## Facts

- Old Ben Coal Company operated underground coal mines in Illinois and obtained several permits under Illinois’ permanent coal mining regulatory program.
- Old Ben planned to use longwall mining, a method that anticipates and controls surface subsidence.
- The Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals issued permits subject to conditions requiring Old Ben to “repair or restore structures damaged by subsidence.”
- Old Ben asserted the agency lacked statutory authority to impose structural repair obligations, particularly given an Illinois Act provision recognizing planned subsidence technologies.
- Old Ben also claimed the conditions conflicted with the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) and its implementing regulations.
- Old Ben further argued the repair/restoration requirement constituted an unconstitutional taking and impaired private contractual rights related to subsidence or surface support.

## Issues

1. Whether the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals had authority under the Illinois Surface Coal Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act to condition underground mining permits on repairing or restoring structures damaged by mining-induced subsidence.
2. Whether SMCRA and federal subsidence regulations barred Illinois from imposing subsidence-repair conditions as part of an approved state program.
3. Whether the subsidence-repair condition amounted to an unconstitutional taking or an unconstitutional impairment of contractual obligations.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the circuit court’s judgment upholding the agency’s permit conditions.
- The court held the agency had authority under the Illinois Act to require repair or restoration of structures damaged by subsidence.
- The court held the conditions were consistent with SMCRA’s objectives and were not preempted by federal law.
- The court rejected Old Ben’s constitutional claims, finding no taking and no unconstitutional impairment of contract.

## Legal Principles

- Under SMCRA’s approved state-program model, a state may regulate the surface effects of underground mining through permit conditions that are consistent with SMCRA’s purposes and do not conflict with federal law.
- Statutory recognition of planned subsidence does not eliminate regulatory authority to require reasonable mitigation, correction, or repair of subsidence-related damage.
- Permit conditions requiring an operator to remediate harm caused by its own mining activities are a permissible exercise of the police power and generally do not constitute a compensable taking.
- Valid safety and environmental regulation may incidentally affect private contracts without violating constitutional contract-impairment protections.

## Conclusion

The court upheld Illinois permit conditions requiring an underground coal operator to repair or restore structures damaged by subsidence, concluding the conditions were authorized by state law, consistent with SMCRA, and did not violate constitutional takings or contract-impairment limits.


Old Ben Coal Co. v. Dep't of Mines & Minerals, 204 Ill. App. 3d 1062, 562 N.E.2d 1202 (Ill. App. Ct. 5th Dist. 1990)