ORS 517.810: Requirement for bond or security; rules; other security in lieu of bond.

(1) Before issuing or reissuing an operating permit for any surface mining operation or issuing or reissuing an exploration permit for any exploration activity, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall require that the applicant for the permit file with it a bond or security acceptable to the department in a sum to be determined by the department but in an amount not to exceed the total cost for reclamation if the department were to perform the reclamation. The decision of the department may be appealed to the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries as provided in ORS chapter 183. The bond or security shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the reclamation plan and of the other requirements of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 and the rules adopted thereunder. (2) Nothing in this section shall apply to any public body, as defined in ORS 174.109. (3) In lieu of the bond or other security required of the applicant in subsection (1) of this section, the department may accept a similar security from the landowner, equal to the estimated cost of reclamation as determined by the department in consultation with the operator or explorer. The decision of the department may be appealed to the governing board as provided in ORS chapter 183. (4) In lieu of the bond required by subsection (1) of this section, the department may accept a blanket bond covering two or more surface mining sites or exploration projects operated by a single company, owned by a single landowner or operated by all members of an established trade association, in an amount, established by the department, not to exceed the amount of the bonds that would be required for separate sites. (5) The governing board shall identify by rule the procedures for the determination of the amount of the bond or other security required of an applicant for an operating permit or exploration permit. The rules: (a) Shall provide an opportunity for participation by the applicant as part of the procedures; and (b) May allow for the amount of the bond to be calculated and adjusted based upon the total area expected to be in a disturbed condition in the following year as a result of the surface mining or exploration operation. (6) Any deposit of moneys accepted and held by the department as a form of security pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be deposited in the Reclamation Guarantee Fund. [1971 c.719 §8; 1975 c.724 §4; 1979 c.435 §5; 1983 c.497 §1; 1985 c.291 §1a; 1985 c.292 §9; 1987 c.361 §5; 1989 c.347 §11; 1999 c.492 §3; 2005 c.34 §6; 2015 c.834 §4]