Work out whether a surface-coal reclamation bond must be filed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the permit papers, list the permit area, whether the application is described as approved, and whether a performance bond is already in the file. Do not set the bond amount and do not complete the bond form.
- What the lawyer must review
- After a surface-coal mining and reclamation permit application has been approved, and before the permit is issued, the applicant files a performance bond with the regulatory authority, payable to the United States or the State, and conditional on faithful performance of the chapter and the permit (30 U.S.C. § 1259(a)). The amount must be sufficient to complete the reclamation plan if the regulatory authority had to do the work, and the bond for the entire area under one permit must not be less than $10,000. Liability runs for the operation and for the operator's revegetation responsibility under § 1265. You set the amount and you approve the bond. This is the surface-coal permit. It is not a hardrock levy, and it is not a charge worked out from a rehabilitation-liability estimate.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Consider narrowly defined preparation support after confirming the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Open each relied-on authority independently. Confirm its existence, current status, proposition and any quotation or pinpoint reference.
- Check the current court or regulator requirements, prescribed form and attachments for the intended document and filing.
- Review the original source set for relevant material absent from the output, including contrary evidence, qualifications and remaining gaps.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.