A. Any bond required to be filed with the Department by the operator shall be in such form as the Director prescribes, payable to the State of Oklahoma, conditioned that the operator shall faithfully perform all requirements of the Mining Lands Reclamation Act and comply with all rules of the Department made in accordance with the provisions of the Mining Lands Reclamation Act. Such bond shall be signed by the operator as principal, and by a good and sufficient corporate surety, licensed to do business in the state, as surety.

B. The penal sum of such bond shall be determined by the Department and shall depend on the performance requirements of the approved permit. The minimum bond shall be Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00).

In determining the amount of the bond, the Department shall take into consideration the character and nature of the overburden, the future suitable use of the land involved and the cost of reclamation to be required.

C. A bond shall not be cancelable by the surety except after not less than ninety (90) days' prior written notice to the Department. Bonds may be continued in effect from year to year, and a new bond need not be provided for each permit application. A single bond may cover all of the operator's mining operations in the state. The penalty of the bond or amount of cash and securities, as provided in subsection E of this section, shall be increased or reduced from time to time as provided in the Mining Lands Reclamation Act.

D. If the license to do business in the state of any surety upon a bond filed with the Department pursuant to the Mining Lands Reclamation Act shall be suspended or revoked, the operator, within thirty (30) days after receiving notice from the Department, shall substitute for such surety a good and sufficient corporate surety licensed to do business in the state. Upon failure of the operator to make substitution of surety as required, the Department shall have the right to suspend the permit of the operator to conduct operations upon the land described in such permit until such substitution has been made.

E. In lieu of such bond, the operator may deposit cash government securities, Certificates of Deposit or an irrevocable letter of credit with the Department in an amount equal to that of the required bond on conditions as prescribed by the Department. In the discretion of the Department surety bond requirements may also be fulfilled by using existing reclaimed areas, in excess of cumulative permit or mined acres, that have been completed under the jurisdiction of the Mining Lands Reclamation Act and approved by the Department.

F. Such bond or security shall remain in effect until the mined acres have been reclaimed, approved and released by the Department. If the Department determines that grading has been satisfactorily completed pursuant to the Mining Lands Reclamation Act, the Department may release up to eighty percent (80%) of the penal sum of the bond filed for each acre of land graded. The remaining portion of the bond shall continue in effect until the completion of the requirements pursuant to Section 725 of this title.

Amended by Laws 1982, c. 181, § 5, emerg. eff. April 20, 1982.