(a) The owner of any building enumerated in section 5.4(a)¹ who believes that the removal of coal has caused mine subsidence resulting in damage to such building and who wishes to secure repair of or compensation for such damage shall notify the mine operator. If the mine operator agrees that mine subsidence damaged such building, he shall cause such damage to be fully repaired or compensate the owner for such damage in accordance with section 5.4(a) or with an agreement reached between the parties either prior to mining or after the damage has occurred.

(b) If the parties are unable to agree within six months of the date of notice as to the cause of the damage or the reasonable cost of repair or compensation, the owner of the building may file a claim in writing with the Department of Environmental Resources, a copy of which shall be sent to the operator. All claims under this subsection shall be filed within two years of the date damage to the building occurred.

(c) The department shall make an investigation of a claim within thirty days of receipt of the claim. The department shall, within sixty days following the investigation, make a determination in writing as to whether the damage was caused by subsidence due to underground coal mining and, if so, the reasonable cost of repairing or replacing the damaged structure. If the department finds the damage to be caused by the mining, it shall issue a written order directing the operator to compensate or to cause repairs to be made within six months or a longer period if the department finds that occurrence of subsidence or subsequent damage may occur to the same building as a result of mining.

(d) In no event shall the mine operator be liable for repairs or compensation in an amount exceeding the cost of replacement of the damaged structure. The occupants of a damaged structure shall also be entitled to additional payment for reasonable, actual expenses incurred for temporary relocation and for other actual reasonable, incidental costs agreed to by the parties or approved by the department.

(e) If either the landowner or the mine operator is aggrieved by an order issued by the department under section 5.4 or this section, such person shall have the right to appeal the order to the Environmental Hearing Board within thirty days of receipt of the order. The appeal of a mine operator shall not be considered to be perfected unless, within sixty days of the date on which the mine operator received the department's order, the operator has deposited an amount equal to the cost of repair or the compensation amount ordered by the department in an interest-bearing escrow account administered for such purposes by the department.

(f) If the mine operator shall fail to repair or compensate for subsidence damage within six months or such longer period as the department has established or shall fail to perfect an appeal of the department's order directing such repair or compensation, the department shall issue such orders and take such actions as are necessary to compel compliance with the requirements hereof, including, but not limited to, cessation orders and permit revocation. If the mine operator fails to repair or compensate for damage after exhausting its right of appeal, the department shall pay the escrow deposit made with respect to the particular claim involved and accrued interest to the owner of the damaged building.

(g) Except as provided in subsection (f), the existence of unresolved claims of subsidence damage shall not be used by the department as a basis for withholding permits from or suspending review of permit applications submitted by the mine operator against whom such claims have been made.