A leading U.S. coal regulator yesterday announced plans to toughen what it called "out-of-date" rules for guaranteeing mine cleanups, Reuters reported yesterday. The Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement said that it would start working with U.S. state regulators to modify rules on self-bonding, a decades-old program that allowed healthy coal companies to post promissory notes instead of collateral to guarantee returning disturbed land to its natural setting. "There is no money behind that promise to make sure the land is restored," said Joe Pizarchik, who heads the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement. Critics have said current self-bonding rules are harmful because they leave taxpayers exposed to billions of dollars of environmental liabilities if a coal producer fails to comply with its legal obligation to clean up pits. Three of the four largest U.S. coal companies, including global leader Peabody Energy Corp, have filed for bankruptcy in the past year with more than $2 billion in self-bonds for future mine cleanups across several states.
