Current through Pa Acts 2024-53, 2024-56 through 2024-111
Section 690-228 - Duties upon abandonment of mine(a) General rule.--If a mine is inactive for a period of 60 days or more or if the operator intends to cease ventilation of the mine, the operator or the superintendent shall notify the department at once and shall, within 60 days, extend the official map to show clearly all worked-out or abandoned territory with all excavations, property and boundary lines, elevations and map features as required under this act or, if the workings are not accessible, provide a copy of the most recent map available that is clearly marked to state that the workings shown were not surveyed. The owner or operator of the mine shall also, within 45 days after its change in status, send to the department a tracing, print or digital map in a format acceptable to the department of the complete original map. The registered mining engineer or registered surveyor shall certify that the tracing, print or digital map is a true and correct copy of the original map of the mine and that the original map is a true, complete and correct map and survey of all the excavations made in the inactive or abandoned mine. A dated statement signed by a company or corporate officer stating that the map represents a complete and accurate representation of all underground excavations and is the final map of the mine, or stating that the map provided is not a surveyed final map due to inaccessibility of the workings, shall be included.(b) Violation.-- If the operator, superintendent or company or corporate officer fails to provide the certified final map or recklessly or intentionally submits an inaccurate certified map, the violation shall be a felony subject to prosecution under section 505. Costs incurred by the Commonwealth as a result of a violation of this subsection may be recovered as restitution.2008, July 7, P.L. 654, No. 55, §228, effective in 180 days [ 1/5/2009].