Pages in this Section
1. Who we are and what we do
FOI Class 1 Contents:
- Roles and responsibilities
- Operational departments
- Organisations with which the Authority works in partnership
- Senior staff and management board members
- Location and contact details
Roles and responsibilities
The roles and responsibilities of the Coal Authority are set out in the Coal Industry Act 1994 .
The Coal Authority Management Statement and Financial Memorandum (March 2004) sets out the broad framework within which the Authority operates. The document was drawn up by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change ) and is based on a model prepared by HM Treasury.
The Coal Authority Scheme of Delegation
approved by the Authority Board as Amended and Effective from 20th February 2009, sets out the powers of the Authority which are delegated to the Chief Executive and other Executive Directors.
Operational departments
Public Safety and Subsidence provides an emergency response service to incidents which pose a risk to the safety of the public that are associated with former coal mining operations. It administers claims for coal mining subsidence damage from property owners, throughout the coalfield areas of Britain, where the Authority is the ’responsible person’ and operates the management programme for the 44 spoil tips in the ownership of the Authority.
The Minewater department deals with the legacy of recovering water levels within abandoned coal mines, preventing new minewater outbreaks, remediating existing polluting discharges and is responsible for the minewater treatment scheme programme to both. See the Environmental Projects section of our website which gives information about the process of treating minewater and some of our treatment sites.
Licensing and Permissionsare responsible for considering applications for, and where appropriate, granting licences and other agreements for coal mining and associated activities within 5 weeks of receipt of a complete application.
Mining Reports (Commercial) provides a property-specific coal and brine mining search service for property transactions in Britain. The Ground Stability Report provides information on natural subsidence as well including shrink-swell clays, landslides, soluble rocks, compressible and collapsible ground and running sand. Order a report or get further information about the types of report available from our commercial website: www.groundstability.com
Mining Reports (Technical) maintains and ensures the integrity of coal mining and mining related information. It ensures that information provided to third parties is of an adequate standard whilst responding to issues related to the provision of information.
Mining Records provides on site access to coal mining information held by the Coal Authority at its Mansfield office. It also provides paper and electronic copies of this information to stakeholders in response to written requests.
The Property department provides estate management services including the disposal of surplus property and the acquisition of land for operational sites related to the treatment of minewater.
Planning and Local Authority Liaison acts as the primary point of contact between the Authority and Local Authorities on all matters relating to the Authority’s business and interests, to ensure that full consideration is given to the safe, sustainable development with regard to the risks from the legacy of coal mining and that due regard is given to the future exploitation of coal reserves.
Organisations with which the Coal Authority works in partnership
Health and Safety Executive:
The Authority has two memoranda of agreement with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
. The first Memorandum of Agreement sets out the arrangements agreed for the holding of coal abandonment plans and other information by the Authority on behalf of HSE and making the information available. The second Memorandum of Agreement made under s.4 of the Coal Industry Act 1994 sets out the means of securing co-operation between both parties and the exchange of information.
Environment Agencies:
The Authority has entered into two Memoranda of Understanding with the Environment Agency (EA) and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) which are the responsible regulatory bodies and prioritise the existing discharges from abandoned coal mines.
The Authority has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation in the Republic of Korea in order to share information learned from minewater remediation, and a consultancy project with DEFRA to categorise non-coal discharges.
Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board and the British Geological Survey:
Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board Damage from brine subsidence in Cheshire and south-west Manchester is the responsibility of the Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board. The subsidence effects are broadly similar to that of coal mining and the Brine Board deal with a number of new claims each year.
Following discussion and formal agreement with the Law Society, the CON29M mining search produced by the Authority now includes additional questions about compensation claims for subsidence damage made to and dealt with by the Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board.
- For further information please see the Cheshire Brine Board website (http://www.cheshirebrine.com)
British Geological Survey (BGS) The BGS is the source of natural non-mining subsidence hazard information and is the Authority’s key collaborator in the development of the Ground Stability Report.
- Further information about the BGS is available on their website at http://www.bgs.ac.uk
The Coal Authority is a member of the Intra-Governmental Group for Geographic Information (IGGI) therefore has implemented the Geographic Information Data Charter Statement
Coal Mining Library:
The Coal Authority has facilitated the incorporation of the British Coal Utilisation Research Association Limited (BCURA) and British Coal Corporation Coal Research Establishment (CRE) libraries into the North East Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers (NEIMME) Nicholas Wood Library at Neville Hall, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE. This will ensure that this unique collection of books, transactions, papers, periodicals and journals about coal and coal utilisation will be available for future generations to access both electronically and by visiting the library.
- View the Coal Mining Library catalogue online
- Contact the Coal Mining Librarian: librarian@mininginstitute.org.uk
Senior staff and management board members
Location and contact details
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