Pennsylvania Act 1961-656 — REGULATING ANTHRACITE COAL MINING

Act text

REGULATING ANTHRACITE COAL MINING
                 Act of Sep. 20, 1961, P.L. 1538, No. 656             Cl. 52
                                  AN ACT

     To protect the public safety by regulating the mining of
        anthracite coal; prescribing duties for certain municipal
        officers and imposing penalties.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

        Section 1.  (a) In order to guard the safety of the public in
     areas above mined areas to prevent the excavation of coal so
     near the surface, or so deep, or in such other manner as to
     expose the public to danger, it shall be unlawful for any owner,
     operator, director or general manager, superintendent or other
     person in charge of or having supervision over any anthracite
     coal mine or mining operation so to mine anthracite coal or so
     to conduct the operation of mining anthracite coal as to cause
     the caving-in, collapse or subsidence of:
        (1)  Any public building or any structure customarily used by
     the public as a place of resort, assemblage or amusement,
     including but not being limited to churches, schools, hospitals,
     theatres, hotels and railroad stations.
        (2)  Any street, road, bridge or other public passageway
     dedicated to public use or habitually used by the public.
        (3)  Any track, roadbed, right of way pipe, conduit wire or
     other facility used in the service of the public by any
     municipal corporation or public service company as defined by
     the Public Utility Law.
        (4)  Any dwelling or other structure used as a human
     habitation or any factory, store or other industrial or
     mercantile establishment in which human labor is employed.
        (5)  Any cemetery or public burial ground.
        (b)  Criterion to guide operators in their mining activities
     shall include bearing strength of coal in the vein or seam,
     percentage of coal left in place, uniformity of distribution of
     said percentage, height of vein or seam, nature of immediate
     roof over seam, nature of floor of seam, pitch of seam,
     thickness of rock strata overlying the seam, nature of rock
     strata thickness and nature of unconsolidated surface materials
     overlying rock strata, proximity of and conditions in overlying
     or underlying seams, underground water conditions in seam and
     underground water conditions in strata over the seam.
        Section 2.  Every owner, operator, lessor, lessee or general
     contractor engaged in the mining of anthracite coal within this
     Commonwealth, shall make or cause to be made a true and accurate
     map or plan of the workings or excavations of such coal mine or
     colliery which shall be drawn to a scale of such size as to show
     conveniently and legibly all markings and numbers required to be
     placed thereon by the terms of this act. Such maps or plans
     shall also show in detail, and in markings of a distinctive
     color, all contemplated workings which are intended to be
     undertaken or developed within the succeeding six months. Such
     maps or plans shall be deposited as often as once in six months
     with the mayor in cities where such coal mines or collieries are
     situated. In boroughs and townships of the first class, such
     maps or plans shall be filed with the county commissioners of
     the proper county. Such maps or plans shall be considered public
     records and shall be open to the inspection of the public and
     copies or tracings may be made therefrom. No mining shall be
     done which is not shown on the map or plan filed at least ten
     days previously.
        Section 3.  Every owner, operator, lessor, lessee or general
     contractor engaged in the mining of anthracite coal or any
     president, director, general manager, superintendent or other
     person in charge of, or having supervision over, any anthracite
     coal mine or mining operation in this Commonwealth shall be and
     is hereby required (1) to designate within a period of six
     months from the passage of this act, and to keep designated by
     number, each and every pillar of anthracite coal beneath the
     surface still remaining in place at the time this act goes into
     effect, and all pillars thereafter created, the number of each
     pillar to be placed in a conspicuous position with white paint
     or some other equally durable and visible substance; and (2) to
     designate or cause to be designated by numerals of convenient
     and legible size, upon all maps or plans mentioned in section 2
     of this act with the space on each map or plan designating any
     pillar of coal, the number of such pillar.
        Section 4.  The mayor of cities, the burgess of boroughs, the
     boards of township commissioners of townships of the first
     class, and such engineers and other agents as they may employ,
     shall, at all reasonable times, be given access to any portion
     of any anthracite coal mines or mining operations which it may
     be necessary or proper to inspect for the purpose of determining
     whether the provisions of this act are being compiled with, and
     all reasonable facilities shall be extended by the owner or
     operator of such mine or mining operation for ingress, egress
     and inspection.
        Section 5.  The mayor of cities, the burgess of boroughs, the
     board of township commissioners in townships of the first class
     shall have the power to prevent the mining of anthracite coal
     beneath the surface in any mine or mining operation in which the
     pillars of coal shall not have been numbered, and the numbers
     thereof designated by maps or tracings as provided by this act,
     and where mining operations are being conducted in violation of
     this act, they shall have the power to prevent any miner or
     laborer, other than those necessary for the protection of life
     and property, from entering the mine or mining operation until
     such time as the provisions of this act have been complied with.
        Section 6.  The provisions of this act shall not apply to any
     area wherein the surface overlying the mine or mining operation
     is wild or unsealed land, nor where such surface is owned by the
     owner or operator of the underlying coal and is distant more
     than one hundred and fifty feet from any improved property
     belonging to any other person.
        Section 7.  Any owner, operator, lessor, lessee or general
     contractor engaged in the mining of anthracite coal or any
     president, director, general manager, superintendent or other
     person in charge of, or having supervision over, any anthracite
     coal mine or mining operation, who shall violate any provision
     of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon
     conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than
     one thousand dollars ($1000) or more than five thousand dollars
     ($5000) or undergo imprisonment for not more than one year, both
     or either, at the discretion of the court; and, in addition
     thereto, shall be liable for the payment of damages to the owner
     of the property so damaged in an amount as determined by law in
     a civil proceeding.
        Section 8.  The courts of common pleas shall have power to
     award injunction to restrain violations of this act.
        Section 9.  This act is intended as remedial legislation
     designed to cure existing evils and abuses and each and every
     provision thereof is intended to receive a liberal construction
     such as will best effectuate that purpose, and no provision is
     intended to receive a strict or limited construction.
        Section 10.  It is hereby declared that the provisions of
     this act are severable one from another and if for any reason
     this act shall be judicially declared and determined to be
     unconstitutional so far as relate to one or more words, phrases,
     clauses, sentences, paragraphs or section thereof, such judicial
     determination shall not affect any other provision of this act.
     It is hereby declared that the remaining provisions would have
     been enacted notwithstanding such judicial determination of the
     validity in any respect of one or more of the provisions of this
     act.
        Section 11.  All acts and parts of acts are repealed in so
     far as they are inconsistent herewith.
        Section 12.  This act shall take effect three calendar months
     after its final enactment.