Bond Improvement and Reclamation Assurance Act of 2026
HB7249, titled the Bond Improvement and Reclamation Assurance Act of 2026, would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to strengthen financial assurance requirements for surface coal mining permits. The bill revises the rules for permit performance bonds by requiring regulators to consider inflation, early or unplanned mine closure, spoil availability, long-term water pollution discharge, and other changing conditions when setting or adjusting bond amounts. It also establishes a minimum bond floor of $52,593 per permit area, indexed annually to inflation, and directs regulators to update bond amounts when acreage changes, permits are renewed, or permits are transferred.
The bill further requires bond recalculation before approval of a permit transfer, assignment, sale, or permit revision, and it makes permittees and certain controlling owners jointly and severally liable for reclamation costs, including postmining water pollution treatment. It also directs inspectors to report conditions that could increase reclamation costs and requires public inspection records to be available electronically. Finally, the Secretary of the Interior, through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, must issue regulations within 90 days to set guidelines and benchmarks for minimum bond amounts using data from recent bond-forfeiture reclamation projects.
The bill’s impact would be to increase and standardize the financial backing required for coal mining operations, potentially raising costs for operators and their controlling owners while providing stronger protection for states and the federal government if a mine is abandoned or closes early. It would affect the permitting, transfer, renewal, and oversight of surface coal mining operations under federal and state regulatory programs, and it would likely make it harder for operators to rely on outdated bond amounts that do not reflect current reclamation costs.
Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes, the available context shows no documented debate or formal opposition in the materials provided. The bill’s text suggests a policy emphasis on preventing underbonded mines and ensuring reclamation funding is adequate, which typically aligns with environmental and regulatory interests. Potential contention would likely center on the higher bonding requirements, the expanded liability for owners and related controlling persons, and the administrative burden of recalculating bonds and issuing new federal guidelines.
HB7249 would amend sections 509, 511, and 517 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to require more robust and frequently updated permit performance bonds for surface coal mining. It would add a federal minimum bond amount, require consideration of inflation and reclamation risk factors, mandate recalculation of bonds during transfers and revisions, expand liability to certain controlling owners, and require new federal regulations establishing minimum bond benchmarks based on reclamation data.
No committee discussion or vote history is provided, so there is no recorded legislative sentiment in the materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be framed as a reclamation and financial assurance reform intended to protect the public from insufficient mine cleanup funding, suggesting likely support from environmental and oversight advocates. Opposition, if any, would likely come from industry stakeholders concerned about increased costs and liability.
The main points of contention are likely to be the higher and more dynamic bond requirements, the new minimum bond floor indexed to inflation, and the expansion of liability to permittees and certain owners with 30 percent or more control interests. Mining interests may object that the bill increases compliance costs, complicates transfers and permit revisions, and could make financing or operating coal mines more difficult. Supporters would likely argue that these changes are necessary to ensure adequate reclamation funding, especially in cases of early closure, bond forfeiture, or long-term water pollution.