Western Hickory Coal Co. v. Commonwealth

Opinion by

Judge Rogers,

This is the appeal of Western Hickory Coal Company (Western Hickory) from an order of the Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) upholding the assessment upon the appellant by the Department of Environmental Resources (DER) of a civil penalty in the amount of $5,000.00.

The DER granted Western Hickory permits to conduct surface mining on sites in Butler County. In July of 1981, Western Hickory’s surface mining operations were approaching the boundaries of the areas covered by its permits. On August 18, 1981, it applied to DER for a mining permit for an adjacent site. The…