Jul 22, 2015 4 min read

It’s no secret that the area below much of the South Hills is undermined. However, when part of the baseball field at Boyce Mayview Park in Upper St. Clair sank more than three feet earlier this summer, it was a reminder that no matter how long things have been sturdy and stable, subsidence can still happen.

“These mines are old – they were done many decades before there were any kind of standards,” said John Poister, state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman.

Even before the issue occurred in Upper St. Clair, DEP was on a mission to raise awareness of the importance of mine subsidence insurance. It began mailings to homes in the South Hills late last year.

“The mailings are address-specific,” Poister said. “The homeowner sees their address on top of a map showing where mines are beneath them. We want to make them aware that there is a situation below them that could cause problems. It may never happen, but people should at least know that the area underneath their house is undermined.”

So far, the mailings have gone out to residents in Upper St. Clair, South Fayette Township, South Park, Pleasant Hills, Jefferson Hills and West Mifflin. The first of the mailings in South Fayette and Upper St. Clair were sent out Friday, and Poister said that the DEP will continue sending the information over the next few weeks until all potentially affected residents are reached.

Signs of mine subsidence damage include a crack in the ground, a sidewalk that suddenly becomes uneven or cracks in foundations or walls. However, Poister said that once damage is visible, it is too late to get insurance. “You have to buy the insurance before mine subsidence occurs in order to be covered.”

He estimated that there are one million homes built over abandoned coal mines in Pennsylvania, but only about 60,000 have mine subsidence insurance.

“In extreme cases, the foundation will crumble and outside walls might give away. That becomes very serious and expensive to repair. If you are covered with insurance, you are covered for your expense.”

The good news is that it’s relatively inexpensive – $82.50 per year will buy $150,000 worth of insurance coverage. The cost for senior citizens for the same amount of coverage is $74.25 per year.

South Fayette Township manager Ryan Eggleston said that the township is sharing the DEP’s information with residents. “We’ve had no recent incidents in South Fayette, knock on wood,” he said.

The field at Boyce Mayview Park is in being repaired, according to township manager Matthew Serakowski. “We have stripped the area of the turf and are in the process of filling it in. We will be bringing in earth over the next few weeks, will level it off and reinstall the portion of the infield that was damaged.”

Sod will be laid in late August or early September, and the field will reopen for play next spring, in order to have a full growing season for the sod.

Serakowski said that the total for the repairs should come in below the initial estimate of $50,000 to $75,000, and that no other incidents of mine subsidence have been reported in the township.