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April 30, 2026 -
Ground subsidence has been a recurring problem within the eleven-county anthracite territory of Northeastern Pennsylvania. This article focuses on the northernmost of the three anthracite regions, namely, the coalfield around Scranton in Lackawanna County and Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County. While the subsidence problem dates to the late nineteenth century, it expanded during the early twentieth century as the large coal corporations began “putting-out” mineral rights to smaller producers. These subcontractors and lease holders typically conducted second and third extractions, which entailed “robbing the pillars” of coal left from a previous mining. The pillars bolstered the internal structure of a mine while also supporting the integrity of the surface. Early mining laws held the companies responsible for any damage, but the US Supreme Court, in The Penn Coal Case of 1922, ruled that the companies were not liable. This decision held firm until 1987, when another Supreme Court ruling, The Keystone Bituminous Coal Association, et al. v. Nicholas DeBenedictis, reinstated the companies’ liability. Northern coalfield subsidence continues to the present. With the companies’ bankruptcies in the 1960s and 1970s, the State Department of Environmental Protection now provides subsidence insurance.
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