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HARRY HUGHES, Governor 2339
purposes of making loans to owners of orphaned land.]
7-505.
(e) In addition to any fee required in this subtitle, each
applicant for a permit to mine coal by open-pit or strip method
shall pay to the Department, before the permit is issued, a
special reclamation fee of [$40] $50 $75 for each acre of land
affected. THE FEE SHALL BE PAID ONLY WHEN AN ACRE IS INITIALLY
PERMITTED. [The State shall contribute an equal amount.] This
fee shall be deposited in the bituminous coal open-pit mining
reclamation fund. The payment shall be based on the same number
of acres as that for which a bond is required. [Each year, the
Governor shall place an item in the State budget to provide for
the matching money required by this subsection. The matching
funds may be provided by the State in the current budget at the
time the permit is issued or in the next succeeding State
budget.] NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF § 7-514 OF THIS
SUBTITLE, THE SECRETARY SHALL USE THE FUNDS PRODUCED BY THE FEE
UNDER THIS SUBSECTION TO BACKFILL, GRADE, AND PLANT AREAS
AFFECTED BY OPEN-PIT MINING WHERE THE FUNDS RECEIVED FROM
FORFEITURE ON BONDS, CASH, SECURITIES, AND OTHER COLLATERAL ARE
NOT SUFFICIENT TO DO THE NECESSARY BACKFILLING, GRADING, AND
PLANTING. HOWEVER, IF AT ANY TIME THE MONEY PRODUCED BY THIS FEE
AND AT THAT TIME IN THE BITUMINOUS COAL OPEN-PIT MINING
RECLAMATION FUND EXCEED THE SUM OF $500,000 $750,000, THEN THE
SECRETARY MAY USE THIS EXCESS MONEY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
PROVISIONS OF § 7-514 OF THIS SUBTITLE.
[7-514.1.
(a) The Secretary shall establish within the Bituminous
Coal Open-Pit Mining Reclamation Fund, from that portion of the
fund which represents State contributions, a revolving account to
provide assistance to landowners for the reclamation of orphaned
lands.
(b) The Department shall administer the revolving account
solely to provide interest-free loans to persons for the
construction of orphaned land reclamation projects. The account
shall be maintained by:
(1) Repayments of principal on loans made from the
account; and
(2) Annual transfer of funds from the Bituminous Coal
Open-Pit Mining Reclamation Fund to restore the account to a
level sufficient to carry out an effective orphaned mine
reclamation loan program during the succeeding year.
(c) During the first month of each fiscal year, the
Department shall submit to the Department of Budget and Fiscal
Planning an estimate of the amount of revenues that the account
expects to receive from repayment of outstanding loans and the
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