PRINTER'S NO. 163
No. 148 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY SOLOBAY, ALLEN, BELARDI, BELFANTI, BLAUM,
CAPPELLI, DALEY, DeWEESE, FRANKEL, GEORGE, HARHAI, HERMAN,
JAMES, KOTIK, LAUGHLIN, LEVDANSKY, MARKOSEK, READSHAW,
SHANER, STERN, SURRA, TIGUE, WANSACZ, YEWCIC, YUDICHAK,
BROWNE, COSTA, DeLUCA, FAIRCHILD, GEIST, GRUCELA, HENNESSEY,
HORSEY, KELLER, LaGROTTA, LEACH, MANN, PRESTON, SAINATO,
STABACK, R. STEVENSON, TANGRETTI, WALKO, WOJNAROSKI AND
YOUNGBLOOD, FEBRUARY 6, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
FEBRUARY 6, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of August 23, 1961 (P.L.1068, No.484),
2 entitled, as amended, "An act to provide for the creation and
3 administration of a Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance
4 Fund within the Department of Environmental Protection for
5 the insurance of compensation for damages to subscribers
6 thereto; declaring false oaths by the subscribers to be
7 misdemeanors; providing penalties for the violation thereof;
8 and making an appropriation," further providing for
9 definitions; establishing a mine subsidence assistance
10 program; and imposing duties on the Department of
11 Environmental Protection.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. Section 2 of the act of August 23, 1961
15 (P.L.1068, No.484), entitled, as amended, "An act to provide for
16 the creation and administration of a Coal and Clay Mine
17 Subsidence Insurance Fund within the Department of Environmental
18 Protection for the insurance of compensation for damages to
19 subscribers thereto; declaring false oaths by the subscribers to
1 be misdemeanors; providing penalties for the violation thereof;
2 and making an appropriation," reenacted and amended November 27,
3 1972 (P.L.1243, No.278), is amended to read:
4 Section 2. [Terms.--The Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence
5 Insurance Board is hereinafter called the board, the Coal and
6 Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund is hereinafter called the
7 fund, and the Department of Environmental Resources is
8 hereinafter called the department.] Definitions.--The following
9 words and phrases when used in this act shall have the meanings
10 given to them in this section unless the context clearly
11 indicates otherwise:
12 "Abandoned underground mining area." An area determined by
13 the Department of Environmental Protection to be either above or
14 in close proximity to abandoned underground mine workings and
15 periodically published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
16 "Board." The Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Board
17 established in section 3.
18 "Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
19 the Commonwealth.
20 "Dwelling." A single-family structure the primary purpose of
21 which is residential.
22 "Fund." The Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund
23 established in section 4.
24 "Mine subsidence." The lateral or vertical movement of the
25 earth resulting from past or present underground coal or clay
26 mining operations.
27 "Mine subsidence emergency." A condition in which a dwelling
28 sustains mine subsidence damage sufficient to render the
29 structure unsafe for human occupancy as determined by the
30 Department of Environmental Protection.
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1 "Mine subsidence insurance policy." An insurance agreement,
2 as defined by department regulation, which is issued by the
3 Department of Environmental Protection.
4 "Owner of structure." A person, corporation, organization or
5 association holding title to a structure within the anthracite
6 or bituminous coal or clay mine regions as defined by the Coal
7 and Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Board.
8 "Program." The Mine Subsidence Assistance Program
9 established in section 19.1.
10 "Secretary." The Secretary of Environmental Protection of
11 the Commonwealth.
12 "Structure." A complete building which contains a roof,
13 walls and a foundation which firmly attaches the structure to
14 the earth.
15 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
16 Section 19.1. Program.--(a) If a homeowner believes that
17 the homeowner's dwelling has sustained mine subsidence damage,
18 the homeowner may apply to the department for mine subsidence
19 assistance. The application must be on a form prepared by the
20 department and must provide for inspection of the dwelling to
21 determine the nature, extent and time of the damage. Upon a
22 determination that a dwelling has sustained mine subsidence
23 damage and that an application for assistance was submitted to
24 the department within forty-five days of the time when the
25 dwelling was damaged by such subsidence, the department shall,
26 to the extent funds are made available, grant assistance, as
27 follows:
28 (1) Grants may be awarded only to persons whose dwellings
29 are unsafe for occupancy as a result of a mine subsidence
30 emergency and may be awarded to move and provide temporary
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1 housing for persons whose dwellings are destroyed or endangered
2 until the homes are repaired, until there is no further danger
3 of subsidence or until a new permanent residence is found,
4 provided that grants shall not be used to pay for temporary
5 housing for more than one year and the total amount of a grant
6 shall not exceed twelve thousand dollars ($12,000). A person may
7 receive grant assistance only one time for a specific damaged
8 dwelling.
9 (2) Loans may be approved at an interest rate equal to the
10 average rate of return earned by the fund during the previous
11 five fiscal years or six percent, whichever is lower for the
12 repair or replacement of dwellings damaged by mine subsidence.
13 The loan shall be for a period of time not exceeding fifteen
14 years in duration and shall be in an amount sufficient to cover
15 the cost of repairing the structural damage to the dwelling, but
16 in no event shall be more than the market value of the dwelling
17 as determined by an appraiser, or the maximum amount of coverage
18 established by the fund, whichever is less, as provided for in
19 regulations promulgated under this act. Loans shall be
20 administered by the department pursuant to standard criteria
21 utilized by the mortgage banking industry in issuing
22 conventional mortgages, provided that the department may
23 consider other equity interests in real property available to
24 the borrower in addition to the equity in the dwelling for which
25 the loan is applied and shall be secured by a lien upon the
26 dwelling being repaired or replaced.
27 (3) In addition to repairing or replacing structural damage
28 to a dwelling, loans may also be made to repair or replace
29 dwelling-related driveways, septic systems, sidewalks, fences,
30 sewer laterals, water lines, gas lines, wells and inground
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1 pools, located on the property on which the dwelling is located,
2 provided that the damage has been caused by the same mine
3 subsidence event that damaged the dwelling.
4 (4) Loans shall be made for only the amount not covered by
5 insurance or other sources of remuneration, including amounts
6 for which a mine operator is liable under the act of April 27,
7 1966 (1st Sp. Sess., P.L.31, No.1), known as "The Bituminous
8 Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act," unless it is
9 determined that the operator is unable to meet his obligations
10 under that act.
11 (5) Any homeowner who has carried mine subsidence insurance
12 in the past on a dwelling for which assistance under this
13 section is applied shall not be eligible for such assistance if
14 the homeowner has failed to maintain the insurance and coverage
15 is not in effect at the time of the mine subsidence event that
16 caused the damage for which assistance is applied. This
17 paragraph does not apply to homeowners who may apply for
18 assistance as a result of the failure of a mine operator to meet
19 his obligations under "The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land
20 Conservation Act."
21 (b) If a person receiving assistance under this section does
22 not have mine subsidence insurance and is not ineligible to
23 receive such assistance under subsection (a)(5), the person
24 shall be required to purchase a mine subsidence insurance policy
25 when the structural damage for which assistance was granted has
26 been repaired. A person receiving a loan under this section must
27 maintain mine subsidence insurance coverage for the duration of
28 the loan in an amount equal to the lesser of eighty percent of
29 the value of the repaired dwelling or the maximum amount of mine
30 subsidence insurance available. If a person receiving a loan
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1 under this section fails to maintain the required mine
2 subsidence insurance, the person shall immediately pay the fund
3 the outstanding balance due on the loan.
4 (c) Repairs for which loans are provided under this section
5 must be completed within one year of the receipt of the loan
6 unless an extension is approved by the department. If the
7 department determines that repairs have not been made within one
8 year and that no extension should be granted, the person who
9 received the loan shall repay the fund for the amount of the
10 loan not expended on repairs for which the loan was provided.
11 (d) Loans provided pursuant to this section are not
12 transferable. If a person receiving a loan under this section
13 sells or transfers ownership of the dwelling for which loan
14 assistance has been provided, the person shall pay the fund the
15 outstanding balance due on the loan at the time title to the
16 dwelling is transferred.
17 (e) Up to five percent of the money in the fund which is not
18 committed to reserves, claims or other fund expenses, plus
19 repayment of principal and interest on loans under this section,
20 shall be used to fund assistance under this section.
21 Section 3. Section 20 of the act, added December 9, 2002,
22 (P.L., No.155), is amended to read:
23 Section 20. Department Report.--The department shall make an
24 annual report on the program [and on experience with mine
25 subsidence insurance sales through producers] to the
26 Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate and
27 the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the House of
28 Representatives.
29 Section 4. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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