West Virginia has an alternative bonding system known as the Special Reclamation Fund (SRF). When the amount of bonds that are forfeited are less than the actual
cost of reclamation the DEP shall use monies from the SRF to complete reclamation.The SRF is comprised of multiple revenue sources but as can be seen below, a
majority of the fund comes from a tax collected for each ton of clean coal mined in the state. The tax, which is collected by the state tax commissioner, is
currently set at 27.9 cents per ton.
In 2008 a bill was passed that created the Special Reclamation Water Trust Fund (WTF). This fund was created to ensure a reliable source of capital to reclaim and
restore water treatment systems on forfeited sites. To ensure that monies are available to pay for long term water treatment the DEP, in consultation with the Special
Reclamation Fund Advisory Council, decided to pay for all reclamation, both land and water, from the SRF until 2019. This would allow the WTF to build enough assets
to pay for water treatment into the future.
Funding Breakdown
- Coal Tonnage Fees: 78.30%
- Bond Forfeitures: 13.30%
- Civil Penalties: 4.40%
- Interest Income: 2.10%
- Other Revenues: 1.90%
Notes:
- The current tax structure deposits 15 cents of the 27.9 cents into the WTF
- The remaining 12.9 remains in the SRF.