Section 1406.5d - Restoration or compensation for structures damaged by underground mining(a) Whenever underground mining operations conducted under this act cause damage to any of the following surface buildings overlying or in the proximity of the mine:(1) any building which is accessible to the public, including, but not limited to, commercial, industrial and recreational buildings and all permanently affixed structures appurtenant thereto;(2) any noncommercial buildings customarily used by the public, including, but not limited to, schools, churches and hospitals;(3) dwellings used for human habitation and permanently affixed appurtenant structures or improvements in place on the effective date of this section or on the date of first publication of the application for a Mine Activity Permit or a five-year renewal thereof for the operations in question and within the boundary of the entire mine as depicted in said application; or(4) the following agricultural structures: all barns and silos and all permanently affixed structures of five hundred or more square feet in area that are used for raising livestock, poultry or agricultural products, for storage of animal waste or for the processing or retail marketing of agricultural products produced on the farm on which such structures are located; the operator of such coal mine shall repair such damage or compensate the owner of such building for the reasonable cost of its repair or the reasonable cost of its replacement where the damage is irreparable.
(b) For any irreparably damaged agricultural structure identified in subsection (a)(4) which, at the time of damage, the operator can affirmatively prove was being used for a different purpose than the purpose for which such structure was originally constructed, the operator may provide for the reasonable cost to replace the damaged structure with a structure satisfying the functions and purposes served by the damaged structure before such damage occurred.(c) A mine operator shall not be liable to repair or compensate for subsidence damage if the mine operator, upon request, is denied access to the property upon which the building is located to conduct premining and postmining surveys of the building and surrounding property and thereafter serves notice upon the landowner by certified mail or personal service, which notice identifies the rights established by sections 5.5 and 5.6 and this section, the mine operator was denied access and the landowner failed to provide or authorize access within ten days after receipt thereof.1966, Sp.Sess., No. 1, April 27, P.L. 31, § 5.4, added 1994, June 22, P.L. 357, No. 54, § 5, effective in 60 days.