(1) An applicant for a permit shall submit to the department, as part of each permit application, a certificate that the applicant has a public liability insurance policy in force for the surface coal mining and reclamation operation for which the permit is sought. The policy shall be maintained in full force and effect during the terms of the permit or any renewal, including all reclamation operations.

    (2) The department shall promulgate rules establishing standards for adequate public liability insurance coverage consistent with section 63516(2).

    (1) After a surface coal mining and reclamation permit application has been approved, but before the permit is issued, the applicant shall file with the department, on a form prescribed and furnished by the department, a bond for performance payable to the state and conditioned on faithful performance of all requirements of this part and the permit. The bond shall cover that area of land within the permit area on which the applicant will initiate and conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations within the initial term of the permit. Before succeeding increments of surface coal mining and reclamation operations are initiated and conducted within the permit area, the permittee shall provide an additional bond or bonds to cover those increments. The amount of the bond required for each bonded area shall be determined by the department and shall reflect the reclamation requirements of the approved permit and the probable difficulty of the reclamation, giving consideration to such factors as topography, geology of the site, hydrology, and revegetation potential. The amount of the bond shall be sufficient to assure the completion of the reclamation plan if the reclamation had to be performed by the department in the event of forfeiture, and the bond for the entire area under 1 permit shall not be less than $10,000.00.

    (2) Liability under the bond is for the duration of the surface coal mining and reclamation operation and for a period coincident with applicant's responsibility for revegetation. Except as provided in subsection (3), the bond shall be executed by the applicant and a corporate surety licensed to do business in this state.

    (3) The applicant may elect to deposit cash or the following types of assets as security for the performance of the applicant's obligation under the bond:

    (a) Obligations or securities of, or fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the United States or any of the agencies of the United States, or for which the full faith and credit of the United States is pledged to provide for the payment of principal and interest.

    (b) Obligations of a state of the United States, or an agency or authority of a state for which the full faith and credit of the state is pledged to provide payment of principal and interest.

    (c) Obligations of this state or an agency or authority of this state for which specific revenues are pledged to provide payment of principal and interest.

    (d) Negotiable certificates of deposit of a state or national bank.

    (4) The cash deposit or market value of the assets shall be equal to or greater than the amount of the bond required for the bonded area.

    (5) The department may accept the bond of the applicant without separate surety if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department the existence of a suitable agent to receive service of process and a history of financial solvency and continuous operation sufficient for authorization to bond the amount.

    (6) The amount of the bond or deposit required and the terms of each acceptance of the applicant's bond shall be adjusted by the department from time to time as affected land acreages are increased or decreased or where the cost of future reclamation changes.

    (7) The department shall promulgate rules establishing standards for adequate bond coverage consistent with this section.

    (1) The permittee may file a request with the department for the release of all or part of a performance bond or deposit. Within 30 days after submission of an application for bond or deposit release to the department, the permittee shall submit a copy of the notice to be published by the department for 4 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the surface coal mining operation. The notice is part of the bond release application and shall contain a notification of the precise location of the land affected, the number of acres, the permit and the date approved, the amount of the bond filed and the portion sought to be released, and the type and appropriate dates of reclamation work performed, and a description of the results achieved as they relate to the permittee's reclamation plan. In addition, as part of any bond release application, the applicant shall submit copies of letters that the applicant has sent to adjacent property owners and local units of government notifying them of the application to seek release from the bond.

    (2) Within 30 days after the applicant complies with subsection (1), the department shall conduct an inspection and evaluation of the reclamation work involved. The evaluation shall consider, among other things, the degree of difficulty to complete any remaining reclamation, whether pollution of surface and subsurface water is occurring, the probability of continuance of future occurrence of the pollution, and the estimated cost of abating the pollution. The department shall notify the permittee, in writing, of its decision to release or not to release all or part of the performance bond or deposit based on the criteria in subsection (3) within 60 days from the filing of the request, if a public hearing is not held, and, if a public hearing is held, within 30 days after the hearing.

    (3) The department may release the bond or deposit in whole or in part if the reclamation covered by the bond or deposit or portion of the reclamation has been accomplished as required by this part according to the following schedule:

    (a) If the permittee completes the backfilling, regrading, and drainage control of a bonded area in accordance with the reclamation plan, the release of 60% of the bond or collateral for the applicable permit area.

    (b) If revegetation has been established on the regraded mined lands in accordance with the reclamation plan, the department may release an additional portion of the bond or deposit. In determining the amount of the bond or deposit to be released after successful revegetation has been established, the department shall retain the amount of the bond or deposit that is sufficient for a third party to establish revegetation and for the period specified for permittee responsibility in section 63527(2)(t). No part of the bond or deposit shall be released under this subdivision if the land to which the release would be applicable is contributing suspended solids to streamflow or runoff outside the permit area in excess of the requirements of section 63527(2)(j) or until soil productivity for agricultural land has returned to equivalent levels of yield as nonmined land of the same soil type in the surrounding area under equivalent management practices as determined from the soil survey performed pursuant to section 63516(1)(n). If a silt dam is to be retained as a permanent impoundment pursuant to section 63527(2)(h), the portion of bond may be released under this subdivision if provisions for sound future maintenance have been made with the department.

    (c) If the permittee has successfully completed all surface coal mining and reclamation activities, the release of the remaining portion of the bond, but not before the expiration of the period specified for permittee responsibility in section 63527(2)(t). However, at least 25% of the bond or deposit shall be retained by the department until all reclamation requirements of this part are fully met.

    (4) If the department disapproves the application for release of the bond or deposit or a portion of the bond or deposit, it shall notify the permittee, in writing, stating the reasons for disapproval, recommending corrective actions necessary to secure the release, and allowing opportunity for a public hearing.

    (5) When an application for total or partial bond or deposit release is filed with the department, the department shall notify the county clerk of each county in which the surface coal mining operation is located by certified mail within 10 days after the application for the release of all or a portion of the bond or deposit is filed.

    (6) A person with a legal interest or other interest that might be adversely affected by release of the bond or deposit or a federal or state agency or local unit of government is entitled to file written objections to the proposed release from bond or deposit with the department within 30 days after the last publication of the notice provided in subsection (1). If written objections are filed, the department shall conduct a public hearing on the objections and inform all the interested parties of the time and place of the hearing and hold the hearing in the locality of the surface coal mining operation within 30 days. Notice of the date, time, and location of the public hearings shall be published by the department in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality for 2 consecutive weeks.

    (1) Coal exploration operations that significantly disturb the natural land surface shall be conducted in accordance with rules promulgated by the department. The rules shall include, at a minimum, the requirement that prior to conducting the exploration a person must file with the department notice of intent to explore. The notice of the intent to explore shall include a description of the exploration area; the period of proposed exploration; provisions for reclamation in accordance with the performance standards in section 63527 of all lands disturbed in exploration, including excavations, roads, and drill holes; and the removal of necessary facilities and equipment.

    (2) A person who conducts any coal exploration operations that substantially disturb the natural land surface in violation of this section or the rules promulgated under this section is subject to the penalties provided in section 63537.

    (3) An operator shall not remove more than 250 tons of coal pursuant to an exploration permit without the specific written approval of the department.