NEWS RELEASE September 29, 2011 -- (Contacts listed at end of release)

STATE COUNCIL INVESTIGATES DEFECTS IN 1994 PA COAL MINING LAW

17 Years of Widespread Damage to Homes, Farms, Land and Water Resources Act 54 Reform Coalition Urges Changes to 1994 legislation Official Field Investigation & Public Meetings in Southwest PA, Oct. 3-4 (Harrisburg, PA) -- The 19-member Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will conduct a field investigation in Greene and Washington counties and hold evening public meetings in Washington, PA, focusing on coal minings effects on citizens and the environment in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Councils investigation is being conducted at the urging of a coalition of local, regional, state, and national organizations in conjunction with the CACs ongoing analysis of the DEPs third 5-Year Review of Act 54. Act 54 was legislation enacted in 1994 by the General Assembly that had amended the Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act of 1966, and thereafter allowed the intentional subsidence of the surface by the longwall method of mechanized coal mining. Because of the uncertainties and concerns about the safety and the impacts of unrestricted longwall mining, the General Assembly required the DEP to issue an analytical report every five years on the effects of underground mining as allowed under Act 54. Act 54 removed the strict protections that the pre-1994 coal mining law provided for existing homes, property, and surface features. Since the passage of Act 54, widespread damage to homes, farms, property, streams, springs, aquifers, entire rural communities, and a state park, has been documented with much of the damage being permanent. Under Act 54, there no longer is any requirement to avoid or minimize damages from underground mining. Monday, October 3, DEP Public Presentation, Hampton Inn, 7:00pm to 9:00pm: DEP Mining Bureau staff will make a public presentation on the history and implementation of Act 54 on Monday, October 3, from 7 to 9 pm at the Hampton Inn, 119 Murtland Avenue, Washington, PA. The presentation is open to the public, but with limited seating. Tuesday, October 4, Field Investigation, 8:30am to 4:00pm: The CACs field investigation of longwall subsidence damage will take place on October 4 with visits to some local homes, a nursery and winery, and a nationally historic 18th century farm threatened by a proposed longwall mine. The farm is listed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of Americas 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The CAC will have an extended stop mid-day at Ryerson Station State Park. The state parks broken dam and the 62-acre Duke Lake which had to be totally drained in 2005 for safety concerns and is still only a dry lakebed are the subject of a $58 million legal battle in which Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company is denying that subsidence from its longwalling adjacent to Duke Lake caused the structural failure of the dam. The PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) seeks the damages to cover the Commonwealths costs to rebuild the dam and to restore the lake. Tuesday, October 4, Public Meeting, Washington & Jefferson College, 6:00pm to 9:00pm: The CAC will receive comments and testimony by citizens and experts on Tuesday, October 4, from 6 to 9 pm at Washington and Jefferson College, 60 South Lincoln Street, The Commons (Media Room), Washington PA. Parking for visitors is on Grant Street. (MORE)

Wednesday, October 5, Coal Mine Tour, 8:00am to 1:00pm: The Council will tour Alphas Cumberland mine on October 5. That tour is closed to non-CAC members. The Mission of the PA DEP Citizens Advisory Council: It is the mission of the Citizens Advisory Council to strive to ensure that all people of the Commonwealth enjoy the benefits included in Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution:

The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all of the people, including generations yet to come. As trustees of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.
By statute, the CAC is comprised of the Secretary of the DEP and 18 volunteer members who are appointed by the General Assembly and the Governor. http://pa.gov/portal/server.pt/community/about_cac/14021 Local, regional, statewide and national organizations urging the reform of Act 54 include: Buffalo Creek Watershed Association, Center for Coalfield Justice, Citizens Coal Council, Greene County Watershed Alliance, Mountain Watershed Association, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Citizens for Pennsylvanias Future, Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club, Upper Wheeling Creek Watershed Association, and Wheeling Creek Watershed Conservancy. The Act 54 Reform Campaigns blog is at http://act54.wordpress.com. Media resources are available at http://act54.wordpress.com/resources/ See especially, the four-page summary of: The Increasing Damage from Underground Coal Mining in

Pennsylvania: A Review and Analysis of the PADEPs Third Act 54 Report

http://act54.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/summary-of-schmid-analysis-of-padep-act-54-report-no-32011.pdf, and Ever Increasing Damage from Longwall Mining in Pennsylvania: 7 Common Industry Myths Exposed at http://act54.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/act54-myths-exposed.pdf The PA DEPs Third 5-Year Act 54 Report (published on January 4, 2011) is available at http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/bmr/act54_2008_report/cover.htm CONTACTS:
Aimee Erickson, Citizens Coal Council, aimee@citizenscoalcouncil.org ph: 412.257.2223 Steve Kunz, Schmid & Co., Spkunz@aol.com ph: 610.356.1416 Michael V. Nixon, J.D., Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club, michaelvnixon@yahoo.com ph: 412.221.6261 Jacie Carter, Center for Coalfield Justice, jacie@coalfieldjustice.org ph: 724.229.3550 Bev Braverman, Mountain Watershed Association, mwa@mtwatershed.com ph: 724.455.4200 Terri Davin, Greene County Watershed Alliance, greenewatersheds@gmail.com Judy Campsey, Buffalo Creek Watershed Association, campseyj@verizon.net ph: 724.663.5801 Tiffany Hickman, Citizens for Pennsylvanias Future, Hickman@pennfuture.org ph: 412.258.6682 Walter Gallas, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Walter_Gallas@nthp.org ph: 215.848.8033

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