How to check if your home is at risk for abandoned mine subsidence damage

PITTSBURGH — Underground mines are all over Western Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh’s Lincoln Place neighborhood, ten homes plus the building of a VFW have foundation cracks. The fix is happening right now, but could your home be next?

“That’s what’s so scary,” said Sharon Happe. “You can’t see it.”

Sharon Happe lives behind Interboro Avenue. She feels for the families impacted by this and worries about her own home.

“It’s devastating,” said Happe. “You could lose your home. You could lose everything.”

>>> Abandoned mine subsidence damages VFW, local homes

In October, cracks appeared out of nowhere in a VFW. The quartermaster of the VFW, Catherine Eckert Hall, shared new pictures with Channel 11 showing the cracks inside the building, on the floor, the wall and the ceiling. The State Department of Environmental Protection confirmed an abandoned mine subsidence event occurred impacting this building plus ten homes.

“I feel for those people, and I’m very impressed with how quickly they got moving on things,” said Happe.

Crews are now working on stabilizing the ground. That work involves drilling and filling. It involves drilling down about 140 feet in four corners of the impacted buildings and then filling those holes with a cement-like grout. Because of everything Sharon Happe has witnessed over the last several weeks, she decided to get mine subsidence insurance.

>>> DEP will work to fix mine subsidence causing damage to homes in Lincoln Place

“The website was so easy to manipulate,” said Happe. “It even had a place where you could check or email if you were on a mine.”

This resource is on the DEP’s website. It allows you to type in an address, and then it will recommend whether you should get mine subsidence insurance. The gray area indicates a known mine.

“I’m very surprised that they weren’t area of it because this whole area is just filled with mines,” said Maria Saussol.

Maria Saussol got mine subsidence insurance when she moved into her Lincoln Place home 14 years ago.

“When I bought my home right down the street, I was informed by a neighbor that there was an abandoned mine actually in my yard,” said Saussol. “But it’s fenced off. It’s behind my fence so from that point on I’ve looked into insurance.”

Happe says she feels a huge sense of relief now that she has the insurance.

“It was very inexpensive,” said Happe. “I got $800,000 for I believe $184, which is probably more than I need but with the price of trying to repair and replace things, I just wanted to be safe.”

The work on Interboro Avenue is expected to last for at least two to three months.

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