Abstract |
This study was done as part of a national priority review mandated by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) to determine the adequacy of State bond calculations in establishing the bond amounts held by states for reclaiming mining operations. Bond forfeiture sites were included in this review to determine in a more practical sense whether the forfeited funds were sufficient to return the site to a useful postmining condition and address all environmental and safety issues. Because West Virginia has an alternative bonding system that relies on a pool of funds to supplement individual bonds in the event of forfeiture, OSM determined that the best way to evaluate the success of that system was to look at the cost, timeliness, and effectiveness of bond forfeiture reclamation. OSM also used this as an opportunity to review the States progress in resolving bonding issues identified in 2001 |