A landslide in Moon Township buried one of western Pennsylvania’s busiest roads, stripped a half-dozen homes of their backyards, and may soon collapse two houses completely. However, landslide insurance is not offered in the marketplace, and the state’s mine subsidence insurance program only covers hillside collapses related to mining activity, leaving the displaced homeowners with no recourse.

Fortunately, two state lawmakers, Democrat Emily Kinkead and Republican Valerie Gaydos, both of Allegheny County, recently introduced a bill that would fix this gap in homeowner protections. H.B. 589 is a thorough response to a serious problem - an example of what legislation can and should be in Harrisburg.

The Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Program was first established 60 years ago to protect homeowners from damage caused by the lingering results of mining activity: cracked foundations, sinkholes, landslides and so on. Since then, however, landslide danger has evolved, especially in southwestern Pennsylvania. The area’s clay-rich soil and steep hillsides are already landslide prone, and as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of rainfall, more landslides will damage more homes.

Pittsburgh is already grappling with this reality. A recent dip in the number of acute landslides should be used as an opportunity for long-term prevention, like the recent Mount Washington work funded mostly by $10 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency money that had been secured by the Peduto administration. Another $1.2 million from FEMA will be used to buy 11 South Side homes endangered by landslides along the collapsing Newton Street, which looks more like a state park access road than a city thoroughfare.

The problem is only worsening, and homeowners deserve updated policies to protect them from dangers that may not have existed decades ago. H.B. 589 would kick-start relief for homeowners using a $2.5 million investment from the state’s general fund before setting premiums at a self-sustaining level. Pennsylvania taxpayers won’t be shouldering the burden of the program going forward.

The insurance program would be administered by the three-member Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund Board, to which H.B. 589 would add two more representatives, one from the state’s Emergency Management Agency and one from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. With these extra voices, the board would craft a landslide mitigation plan for the future, assess current community risk levels and publish guidelines based on their expertise.

The bipartisan effort shows a clear understanding of the current system and offers a cost-effective plan to help vulnerable residents now as well as the future.

The current landslide in Moon Township (represented by co-sponsor Rep. Gaydos) only highlights the need for this new program. Homeowners and their families are being punished for risks they couldn’t have predicted, just like with mine subsidence decades ago. State landslide insurance would respond to the geological reality of Pennsylvania, especially in the west, and to the changing conditions brought on by climate change.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette