1.    The permittee may file a request with the commission for the release of all or part of a performance bond or deposit furnished subsequent to July 1, 1975. As part of any bond release application, the permittee shall submit:

a.    Within thirty days after filing of the request, a copy of an advertisement placed at least once a week for four successive weeks in the official newspaper of each county in which the surface coal mining operation is located. The advertisement must contain notification of all of the following:

(1) The precise location and the number of acres [hectares] of the land affected. (2) The permit and the date approved.

(3) The amount of the bond filed and the portion sought to be released.

(4) The type and approximate dates of reclamation work performed and a description of the results achieved as they relate to the permittee’s approved reclamation plan.

(5) The right to file written objections and to request a public hearing or an informal conference as specified in subsection 2.

b.    Copies of letters which the permittee has sent to all owners of surface rights within the permit area proposed for bond release, adjoining property owners, state agencies specified in subsection 2 of section 38-14.1-21, heads of local governmental bodies, including the county commissioners and mayors of municipalities, planning agencies, sewage and water treatment authorities, and water companies in the locality in which the surface coal mining and reclamation operations took place, notifying them of the permittee’s intention to seek release from the bond. The letters must also contain notice of the right to file written objections and request an informal conference or a public hearing as specified in subsection 2.

2.    Any person having a valid legal interest which is or may be adversely affected by release of the bond or the responsible officer or head of any state or local governmental agency which has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental, social, or economic impact involved in the surface coal mining operation or is authorized to develop and enforce environmental standards with respect to such operations has the right to file written objections to the proposed release from bond with the commission and to request an informal conference pursuant to the procedures established in section 38-14.1-19 or a public hearing pursuant to procedures established in subsection 3 of section 38-14.1-30 within thirty days after the last publication of the notice required in subsection 1.

3.    Upon receipt of the application for bond release, the commission shall, within thirty days, conduct an inspection and evaluation of the reclamation work involved. Such evaluation must consider, among other things, all of the following:

a.    The degree of difficulty to complete any remaining reclamation. b.    Whether pollution of surface and subsurface water is occurring.

c.    The probability of continuance or future occurrence of such pollution. d.    The estimated cost of abating such pollution.

e.    The effectiveness of soil erosion control measures employed. f.    The level of bonding.

The commission shall make written findings with its ruling to release or not to release all or part of the performance bond or deposit within sixty days from the filing of the request for bond release, if no informal conference or public hearing is held, and if there has been an informal conference or a public hearing, within thirty days thereafter.

    4.    Time periods established by subsection 3 do not apply if effective inspections cannot be carried out because of inclement weather.

5.    If the commission disapproves the application for release of the bond or portion thereof, the commission shall state the reasons for disapproval, recommend corrective actions necessary to secure said release, and provide the permittee with an opportunity for a formal public hearing pursuant to the procedures of section 38-14.1-30.

6.    If the commission decides to release the bond either totally or in part, the commission shall notify the county commissioners and the mayors of the municipalities in the county in which the applicable surface coal mining operation is located by certified mail, at least thirty days prior to the actual release of all or a portion of the bond.

7.    The commission may release bond as follows:

a.    When the permittee completes the backfilling, regrading, and drainage control in a bonded area, forty percent of the bond for the area may be released.

b.    After spreading suitable plant growth material or other suitable strata on the regraded land, twenty percent of the bond for the area may be released.

c.    After vegetation is established on the regraded land, additional bond may be released. The commission shall retain sufficient bond to cover third-party revegetation and associated costs for the period set by subsection 18 of section 38-14.1-24, provided:

(1) There may be no release under this subdivision until the requirements of subdivision b of subsection 8 of section 38-14.1-24 are met and prime farmlands are returned to productivity equal to or greater than nonmined prime farmland in the surrounding area under equivalent management practices.

(2) If there is a permanent silt dam impoundment under subsection 7 of section 38-14.1-24, bond may be released if the commission approves the commitments for future maintenance.

d.    When the permittee has successfully completed all surface coal mining and reclamation operations, and after the period set by subsection 18 of section 38-14.1-24, the remaining bond may be released. No bond may be fully released until all reclamation requirements are met.

8.    Until reclamation has been accomplished to the satisfaction of the commission and until the bond has been fully released pursuant to subsection 7, control of the affected lands shall remain in the commission, and the commission may not allow use of the land which is inconsistent with reclamation.