[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 36, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 36CFR9.48]

[Page 164]
 
              TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
      CHAPTER I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 9--MINERALS MANAGEMENT--Table of Contents
 
               Subpart--B--Non-Federal Oil and Gas Rights
 
Sec. 9.48  Performance bond.

    (a) Prior to approval of a plan of operations, the operator shall be 
required to file a suitable performance bond with satisfactory surety, 
payable to the Secretary or his designee. The bond shall be conditioned 
upon faithful compliance with applicable regulations, and the plan of 
operations as approved, revised or supplemented. This performance bond 
is in addition to and not in lieu of any bond or security deposit 
required by other regulatory authorities.
    (b) In lieu of a performance bond, an operator may elect to deposit 
with the Secretary or his designee, cash or negotiable bonds of the U.S. 
Government. The cash deposit or the market value of such securities 
shall be at least equal to the required sum of the bond. When bonds are 
to serve as security, there must be provided to the Secretary a power of 
attorney.
    (c) In the event that an approved plan of operations is revised or 
supplemented in accordance with Sec. 9.40, the Regional Director may 
adjust the amount of the bond or security deposit to conform to the 
modified plan of operations.
    (d) The bond or security deposit shall be in an amount:
    (1) Equal to the estimated cost of reclaiming the site, either in 
its entirety or in phases, that has been damaged or destroyed as a 
result of operations conducted in accordance with an approved, 
supplemented, plan of operations; plus
    (2) An amount set by the Superintendent consistent with the type of 
operations proposed, to bond against the liability imposed by 
Sec. 9.51(a); to provide the means for rapid and effective cleanup; and 
to minimize damages resulting from an oil spill, the escape of gas, 
wastes, contaminating substances, or fire caused by operations. This 
amount shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for 
geophysical surveys when using more than one field party or five 
thousand dollars ($5,000) when operating with only one field party, and 
shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for each wellsite or 
other operation.
    (3) When an operator's total bond or security deposit with the 
National Park Service amounts to two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) 
for activities conducted within a given unit, no further bond 
requirements shall be collected for additional activities conducted 
within that unit, and the operator may substitute a blanket bond of two 
hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for all operations conducted within 
the unit.
    (e) The operator's and his surety's responsibility and liability 
under the bond or security deposit shall continue until such time as the 
Superintendent determines that successful reclamation of the area of 
operations has occurred and, where a well has been drilled, the well has 
been properly plugged and abandoned. If all efforts to secure the 
operator's compliance with pertinent provisions of the approved plan of 
operations are unsuccessful, the operator's surety company will be 
required to perform reclamation in accordance with the approved plan of 
operations.
    (f) Within thirty (30) days after determining that all reclamation 
requirements of an approved plan of operations are completed, including 
proper abandonment of the well, the Regional Director shall notify the 
operator that the period of liability under the bond or security deposit 
has been terminated.

[43 FR 57825, Dec. 8, 1978; 44 FR 37915, June 29, 1979]