural land use.
(g) If the Department issues a written finding approving a long-term intensive agricultural land use, the operation shall be exempt from the requirements of § 87.147(b), § 88.121(b), § 88.209(b), § 88.322(b), § 88.492,§ 89.86 or § 90.150(b). A finding does not constitute a grant of an exception to the bond liability periods of this section.
(h) The bond liability of the permittee shall include only those actions which the operator is obliged to take under the permit, including completion of the reclamation plan so that the land will be capable of supporting a postmining land use approved under § 87.159, § 88.133, § 88.221, § 88.334, § 88.381, § 88.492, § 89.88 or § 90.166. Implementation of an alternate postmining land use approved under these sections which is beyond the control of the permittee need not be covered by the bond.
(i) If an area is separated under subsection (e), that portion shall be bonded separately, and the applicable period of liability, in accordance with this section, shall begin again. The amount of bond on the original bonded area may be adjusted in accordance with § 86.152 (relating to adjustments).
(j) Release of any bond under this section does not alleviate the operator’s responsibility to treat discharges of mine drainage emanating from or hydrologically connected to the site, to the standards in the permit, the act, The Clean Streams Law, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Authority The provisions of this § 86.151 amended under section 7 of The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act (52 P.S. § 1406.7); section 5 of The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. § 691.5); sections 4(a) and 4.2 of the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. § § 1396.4(a) and 1396.4b); section 3.2 of the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P.S. § 30.53b); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 510-20).
Source The provisions of this § 86.151 adopted December 19, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 4789, effective July 31, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended July 30, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2473, effective July 31, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended June 25, 1993, effective June 26, 1993, 23 Pa.B. 3075; amended November 14, 1997, effective November 15, 1997, 27 Pa.B. 6041; amended October 21, 2005, effective October 22, 2005, 35 Pa.B. 5775; amended March 13, 2020, effective March 14, 2020, 50 Pa.B. 1508. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (378166) and (383957) to (383958).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 86.148 (relating to scope); 25 Pa. Code § 86.159 (relating to self-bonding); 25 Pa. Code § 86.161 (relating to phased deposits of collateral); 25 Pa. Code§ 86.162c (relating to Bioenergy Crop Bonding); 25 Pa. Code § 86.174 (relating to standards forrelease of bonds); 25 Pa. Code § 86.175 (relating to schedule for release of bond); 25 Pa. Code § 87.155 (relating to revegetation: standards for successful revegetation); 25 Pa. Code § 87.156 (relating to revegetation: techniques and frequency of measurement); 25 Pa. Code § 87.209 (relating to criteria and schedule for release of bonds on pollution abatement areas); 25 Pa. Code § 88.129 (relating to revegetation: standards for successful revegetation); 25 Pa. Code § 88.217 (relating to vegetation: standards for successful vegetation); 25 Pa. Code § 88.330 (relating to revegetation: standards for successful revegetation); 25 Pa. Code § 88.509 (relating to criteria and schedule for release of bonds on pollution abatement areas); 25 Pa. Code § 89.86 (relating to revegetation); and 25 Pa. Code § 90.309 (relating to criteria and schedule for release of bonds on pollution abatement areas).
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