1. (1) Except as provided in (3) through (5), an owner shall submit a bond payable to the state of Montana in a form acceptable to the department under ARM 17.86.115. The bond amount shall be 100 percent of the amount calculated by the department under ARM 17.86.106. Bond release shall be conditioned on the faithful decommissioning of the facility. The owner shall submit the bond by the applicable deadline in (2).

2. (2) Except as provided in (3) through (5):

   1. (a) if a facility commenced commercial operation on or before January 1, 2007, the owner shall submit the decommissioning bond to the department prior to the conclusion of the 16th year after commencing commercial operation;
   2. (b) if a facility commenced commercial operation after January 1, 2007, but before October 1, 2025, the owner shall submit the decommissioning bond to the department prior to the conclusion of the 15th year of commencing commercial operation;
   3. (c) if a facility commenced commercial operation on or after October 1, 2025, the owner shall submit the decommissioning bond to the department prior to the conclusion of the 12th year of commencing commercial operation; or
   4. (d) if a facility has assets that are operating, constructed, or partially constructed and a property lease terminates prior to the conclusion of the 12th year of commencing commercial operation, the owner shall submit the decommissioning bond to the department at least one year before the property lease termination date.

3. (3) If a facility is repurposed, as determined by the department in consultation with the owner, the owner is not required to provide a bond and any existing bond must be released until the repurposed facility reaches its fifth year of operation.

   1. (a) The owner shall submit all revised information required in ARM 17.86.102(2)(b) within six months after a facility is repurposed. Within five years after a facility is repurposed, the owner shall submit to the department a bond payable to the state of Montana in a form acceptable to the department under ARM 17.86.115 and in a sum determined by the department under ARM 17.86.106, conditioned on the faithful decommissioning of the facility.
4. (4) An owner is exempt from submitting a bond when a private landowner on whose land the entire facility is located owns a 10 percent or greater share of the facility, as determined by the department.

5. (5) An owner is exempt from submitting a bond for the facility or portion of the facility for which the owner:

   1. (a) has posted a decommissioning bond with a federal agency, with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for the lease of state land, or with a tribal, county, or local government; or
   2. (b) provides documents to the department that demonstrate the owner has private bonding.

Authorizing statute(s): 75-26-310, MCA

Implementing statute(s): 75-26-304, MCA

History: NEW, 2018 MAR p. 94, Eff. 1/13/18; AMD, 2020 MAR p. 957, Eff. 5/30/20; AMD, 2026 MAR, Notice No. 2026-271, Eff. 5/23/26.