DEP Citizens Advisory Council Meets Oct. 14 To Hear Presentations On Environmental, Property Damage Caused By Longwall Coal Mining

The DEP Citizens Advisory Council is scheduled to meet on October 14 to hear presentations on the Act 54 five-year report on environmental and property damage caused by longwall underground coal mining.

Also on the [Updated] agenda is a presentation on the proposed Susquehanna River pump-storage hydroelectric project in York County.

Longwall Mining Impacts

Sharon Hill, Bureau of Mining Programs, will provide an overview of the Act 54 longwall mining impacts report that is provided by law to the Council, Governor and the General Assembly.

James Schmid, Schmid & Company, Inc., will also provide comments on the report.  He is a past member of the Council and has made many suggestions for improving the report over the years.  Read more here.

Act 54 of 1994 requires DEP to analyze and document the environmental and property damage caused by longwall and make recommendations on how that damage can be prevented in the future.

The reports document damage to structures, streams, wetlands, flooding, land (landslides, cracks and subsidence), damage to utilities as well as other impacts like water well contamination or loss of water.

Act 54 requires damage must be corrected or paid for by the coal mining companies.

The provisions in Act 54 were developed in a stakeholder negotiation convened by the Western PA Conservancy between the mining industry, conservation, farm and other groups in 1986 that tried to balance allowing longwall mining by requiring mining companies to fix any damages they caused.  Read more here.

The last Act 54 report covered the years 2018 to 2022 and documented significant ongoing damage caused by longwall mining, including-- 

-- Nearly 20% of streams undermined were impacted by mining resulting in flow loss, pooling and heaving and fractures;

-- 455 claims of structure damage of which 357 required mining company action;

-- 273 claims of water loss, of which 186 required mining company action;

-- 173 claims of water contamination, of which 86 required mining company action;

-- 106 claims of land damage, of which 83 required mining company action;

-- 3 claims of utility impacts, 2 required mining company action; and

-- 2 claims of methane intrusion, both required mining company action.

In addition to the Act 54 report, DEP also makes available the raw information it gathers on these issues annually.

Visit DEP’s Act 54 Report webpage for more information. 

The Act 54 report has been controversial in the past because it was previously compiled under a contract with the University of Pittsburgh who independently reviewed the information required by the law and made recommendations on program improvements.  Read more here.

Groups like the Pennsylvania Environmental Council [Read more here], Center for Coalfield Justice [Read more here] and the Citizens Coal Council [Read more here.] have been involved in suggesting improvements to the report and the analysis required by Act 54.

The Citizens Advisory Council last provided DEP with comprehensive comments on an Act 54 report in 2023.

Public Comments

Individuals interested in providing public comment during the meeting must sign up 24-hours in advance of the meeting by contacting Ian Irvin at iirvin@pa.gov.   

Commenters are asked to limit comments to 3 minutes to accommodate other commenters and are encouraged to submit a written copy of their comments 24-hours before the meeting so they can be shared with Council members.

Joining The Meeting

The meeting will be held in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg starting at 12:30 p.m.

The meeting will also be available online via Microsoft Teams and by telephone: +1 267-332-8737 Conference ID #: 320 494 978#.

More information on joining the meeting is included on the agenda.

Visit the DEP Citizens Advisory Council webpage for available handouts and more information.  Questions should be directed to Ian Irvin, Executive Director, iirvin@pa.gov or (717) 787-8171.

(Photos: It is not uncommon to see buildings on timber cribbing to help prevent damage from longwall mining panels passing underneath the structures; Damage to a stream and land surface.)

Related Article This Week:

-- Mountain Watershed Assn., LCT Energy Reach Agreement On Stronger Protections For Watershed While EHB Appeal Of Rustic Ridge #1 Coal Mine Expansion In Fayette, Westmoreland Counties Moves Forward  [PaEN]

[Posted: October 5, 2025]  PA Environment Digest