The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act Section 18.1 says the following:

§ 1406.18a. Compilation and analysis of data
(a) The department shall compile, on an ongoing basis, the information contained in deep mine permit applications, in monitoring reports and other data submitted by operators, from enforcement actions and from any other appropriate source for the purposes set forth below.

(b) Such data shall be analyzed by the department, utilizing the services of professionals or institutions recognized in the field, for the purpose of determining, to the extent possible, the effects of deep mining on subsidence of surface structures and features and on water resources, including sources of public and private water supplies.

(c) The analysis of such data and any relevant findings shall be presented in report form to the Governor, the General Assembly and to the Citizens Advisory Council of the department at five year intervals commencing in 1993.

(d) Nothing contained herein shall be construed as authorizing the department to require a mine operator to submit additional information or data, except that it shall require reporting of all water loss incidents or claims of water loss.

Five “Act 54” reports (in five-year increments) have been completed. The last report contained data through May of 2018.

A summary of some of the metrics from reports #1 through #5 have been compiled and shown graphically here.

The Department recognized several disadvantages to the production of reports every five years.

• Because of the process to compose, review and finalize a report, the data contained in a report are at least a year old. A significant incident that occurred near the end of one report would not have a resolution until the next report was released five years later, which means the report information can feel outdated even upon issuance.
• Using outside contractors to collate the data and compose a report takes excessive time and funds. The Department can more quickly supply the raw data directly to the public.
• The recent reports contained significantly more background information than the law requires of the reports resulting in repetition and a massive volume that is daunting to read. Reports remain available for reference, but the Department will attempt to provide useful, more up-to-date data based on feedback we receive.

Interested parties can submit questions or comment on the data on a continuing basis.

The Department intends on adding additional data for each calendar year and additional representations of that data. For the next five-year report (2023), the Department will consider input from mining professionals and complete an analysis of the effects of deep mining on subsidence of surface structures and features and on water resources, including sources of public and private water supplies and streams, as stated in the law.

There are currently approximately 80 underground mines (longwall and room and pillar mines) that are in various stages of activity or reclamation in Pennsylvania. This is a dynamic number that changes each year.

List of existing mines updated March 2022

Active Underground Bituminous Coal Mining Application