Coal Cleanup Taxpayer Protection Act of 2026

Protection of Taxpayer Funds: The bill aims to protect taxpayers from the financial liability associated with the reclamation of surface coal mining operations (Section 2, introductory text).

Increased Oversight of Alternative Systems: The Secretary can only approve alternative bonding systems if a State submits a detailed report including a 7-year history of bond forfeitures and costs, as well as a 5-year financial forecast (Section 2, subsection (c)(2)).

Elimination of Self-Bonding Risk: The bill prohibits the Secretary from accepting a "self-bond" from an applicant, which reduces the risk that a company cannot pay for reclamation (Section 2, subsection (f)(1)(A)).

Requirement for Stronger Collateral: The bill restricts the use of certain assets—such as coal, mines, or equipment unlikely to retain value—as collateral, ensuring more reliable financial backing (Section 2, subsection (h)(1)).

Regular Value Re-evaluations: The Secretary is required to re-evaluate the value of nonliquid collateral every three years to ensure it remains sufficient (Section 2, subsection (h)(2)(A)).

Compliance Burdens for States: State regulatory authorities must amend their programs to remove the authority for self-bonding and ensure existing self-bonds are replaced by specific deadlines (Section 2, subsection (f)(2)).

Operational Changes for Mining Companies: Permittees with existing self-bonds must replace them with other acceptable forms of bonding before their permit expires or undergoes a major modification (Section 2, subsection (f)(1)(B)).

Compliance Burdens for Corporate Sureties: Existing corporate surety bonds may need to be modified or replaced within one year of a new rule being issued (Section 2, subsection (g)(2)).