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Constitutional Law Keyed to Stone
Keystone Bituminous Coal Association v. DeBenedictis
Citation:
480 U.S. 470 (1987)Facts
In 1966, Pennsylvania enacted the Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act to address the environmental and safety concerns caused by coal mine subsidence. The Act required coal companies to leave approximately 50% of coal beneath protected structures in place to prevent subsidence damage. It also made mine operators liable for subsidence damage to certain structures regardless of any waivers of liability they had previously obtained from surface owners.
The petitioners, an association of coal mine operators and four coal companies, owned or controlled substantial coal reserves beneath land affected by the Act. They had typically acquired not only the mineral estate but also the support estate, along with waivers of liability for any surface damage caused by mining. Approximately 90% of the coal at issue had been severed from the surface between 1890 and 1920. The petitioners claimed that the Act’s requirement to leave coal in place constituted a taking of their property without compensation, and that the Act’s liability provisions impaired their contractual rights in violation of the Contracts Clause.
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