TCA § 59-8-108 — Performance bond or security requirements. [Contingent effective date, see Compiler's Notes.]

After a permit has been approved, but prior to issuance of the permit, the applicant shall file with the commissioner, on a form prescribed and furnished by the commissioner, a bond for performance payable to this state and conditioned on the faithful performance of this part and the permit. The bond shall cover the area of land within the permit area upon which the operator will initiate and conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations within the initial term of the permit. As succeeding increments of surface coal mining and reclamation operations are initiated and conducted within the permit area, the operator shall file with the commissioner an additional bond or bonds to cover those increments in accordance with this section. Bonds shall be executed by the operator and a corporate surety who is approved by the commissioner and properly authorized to act as a surety and licensed to do business in this state; however, the operator may elect to deposit cash or negotiable certificates of deposit assigned irrevocably to this state, negotiable United States treasury bonds, or negotiable general obligation municipal or corporate bonds that have the highest rating assigned by Moody's or Standard & Poor's rating services, with the state treasurer in lieu of a bond executed by a corporate surety. The state treasurer shall receive and hold any security that is deposited in lieu of a performance bond in the name of this state, in trust, for the purposes for which the deposit is made, and shall at all times be responsible for the custody and safekeeping of the deposit. The operator making the deposit may demand and receive from the state treasurer, on the written order of the commissioner, all or any portion of any securities deposited in lieu of a performance bond upon depositing with the state treasurer other negotiable securities of the classes specified in this subsection (a) having a market value at least equal to the sum of the bond, and also to demand and recover the interest income from those securities as it becomes due; however, the state treasurer, at the request of the operator, shall convert the securities into other negotiable securities of the classes specified in this subsection (a) as may be designated by the operator. The commissioner may accept the operator's performance bond without a separate surety when the operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner the existence of a suitable agent to receive service of process and a history of financial solvency and continuous operation sufficient for authorization to self-insure or bond the required amount. The amount of the performance bond, cash deposit, or marketable value of the securities deposited by the operator shall be determined by the commissioner and conditioned upon the faithful performance of this part. Liability under each bond shall be continuous until the reclamation requirements of this part have been fulfilled. The amount of bond required for each bonded area shall be sufficient, as determined by the commissioner, to assure the completion of the reclamation plan as if the work must be performed by the commissioner in the event of bond forfeiture. In no case shall the bond for a mining permit be less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The amount of the bond or deposit required and the terms of each acceptance of the operator's bond shall be adjusted by the commissioner from time to time as affected land acreages are amended and increased or decreased, as plans are changed, or when the cost of future reclamation changes. Bond amounts shall depend upon the reclamation requirements of the approved permit and shall reflect the probable difficulty of reclamation, giving consideration to factors such as topography; geology of the site; hydrology; revegetation potential; the permittee's, operator's, and subcontractor's past performance records; and whether or not the permittee, operator, and any subcontractors have operated in this state less than three (3) years. Local governmental entities and state agencies may execute their own bonds as surety.