Statute 49-417: Reclamation by secretary; use of authorized funds; authority to
contract; competitive bids; posting of bond or cash deposit by contractor;
release of operator's bond, when.
(a) In the reclamation of land affected by surface mining for which
funds are available to the secretary, the secretary
may avail itself of any services which may be
provided by other state agencies or by agencies of the federal government,
and may compensate them for such services. The secretary
also may receive any
federal funds, state funds or any other funds for the reclamation of land
affected by surface mining. The secretary may cause the
reclamation work to be
done by departmental employees or by the employees of other governmental
agencies, soil conservation districts, or through contracts with qualified
persons. Such contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder
upon competitive bids after advertising for
bids in the Kansas register at least 30 days prior to bid opening. The department
and any
other agency and any contractor under a contract with the
secretary shall have
the right of access to the land affected to carry out such reclamation.
(b) Any funds available to the secretary and any public
works program, both
funds and services, may be used and expended to reclaim and rehabilitate
any lands that have been subjected to surface mining that have not been
reclaimed and rehabilitated in accordance with standards set by this act
and which are not covered by bond to guarantee such reclamation.
(c) A person or organization having qualifications acceptable to the secretary
may post bond or a cash deposit in a sum determined by the
secretary and assume
the liability for carrying out the reclamation plan approved by the secretary
in areas where the mining operation and any necessary grading have been
completed. The secretary then shall release the
bond posted by the operator for
such area.
History: L. 1968, ch. 395, § 17; L. 1983, ch. 274, § 3;
L. 1988, ch. 192, § 23; July 1.