The state Department of Environmental Protection suspended the surface mining permit of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, following the company's continued noncompliance with negotiated agreements to conduct reclamation and other required work in the Panther Valley.

The action halts all mining activity at the Springdale Pit and other permitted areas in Carbon and Schuylkill counties. However, the company must continue its reclamation of the permitted areas using existing on-site mine spoil materials.DEP's action comes after extensive and ongoing efforts to achieve LC&N compliance. The company has mined and reclaimed the area since 1990.