AGO 5784.

• Case Date: September 19, 1980
• Court: Michigan

Michigan Attorney General Opinions 1980. AGO 5784. September 19, 1980STATE OF MICHIGAN FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL Opinion No. 5784SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS: Posting of surety bond 1978 PA 641 requires that a person applying for a sanitary landfill license post a surety bond of a corporate surety authorized to do business in the State of Michigan. Howard A. Tanner Director Department of Natural Resources Stevens T. Mason Building Box 30028 Lansing, Michigan 48909 You have inquired whether the Solid Waste Management Act, 1978 PA 641; MCLA 299.401, et seq; MSA 13.29(1), et seq, which requires the posting of a surety bond in favor of the Director of the Department of Natural Resources to assure compliance with the act and rules promulgated thereunder, allows for the acceptance of an alternative such as a letter of credit, cash bond, certificate of deposit, one year renewal bond, escrow account, or bond secured by a personal as opposed to a corporate surety. 1978 PA 641, supra, Sec. 19 provides in part as follows: 'Before the director may issue a license, the applicant shall submit to the director a surety bond in favor of the director to assure operation in accordance with this act and rules promulgated under this act according to the following schedule: '(a) A surety bond submitted for a sanitary landfill shall be in an amount equal to $4,000.00 per acre of disposal area, but not less than $20,000.00, nor more than $500,000.00. Each bond shall be renewed to provide assurance for the maintenance of the finished landfill site for a period of 5 years after the landfill is completed.' The above quoted section requires what is commonly referred to as a statutory bond, i.e. a bond which is commanded, provided or required by statute. Commissioner of Insurance v Central West Casualty Co, 301 Mich 427; 3 NW2d 830 (1942). A suretyship undertaking is essentially a contract by one person or company to be answerable for the payment of some debt or the performance of some act or duty in case of the failure of some other person who is primarily responsible for such payment or performance. McCraw v Union Trust Co, 136 Mich 521; 99 NW 758 (1904). The Legislature has from time to time required the posting of various types of bonds, some of which require a corporate surety, a personal surety, or simply a...