Act 54 of 1994 requires DEP to analyze and document the environmental and property damage caused by longwall and other underground coal mining and make recommendations on how that damage can be prevented in the future.
The total number of incidents of damage from active coal mining to homes and other structures, land and water supplies has increased 17.5% over the last four Act 54 five-year reports from the 2003-2008 to the 2018-2022 report in spite of a 31% decline in the number of acres undermined by coal mining, according to an analysis of DEP data prepared by James A. Schmid, PhD on behalf of the Citizens Coal Council of Washington, PA.
[Note: DEP did not include a comparison of the four most recent Act 54 reports in the 2018-2022 report.]
The number of reported incidents from active mining in the 2003-2008 report totaled 605 mine-liable damage incidents to homes, structures, water supplies and land and 711 incidents of mine-liable damage in the 2018-2022 report, according to the Citizens Coal Council analysis.
DEP reported the number of underground bituminous mines covered by the Act 54 reports declined 38% from 50 to 31 mines from the 2003-2008 to the 2018-2022 reports.
The acreage undermined by deep coal mining decreased 31% from 38,256 acres in 2003 to 26,366 acres in 2022.
DEP also reported there were--
-- 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.
DEP made a series of recommendations based on the latest report, including-- updating its legacy mining information database BUMIS to a more modern platform; improving GIS capabilities and better integrating mining company reporting into the system; improving public information displays; improve communication with affected parties; encourage electronic permit information and reporting submittals; and improving wetland data received from mining companies.
DEP also said it would revisit the review process and procedures for preparing new and updated Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessments (CHIAs) which are now based on 1997 guidance.
In addition to the 2018-2022 Act 54 report, DEP also made available the raw information it gathers on these issues annually.
Visit DEP’s Act 54 Report webpage for more information.
Center For Coalfield Justice
Ethan Story from the Center for Coalfield Justice based in Washington, PA offered eight pages of comments and recommendations on the 2018-2022 Act 54 report to the Council on October 14.
“The organization’s mission is to improve policy and regulations for the oversight of fossil fuel extraction and use; to educate, empower, and organize coalfield residents; and to protect public and environmental health.
“As such, and on behalf of our members and supporters, we are acutely aware of the subsidence-induced impacts caused by longwall coal mining and the need to address those impacts adequately.
“North America's largest underground coal mine complex is located in Greene and Washington Counties.
“The communities we serve have experienced firsthand the subsidence-induced damage to homes and other structures, water supplies, and streams described in the most recent Act 54 Report.
“Historically, CCJ would begin this comment by analyzing and comparing the previous five reports with the most recent 6th Act 54 Report. However, there has been substantial backsliding in progress here.
“The first Act 54 Report, released in 1999, was conducted by the Department itself. It was met with disapproval due to the argument that it lacked credibility and was not sufficiently objective.
“The Department responded appropriately and commissioned the second through the fifth reports to different educational institutions.
“Though imperfect, these reports were more conclusive and provided much deeper commentary on impacts with richer statistics.
“However, this most recent Act 54 Report, the 6th report, was again done internally by the Department, retaining many, if not more, of the same criticisms of the 1st report.”
[Note: Click on these links to compare the 2013-2018 report done by the University of Pittsburgh and the most recent 2018-2022 report done by DEP.]
The Center also said an eight month overlap-- January 1, 2018 to August 20, 2018-- is a major concern in comparing the latest Act 54 reports and previous reports.
“This overlap is not addressed in the Act 54 Report and thus confuses the data. These inconsistencies are severely problematic as they create redundancy, play into regulatory confusion, and blur the record of what is happening vs what is actually reported.
“Therefore, the statistics in the Act 54 Report must be viewed cautiously.”
Housing Impacts Of Longwall Mining
The Center provided extensive comments on damage to homes and structures, water supplies and stream impacts and how they were treated in the latest report and the impacts on mining communities.
‘As coal companies address subsidence impacts by purchasing property before or after mining, more people move out of the area. The homes and water supplies located on those properties may never be repaired or replaced.
“Again, as the Act 54 Report outlines, several of these mining issues are deemed “resolved” when the company outright purchases the property.”
“The 2020 Greene County Comprehensive Plan provides a better understanding of the negative impacts on the local community as previewed in the Act 54 Report.
“The 2020 Greene County Comprehensive Plan recognizes that the County has experienced a decline in the overall population and an increase in the median age.
“Greene County has also experienced a dramatic decrease in school enrollment over the last ten (10) years.”
“The Comprehensive Plan further acknowledges that the majority of people working in Greene County do not live in Greene County. Currently, 62 out of every 100 workers commute from outside the County.”
“[The] Comprehensive Plan suggests that inadequate housing choice may be to blame.
“According to the Comprehensive Plan, the natural average annual housing vacancy rate is 6%, representing the supply of units in a given market that are not leased or occupied, allowing for housing turnover.
“However, the average housing vacancy rate in Greene County is much higher at 14.3%.
“The Comprehensive Plan explains that the remaining share of vacant housing (8.3%) is not available for sale or rent but is vacant due to needed repairs, foreclosure, or other reasons.
“Many vacant homes have suffered subsidence-induced damage to the dwelling or water supply and are now owned by coal mine operators.
“Others may be vacant because the post-mining “unspecified agreement” did not provide full compensation for the necessary repairs.”
Recommendations
“CCJ would be willing to meet with members of the Citizens Advisory Council and the Department to discuss what more can be done to ensure coalfield communities and public natural resources are properly protected.
At a minimum, the Citizens Advisory Council should recommend the following:
-- Independent Preparation of Report: The Department returns to its previous practice of commissioning Act 54 Reports to outside entities that provide more detailed and non-subjective reporting, including overlaying or duplicating reporting dates.
-- Regular Mining Company Reporting On Damages: The Department issues enforceable orders for repairing or replacing water supplies and structures when the company is found liable for the impact. Alternatively, the Department should require underground coal mine operators to submit status updates for impacted properties every six months. The Department should use these routine status updates to proactively identify properties where the Department’s intervention would help resolve subsidence damage claims promptly and adequately.
-- Increased Groundwater Monitoring/Repair Of Well Damage: The Department requires underground coal mine operators to sample hydrologic monitoring reports groundwater monitoring points for groundwater elevation at a frequency that is at least consistent with the pre-mining and post-mining sampling of surface water. The Department must also require the replacement of groundwater monitoring equipment that is damaged or destroyed during undermining.
-- Update Stream Flow Guidance: The Department revises its pre-mining and post-mining flow monitoring requirements specified in the Stream Protection Technical Guidance Document. The flow data currently collected is inadequate for making informed decisions about the environmental impacts of mining on overlying streams.
Click Here for a copy of the Center’s comments.
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 for many years.
Citizens Advisory Council Review
On October 14, the Citizens Advisory Council voted to form a committee to provide DEP comments on the Act 54 report.
In written comments to DEP dated May 26, 2023 on the last Act 54 report [2013-2018], the Council made several findings--
-- Significant Ongoing Damage: The 5th Act 54 Report documents significant ongoing subsidence damage to the natural and built environment from longwall mining. This is consistent with previous Act 54 reports. Despite this knowledge, impact prediction and avoidance in permitting applications and revisions seldom occurs.
-- Damage Not Fully Repaired: Most subsidence damage to structures, water supplies, and environmental resources cannot be documented as having been fully repaired, and when repairs are made the process often is slow and the long-term success of those repairs is unknown.
-- Major Gaps In Information: Major gaps still surround the recording and communication of data regarding mine subsidence impacts, although small improvements have been made in the Department's recordkeeping.
-- Fully Implement The Law/Regulations: The Department can better protect resources from subsidence damage through existing laws, regulations, and technical guidance, but it is not fully or consistently applying them.
The Council also renewed a recommendation it originally made to DEP in 2015 to update its 2005 technical guidance on surface water protection related to bituminous coal mining. In 2023, DEP told the Council the guidance was under revision.
DEP said at the October 14 Council meeting the draft revision has not yet been completed.
Click Here for a copy of the Council’s detailed 2023 comments.
Visit DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council webpage for documents posted related to the Act 54 report presentation.
(Map: Underground longwall coal mining areas in 2025 (pink) and other bituminous mining areas, courtesy Citizens Coal Council of Washington, PA from DEP mapped data.)
[Posted: October 21, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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