PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 810, 2136 PRINTER'S NO. 2228
No. 750 Session of 1987
INTRODUCED BY OLASZ, MANDERINO, IRVIS, PETRARCA, CLARK, TELEK,
DeWEESE, SALOOM, LIVENGOOD, VAN HORNE, SEVENTY, DeLUCA,
GRUITZA, DUFFY, KASUNIC, F. TAYLOR, CAWLEY, TIGUE, BLAUM,
CAPPABIANCA, COHEN, HUTCHINSON, McCALL, STABACK, LAUGHLIN,
LESCOVITZ, COLAFELLA, KUKOVICH, PISTELLA, BELFANTI,
O'DONNELL, DALEY, GEORGE, SWEET, LUCYK, HARPER, MICHLOVIC,
COWELL, MARKOSEK, TRELLO, HERMAN AND VEON, MARCH 9, 1987
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
OCTOBER 6, 1987
AN ACT
1 Providing for abandoned mine subsidence emergency assistance.
2 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3 hereby enacts as follows:
4 Section 1. Short title.
5 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Abandoned
6 Mine Subsidence Assistance Act.
7 Section 2. Purpose of act.
8 By this act, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
9 Pennsylvania recognizes that the existence of abandoned mine
10 cavities beneath large and populated areas of this Commonwealth
11 poses a continued threat to the health and welfare of the
12 residents of those areas and further recognizes that subsidence
13 over such abandoned mines damages property, jeopardizes public
14 safety and causes economic hardship to property owners.
1 Accordingly, it is the purpose of this act to authorize
2 financial assistance, in the form of grants and loans, to
3 homeowners whose dwellings have been damaged by subsidence over
4 abandoned mine cavities.
5 Section 3. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
7 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
8 context clearly indicates otherwise:
9 "Department." The Department of Environmental Resources of
10 the Commonwealth.
11 "Dwelling." A structure whose primary use is residential.
12 "Mine subsidence damage." Damage to a dwelling caused by the
13 vertical or lateral movement of the earth as the result of the
14 collapse of an abandoned mine cavity.
15 "Mine subsidence emergency." A condition in which a dwelling
16 sustains mine subsidence damage sufficient to render the
17 structure unsafe for human occupancy.
18 Section 4. Mine Subsidence Assistance Program.
19 (a) Financial assistance.--Whenever a homeowner believes
20 that his dwelling has sustained mine subsidence damage, the
21 homeowner may apply to the department for mine subsidence
22 assistance. The application shall be on a form prepared by the
23 department and shall provide for inspection of the dwelling to
24 determine the nature and extent of the damage. Upon a
25 determination by the department that a dwelling has sustained
26 mine subsidence damage, the department shall, TO THE EXTENT <--
27 FUNDS ARE MADE AVAILABLE, grant assistance, as follows:
28 (1) Grants may be awarded only to those homeowners whose
29 dwellings are unsafe for occupancy as a result of a mine
30 subsidence emergency as defined herein and may be awarded to
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1 move persons whose dwellings are destroyed or endangered
2 until the homes are repaired, until there is no further
3 danger of subsidence or until a new permanent residence is
4 found.
5 (2) Loans may be approved at interest rates not to
6 exceed 3% for the repair or replacement of dwellings damaged
7 by mine subsidence. The loans shall be awarded without regard <--
8 to whether such dwellings are rendered unsafe for occupancy
9 as a result of a mine subsidence emergency as defined. LOANS <--
10 SHALL BE AWARDED ON A PRIORITY BASIS ACCORDING TO SEVERITY OF
11 DAMAGES SUSTAINED, PROVIDED THAT A DWELLING NEED NOT BE
12 RENDERED UNSAFE FOR HUMAN OCCUPANCY AS A RESULT OF A MINE
13 SUBSIDENCE EMERGENCY AS DEFINED HEREIN TO QUALIFY FOR A LOAN
14 UNDER THIS SUBSECTION. The loan shall be in an amount
15 sufficient to cover the cost of repairing the structural
16 damage to the dwelling, but in no event shall be greater than
17 the replacement cost of the dwelling as determined by an
18 appraiser, as provided for in regulations promulgated
19 pursuant hereto. Loans shall be administered by the
20 department and shall be secured by a lien upon the dwelling
21 being repaired or replaced.
22 (b) Prohibition.--The provisions of this section are not
23 applicable:
24 (1) To homeowners if they are holders of mine subsidence
25 insurance policies pursuant to the act of August 23, 1961
26 (P.L.1068, No.484), entitled, as reenacted and amended, "An
27 act to provide for the creation and administration of a Coal
28 and Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund within the Department
29 of Environmental Resources for the insurance of compensation
30 for damages to subscribers thereto; declaring false oaths by
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1 the subscribers to be misdemeanors; providing penalties for
2 the violation thereof; and making an appropriation."
3 (2) If mine subsidence has been detected within a one-
4 half mile radius of the dwelling for which assistance is
5 being applied under this act, and if such subsidence has been
6 detected within the preceding year but prior to 30 days
7 before assistance is applied for under this act: PROVIDED, <--
8 HOWEVER, THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL PUBLISH NOTICE IN A
9 NEWSPAPER OF GENERAL CIRCULATION SERVING THE VICINITY WITHIN
10 A ONE-HALF MILE RADIUS OF ANY AREA WHERE MINE SUBSIDENCE HAS
11 BEEN DETECTED. THE NOTICE SHALL SET FORTH THE AREAS AND THE
12 BOUNDARIES THEREOF WHICH ARE WITHIN A ONE-HALF MILE RADIUS OF
13 THE DETECTED MINE SUBSIDENCE AND SHALL INCLUDE INFORMATION
14 REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF MINE SUBSIDENCE INSURANCE AND
15 THE PROHIBITIONS AGAINST MINE SUBSIDENCE ASSISTANCE PROVIDED
16 BY THIS ACT.
17 (c) Insurance required.--Persons receiving assistance under
18 this section shall be required to purchase mine subsidence
19 insurance at such time as the structural damage for which
20 assistance was granted has been repaired if it is deemed by the
21 department that said dwelling is in danger of further damage
22 from mine subsidence.
23 Section 5. Rulemaking.
24 The Environmental Quality Board may promulgate regulations
25 which it deems necessary to carry out the provisions and
26 purposes of this act.
27 Section 6. Public notice.
28 For five consecutive years from the effective date of this
29 act, the department shall undertake appropriate measures to
30 notify the public of the availability of and need for mine
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1 subsidence insurance as provided for by the act of August 23,
2 1961 (P.L.1068, No.484), entitled, as reenacted and amended, "An
3 act to provide for the creation and administration of a Coal and
4 Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund within the Department of
5 Environmental Resources for the insurance of compensation for
6 damages to subscribers thereto; declaring false oaths by the
7 subscribers to be misdemeanors; providing penalties for the
8 violation thereof; and making an appropriation."
9 Section 7. Allocation of State appropriation.
10 Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
11 the sum of $500,000 from the appropriation for non-mine
12 subsidence projects in section 213 of the act of July 3, 1987
13 (P.L. , No.9A), known as the General Appropriation Act of
14 1987, is hereby allocated to the Department of Environmental
15 Resources to carry out the purposes of this act. Any
16 unencumbered funds from this allocation shall not lapse but
17 shall be available for expenditure for the duration of this act.
18 Section 8. Expiration.
19 This act shall expire within five years of the effective date
20 of this act.
21 Section 9. Effective date.
22 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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