CAVE PROTECTION ACT
Act of Nov. 21, 1990, P.L. 539, No. 133 Cl. 27
AN ACT
Prohibiting certain conduct with respect to caves; and imposing
penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Cave
Protection Act.
Section 2. Legislative findings and policy.
The General Assembly finds that caves are uncommon geologic
phenomena and that the minerals deposited therein may be rare
and occur in unique forms of great beauty which are
irreplaceable if destroyed. Also irreplaceable are the
archeological resources in caves which are of great scientific
and historic value. It is further found that the organisms which
live in caves are unusual and of limited numbers, that many are
rare and endangered species and that caves are a natural conduit
for groundwater flow and are highly subject to water pollution,
thus having far-reaching effects transcending man's property
boundaries. It is therefore declared to be the policy of the
General Assembly and the intent of this act to protect these
unique natural and cultural resources.
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Cave." Any naturally occurring void, cavity, recess or
system of interconnecting passages beneath the surface of the
earth or within a cliff or ledge, including, but not limited to,
natural subsurface water and drainage systems, whether or not it
has a natural entrance. The term does not include any mine,
tunnel, aqueduct or other manmade excavation. The term includes,
or is synonymous with, cavern, sinkhole, natural pit, grotto and
rock shelter.
"Cave life." Any life form which normally occurs in, uses,
visits or inhabits any cave or subterranean water system,
excepting those animals and species covered by any of the game
laws of this Commonwealth.
"Commercial cave." Any cave utilized by the owner for the
purposes of exhibition to the general public wherein a fee is
collected for entry.
"Gate." Any structure or device located to limit or prohibit
access or entry to any cave.
"Material." All or any part of any archeological,
paleontological, biological or historical item or artifact,
including, but not limited to, any petroglyph, pictograph,
basketry, human remains, tools, beads, pottery, projectile point
or remains of historical mining activity or any other
occupation, found in a cave.
"Owner." A person who owns title to land where a cave is
located, including a person who owns title to a leasehold estate
in such land, and specifically including the Commonwealth and
any of its agencies, departments, boards, bureaus, commissions
or authorities, as well as counties, municipalities and other
political subdivisions of the Commonwealth.
"Person." An individual, partnership, firm, association,
trust, corporation or other legal entity.
"Police officer." An individual authorized by law to make
arrests for violations of the criminal laws of this
Commonwealth.
"Sinkhole." A closed topographic depression or basin,
generally draining underground, including, but not restricted
to, a doline, uvala, blind valley or sink.
"Speleogen." The surrounding natural material or bedrock in
which a cave is formed, including clastic sediments, walls,
floors and ceiling and similar related structural and geological
components.
"Speleothem." A natural mineral formation or deposit
occurring in a cave. The term includes, or is synonymous with,
stalagmite, stalactite, helectite, shield, anthodite, gypsum
flower and needle, angel's hair, soda straw, drapery, bacon,
cave pearl, popcorn (coral), rimstone dam, column, palette,
flowstone and other similar mineral formations which occur in
caves. Speleothems are commonly composed of calcite, epsomite,
gypsum, aragonite, celestrite and other similar minerals.
Section 4. Enforcement.
Police officers employed in this Commonwealth shall enforce
the provisions of this act.
Section 5. Violations.
It shall be unlawful for any person, without the expressed
written permission of the land owner, to:
(1) Willfully or knowingly break, break off, crack,
carve upon, write, burn, mark upon, remove or in any manner
destroy, disturb, mar or harm the surfaces of any cave or any
natural material which may be found therein, whether attached
or broken, including speleothems, speleogens and sedimentary
deposits.
(2) Break, force, tamper with or otherwise disturb a
lock, gate, door or other obstruction designed to control or
prevent access to any cave, even though entrance thereto may
not be gained.
(3) Remove, deface or tamper with a sign stating that a
cave is posted or citing provisions of this act.
(4) Store, dump, litter, dispose of or otherwise place
any refuse, garbage, dead animal, sewage or toxic substance
harmful to cave life or humans in any cave or sinkhole.
(5) Burn within any cave or sinkhole any material which
produces any smoke or gas which is harmful to any organism in
the cave. This paragraph shall specifically exempt acetylene
gas emissions created by carbide lamps used as a source of
light by persons using the cave.
(6) Kill, injure, disturb or otherwise interfere with
any cave life, including any cave-roosting bat, or interfere
with or obstruct the free movement of any cave life into or
out of any cave, or enter any cave with the intention of
killing, injuring, disturbing or interfering with life forms
therein, except where public health may be threatened.
(7) Remove, deface, tamper with or otherwise disturb any
natural or cultural resources or material found within any
cave.
(8) Disturb or alter in any way the natural condition of
any cave.
Section 6. Penalties.
(a) Summary offense.--A person who violates any provision of
this act commits a summary offense punishable by a fine of not
less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and, in default of the
payment of such fine, to undergo imprisonment for not more than
30 days.
(b) Public nuisance.--Unlawful conduct as described by
section 5 shall also constitute a public nuisance.
Section 7. Other remedies.
(a) Jurisdiction.--In addition to any other remedies
provided in this act, upon relation of any district attorney of
any county affected or upon relation of the solicitor of any
county or municipality affected, an action in equity may be
brought in a court of competent jurisdiction for an injunction
to restrain any and all violations of this act or to restrain a
public nuisance.
(b) Concurrent remedies.--The penalties prescribed by this
act shall be deemed concurrent, and the existence of or exercise
of any remedy shall not prevent the Department of Environmental
Resources from exercising any other remedy hereunder, at law or
in equity.
Compiler's Note: The Department of Environmental Resources,
referred to in subsec. (b), was abolished by Act 18 of
1995. Its functions were transferred to the Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of
Environmental Protection.
Section 8. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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