Facts
The Subsidence Act was enacted in 1966 “o prevent or minimize subsidence and to regulate its consequences.” Id. at 476. In other words, the Subsidence Act was designed to prevent the harmful effects that underground mining can have on the surface above. Some examples of coal mine subsidence damage include cracked foundations, sinkholes, and groundwater loss. Id. at 475-76.
The petitioners challenged two sections of the Subsidence Act. First, they challenged Section 4, which “rohibits mining that causes subsidence damage to three categories of structures . . . : public buildings and noncommercial buildings generally used by the public; dwellings used for human habitation; and cemeteries.” Id. at 476. Second, the petitioners challenged Section 6 of the Act. This section “uthorizes the DER to revoke a mining permit if the removal of coal causes damage to a structure or area protected by Section 4 and the operator has not . . . repaired the damage, satisfied any claim arising, or deposited a sum equal to the reasonable cost of repair with the DER as security.” Id. at 477.
In their complaint, the petitioners contended that "Pennyslvania recognizes three separate estates in land: The mineral estate; the surface estate; and the 'support estate.'" Id. at 478. All but 10% of the coal to be mined by the petitioners was severed from the surface estates around the turn of the 20th Century. Id. However, surface owners generally waived any claims against petitioners or prior coal companies for damages caused by mining. Id.
Ever since 1966, Pennsylvania has been more restrictive of coal mining practices. Id. at 475-76. One restriction imposed by the DER since then is that "50% of the coal beneath structures protected by § 4" must be left unearthed to support the surface land above. Id. at 476-77. The petitioners' main contention was that their "support estate had been entirely destroyed" because they had to leave 50% of the coal beneath the surface in place, meaning that they could only mine the mineral estate while leaving the support estate untouched. Id. at 480. In answers to interrogatories, the petitioners claimed that from 1966 to 1982 their land use rights at their 13 coal mines had been restricted to the point of a taking because of the Subsidence Act. Id. at 496. As a result, they claimed that they had to leave about 27 million tons of coal in place. Id. Altogether, these mines contained at least 1.46 billion tons of coal. Id. The percentage of coal that had to remain unmined was less than 2% of the petitioners' total coal. Id.
Read more about this topic: Keystone Bituminous Coal Ass'n V. De Benedictis
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