An operator may be considered a ``potentially liable operator''
with respect to a claim for benefits under this part if each of the
following conditions is met:
(a) The miner's disability or death arose at least in part out of
employment in or around a mine or other facility during a period when
the mine or facility was operated by such operator, or by a person with
respect to which the operator may be considered a successor operator.
For purposes of this section, there shall be a rebuttable presumption
that the miner's disability or death arose in whole or in part out of
his or her employment with such operator. Unless this presumption is
rebutted, the responsible operator shall be liable to pay benefits to
the claimant on account of the disability or death of the miner in
accordance with this part. A miner's pneumoconiosis, or disability or
death therefrom, shall be considered to have arisen in whole or in part
out of work in or around a mine if such work caused, contributed to or
aggravated the progression or advancement of a miner's loss of ability
to perform his or her regular coal mine employment or comparable
employment.
(b) The operator, or any person with respect to which the operator
may be considered a successor operator, was an operator for any period
after June 30, 1973.
(c) The miner was employed by the operator, or any person with
respect to which the operator may be considered a successor operator,
for a cumulative period of not less than one year
(Sec. 725.101(a)(32)).
(d) The miner's employment with the operator, or any person with
respect to which the operator may be considered a successor operator,
included at least one working day (Sec. 725.101(a)(32)) after December
31, 1969.
(e) The operator is capable of assuming its liability for the
payment of continuing benefits under this part. An operator will be
deemed capable of assuming its liability for a claim if one of the
following three conditions is met:
(1) The operator obtained a policy or contract of insurance under
section 423 of the Act and part 726 of this subchapter that covers the
claim, except that such policy shall not be considered sufficient to
establish the operator's capability of assuming liability if the
insurance company has been declared
insolvent and its obligations for the claim are not otherwise
guaranteed;
(2) The operator qualified as a self-insurer under section 423 of
the Act and part 726 of this subchapter during the period in which the
miner was last employed by the operator, provided that the operator
still qualifies as a self-insurer or the security given by the operator
pursuant to Sec. 726.104(b) is sufficient to secure the payment of
benefits in the event the claim is awarded; or
(3) The operator possesses sufficient assets to secure the payment
of benefits in the event the claim is awarded in accordance with
Sec. 725.606.
