Can the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection interpret the Bituminous Coal Mine Safety Act to protect miner safety, or does it first need to go through the Board of Coal Mine Safety?
That was the crux of the argument before the state Supreme Court last week in the DEP v. Cumberland Coal Resources and DEP v. Emerald Coal Resources cases, with the DEP arguing that it needs the ability to act fast to prevent potentially deadly incidents and the mining companies contending that granting more powers to the DEP would create unnecessary and overlapping regulation.
