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1 permit, nor place any material in such a way that the normal 2 erosion or slides brought about by natural physical causes 3 will permit the material to go outside the area of land which 4 is under permit. This prohibition includes the deposit of 5 material on public highways from trucks hauling material 6 from the operation.

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USE OF EXPLOSIVES

SEC. 20. (a) Explosives shall be used for the purpose 9 of blasting in connection with any coal mining surface op10 eration only in accordance with regulations of the Secretary 11 issued under this Act, or of a State if those regulations 12 are determined by the Secretary to be consistent with the 13 principles of this Act.

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(b) The Secretary may prohibit blasting in specific areas where the safety of the public or private property is 16 endangered or where the stability of the roof strata of an 17 operating underground mine or the watercourses entering 18 such a mine will be adversely affected as a probable result

19 of the blast.

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IDENTIFICATION OF MINING OPERATIONS

SEC. 21. The operator shall conspicuously maintain a

22 sign at each entrance to the operation which clearly shows 23 the name, business address, and phone number of the opera

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1

tor and the permit number of the operation. The sign shall

2

be at least three feet in size and shall be clearly visible.

OPERATOR'S PROGRESS REPORT

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SEC. 22. Not later than January 25 of each year after

the commencement of surface mining operations, the operator

6 shall file a report with the Secretary on a form provided

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by him that accurately states the amount of coal produced,

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the number of employees, the days worked, the number and location of acres of land mined, number and location of acres of the land reclaimed, and a description of the progress made toward the completion of the reclamation plan during

the previous year.

RELEASE OF BOND

SEC. 23. (a) Where the reclaiming of the mined area has been successful, the operator may file a request, on a form provided by the Secretary, for release of bond. The request shall state

(1) the location of the area and number of acres;

(2) the permit number;

(3) the amount of bond; and

(4) the type and date of the reclamation activities.

(b) An inspection and evaluation of the reclamation of

the area shall be made within ninety days after the request.

If the Secretary finds that the reclamation meets the require

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1 ments of this Act, is stable and perpetual under normal 2 climatic conditions, he shall send by registered mail to the 3 operator a release of the bond or other security covering the 4 area of reclaimed land. He shall also at the same time send 5 a copy of the release to the Secretary of the Treasury. Upon 6 presentation of the release to the Secretary of the Treasury 7 by the operator to whom it was issued, the Secretary of the 8 Treasury shall deliver to the operator or his authorized 9 agent the amount of bond or other security released by 10 decision of the Secretary.

11

(c) If the Secretary does not approve of the reclama12 tion performed by the operator, he shall notify the operator 13 by registered mail within ninety days after the request is 14 filed. The notice shall state the reasons for unacceptability 15 and shall recommend actions to remedy the failure.

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(d) (1) The application for bond release shall contain a copy of an advertisement placed in a newspaper of general 18 circulation in the locality of the surface coal mining. Such 19 advertisement shall contain a notification of the location, of 20 the area and number of acres, the permit number, the amount 21 of bond, and the type of reclamation and the degree of suc22 cess. In addition, the applicant shall also submit as part of 23 his request copies of letters which he has sent to various local 24 governmental bodies, planning agencies, and sewage and

40

water treatment authorities, or companies in whose watershed the mining will take place, notifying them of his intention to seek release from bond.

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(2) Any bona fide resident of the area having a valid legal interest which would be affected thereby, or the officer

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or head of any Federal, State, or local government agency or authority shall have the right to file written objections to the proposed release from bond to the Secretary within thirty days after the last publication of the above notice. If written objections are filed, the Secretary shall then hold

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a

public hearing in the locality of the mining operation proposed for release from bond within sixty days of the

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receipt of such objections. The date, time, and location of

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such public hearing shall be advertised by the Secretary in

a newspaper of general circulation in the locality for seven successive days. At this public hearing, the applicant for

release from bond shall have the burden of establishing that

his request is in compliance with the applicable State and

Federal laws.

(3) For the purpose of such hearing, the Secretary, or his designate, shall have the authority and is hereby empowered to administer oaths, subpena witnesses or written or

printed materials, compel the attendance of the witnesses, or

production of the materials, and take evidence, including but

not limited to site inspections of the mining operation and

41.

1 other coal mining operations carried on by the applicant 2 in the general vicinity of the mining site. A verbatim tran3 script and a complete record of each public hearing shall be 4 ordered by the Secretary.

5

(4) The Secretary, or his designate, shall make his 6 decision on the request for release from bond not less than

7 sixty days after the record of the hearing is transcribed.

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(5) Any person having a valid legal interest which will 9 be affected by the proposed release of bond who is aggrieved 10. by the decision of the Secretary, or his designate, shall have 11 the right of appeal to the Federal district court in whose 12 jurisdiction the proposed coal mining operation is located in 13 accordance with applicable appeal procedures.

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(6) No bond shall be released except under the pro

visions of this section or section 11.

RECLAMATION INSPECTORS

SEC. 24. (a) The Secretary shall determine the num18 ber of coal mining reclamation inspectors needed to imple19 ment this Act, and shall appoint them subject to the provi20 sions of title 5 of the United States Code, governing appoint21 ments in the competitive service. Each inspector shall be 22 paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and 23 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi24 fication and General Schedule pay rates.

(b) A coal mining reclamation inspector shall make

any