444.778. Bond--form--amount--duration--forfeiture--power of reclamation.
Bond--form--amount--duration--forfeiture--power of reclamation.
444.778. 1. Any bond herein provided to be filed with the commissionby the operator shall be in such form as the director prescribes, payableto the state of Missouri, conditioned that the operator shall faithfullyperform all requirements of sections 444.760 to 444.790 and comply with allrules of the commission made in accordance with the provisions of sections444.760 to 444.790. The bond shall be signed by the operator as principal,and by a good and sufficient corporate surety, licensed to do business inthis state, as surety. The operator shall file with the commission a bondpayable to the state of Missouri with surety in the penal sum of eightthousand dollars for each permit up to eight acres and five hundred dollarsfor each acre thereafter that is to be mined. In addition, for each acreor portion thereof where topsoil has been removed from the site, anadditional bond of four thousand five hundred dollars per acre shall beposted with the commission for each acre or portion thereof which will berevegetated, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the requirementsset forth in sections 444.760 to 444.790 and of the rules and regulationsof the commission. In lieu of a surety bond, the operator may furnish abond secured by a personal certificate of deposit or irrevocable letter ofcredit in an amount equal to that of the required surety bond on conditionsas prescribed by the commission. For any operator involved in any gravelmining operation where the annual tonnage of gravel mined by such operatoris less than five thousand tons, such operator shall deposit a bond withthe commission in the penal sum of five hundred dollars for each acre orportion thereof of land proposed thereafter by the operator to be subjectedto surface mining for the mining permit year.
2. The bond shall remain in effect until the mined acreages have beenreclaimed, approved and released by the commission. Forfeiture of suchbond may be cause for denial of future permit applications.
3. A bond filed as above prescribed shall not be canceled by thesurety except after not less than ninety days' notice to the commissionand, in any case, not as to the acreage affected prior to the expiration ofthe notice period.
4. If the license to do business in this state of any surety upon abond filed with the commission pursuant to sections 444.760 to 444.790shall be suspended, revoked, or canceled, or if the surety should act tocancel the bond, the operator, within sixty days after receiving noticethereof from the commission, shall substitute for such surety a good andsufficient corporate surety licensed to do business in this state or a bondsecured by a certificate of deposit. Upon failure of the operator to makesubstitution of surety as herein provided, the commission shall have theright to suspend the permit of the operator until such substitution hasbeen made.
5. The commission shall give written notice to the operator of anyviolation of sections 444.760 to 444.790 or noncompliance with any of therules and regulations promulgated by the commission hereunder and ifcorrective measures, approved by the commission, are not commenced withinninety days, the commission may proceed as provided in section 444.782 torequest forfeiture of the bond.
6. The commission shall have the power to reclaim, in keeping withthe provisions of sections 444.760 to 444.790, any affected land withrespect to which a bond has been forfeited. The commission and any otheragency and any contractor under a contract with the commission shall havereasonable right of access to the land affected to carry out suchreclamation. The operator shall also have the right of access to the landaffected to carry out such reclamation and shall notify the landowner onlease holdings that such right exists.
7. Whenever an operator shall have completed all requirementspursuant to the provisions of sections 444.760 to 444.790 as to anyaffected land, he or she shall notify the commission thereof. If thecommission determines that the operator has completed the requirements, thecommission shall release the operator from further obligations regardingthe affected land and the penalty of the bond shall be reducedproportionately.
(L. 1971 H.B. 519 § 9, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1584, A.L. 1993 H.B. 312 & 257, A.L. 2001 H.B. 453)