Take Action to Stop Forced Subsidence

Coal Co-Tenancy Bill Benefits Coal Companies

Tell Legislators to Vote NO on SB 686

WV SORO dubbed SB 686 the “forced subsidence” bill.  This coal co-tenancy bill benefits coal companies that cannot get all the people who share ownership of coal underlying a surface tract to agree to a longwall mining lease.  If the bill passes and a coal company gets 75% of the people who share ownership of the coal to sign leases, then the coal company can go ahead and longwall mine.  (The co-tenancy law that passed for oil and gas companies forbids surface disturbance without the surface owner’s consent if the oil and gas law is used.)  SB 686 is for coal companies and would give them the right to longwall mine with only 75% signed up. That WILL cause more than some surface “disturbance.” It will cause surface subsidence, without the coal company having to get the consent of the surface owners.  

SB 686 will be up for a vote by the full Senate on Wed., March 4.  Click here to find contact information for your State Senators (you have two) and Delegate. Tell them to STOP SB 686, which allows surface subsidence without surface owner’s consent.

Old school “room and pillar” coal mining sometimes caused subsidence damages to the surface. Longwall coal mining removes the entire coal seam and actually plans to let the mine roof and all the formations above it collapse into the void left once the coal is removed. This subsidence can crack foundations, drain drinking water tables and even ponds, break gas and water lines, and reduce property values. And it all comes crashing down, and the elevation of even the surface goes down somewhat.  

Very often longwall coal mine subsidence damages the water table so that water wells go permanently dry or are polluted.  Streams and ponds can also be affected and go dry. Here are pictures of damage to people’s homes and other building foundations.  Gas and water lines, septic systems, roads, etc. can all be affected.

The coal company has to offer to fix the problems, or pay the reduction in values, but there are limits to that.  You only get the value of your house or barn before the mining, not what it will cost you to replace it. There is no compensation for alternative housing or the hassle of dealing with the problems in the meantime, and some of the things damaged can never be repaired or restored to the state they were in prior to mining.  Some people have had to sue coal companies and WVSORO has helped with one of those lawsuits.

Click here to find contact information for your State Legislators. Email or leave a phone message and urge them to VOTE NO on SB 686. Mention where you live so they will know you’re a constituent.