Section 89.143a. Subsidence control: procedure for resolution of subsidence damage claims

(a) The owner of a structure enumerated in § 89.142a(f)(1) (relating to subsidence control: performance standards) who believes that underground mining operations caused mine subsidence resulting in damage to the structure and who wishes to secure repair of the structure or compensation for the damage shall provide the operator responsible for the underground mining operations with notification of the damage to the structure.

(b) If the operator agrees that mine subsidence damaged the structure, the operator shall fully repair the damage or compensate the owner for the damage in accordance with either § 89.142a(f) or a voluntary agreement between the parties authorized by section 5.6 of The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act (52 P. S. § 1406.5f).

(c) If the parties are unable to agree as to the cause of the damage or the reasonable cost of repair or compensation for the structure, the owner of the structure may file a claim in writing with the Department. The owner of a structure that is not an EPACT structure shall file the claim within 2 years of the date the structure was damaged.

(d) Upon receipt of the claim, the Department will send a copy of the claim to the operator and conduct an investigation in accordance with the following procedure:

(1) Within 30 days of receipt of the claim, the Department will conduct an investigation to determine whether underground mining operations caused the subsidence damage to the structure and provide the results of its investigation to the property owner and mine operator within 10 days of completing the investigation.

(2) Within 60 days of completion of the investigation, the Department will determine, and set forth in writing, whether the damage is attributable to subsidence caused by the operator’s underground mining operations and, if so, the reasonable cost of repairing or replacing the damaged structure.

(3) If the Department finds that the operator’s underground mining operations caused the damage to the structure, the Department will either issue a written order directing the operator to promptly compensate the structure owner or issue an order directing the operator to promptly repair the damaged structure. The Department may extend the time for compliance with the order if the Department finds that further damage may occur to the same structure as a result of additional subsidence.

The provisions of this § 89.143a adopted June 12, 1998, effective June 13, 1998, 28 Pa.B. 2761; amended October 21, 2005, effective October 22, 2005, 35 Pa.B. 5775. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (313584) to (313585).

Notation

Authority

The provisions of this § 89.143a amended under section 7 of The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act (BMSLCA) (52 P. S. § 1406.7); section 5 of The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. § 691.5); section 4.2 of the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P. S. § 1396.4b); section 3.2 of the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P. S. § 30.53b); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 510-20).

Editor’s Note: Certain parts of the rulemaking at 35 Pa.B. 5775 are authorized under a Federal action that superseded sections 5.1(b), 5.2(g)—(h), 5.4(a)(3) and (c) and 5.5(b) of the BMSLCA (52 P. S. § § 1406.5a(b), 1406.5b(g)—(h), 1406.5d(a)(3) and (c) and 1406.5e(b)) to the extent these statutory provisions conflicted with the Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (Federal SMCRA) (30 U.S.C.A. § § 1201—1328). The Federal action effecting these changes was published at 69 FR 71551 (December 9, 2004).