The Coal Authority is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). On behalf of the country, it owns the vast majority of unworked coal in Great Britain, as well as former coal mines, and undertakes a range of functions including:
licensing coal mining operations
matters with respect to coal mining subsidence damage outside the areas of responsibility of coal mining licensees dealing with property and historical liability issues; for example environmental projects, mine water treatment schemes and surface hazards relating to past coal mining providing public access to information held by the Coal Authority on coal mining
Purpose
The Coal Authority’s stated purpose is to: keep people safe and provide peace of mind protect and enhance the environment use its information and expertise to help people make informed decisions create value and minimise cost to the taxpayer
The Coal Authority provides services to other government departments and agencies, local governments and commercial partners, while contributing to the delivery of the government’s Industrial Strategy and the 25-year Environment Plan.
As a public body that holds significant geospatial data it is also working with the Geospatial Commission to look at how, by working together, it can unlock significant value across the economy.
As part of the Coal Authority's duty to protect the public and the environment, it operates a 24-hour telephone line for reporting coal mine hazards and operates 82 mine water treatment schemes across the UK, cleaning more than 122 billion litres of mine water every year.
Governance and strategy
The Coal Authority has an independent board responsible for setting its strategic direction, policies and priorities, while ensuring its statutory duties are carried out effectively. Non-executive directors are recruited and appointed to the board by the Secretary of State for DESNZ. Executive directors are recruited to their posts by the board and appointed to the board by the Secretary of State for DESNZ.
History
It was established under the Coal Industry Act 1994 to manage some functions, in which the British Coal Corporation (formerly the National Coal Board) had previously undertaken, including ownership of unworked coal.
The Coal Authority's public task comprises all the functions, duties and responsibilities is set out in the following documents
The Coal Industry Act 1994 ("the 1994 Act") The Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991, as amended by the 1994 Act A Revised Coal Authority Explanatory Note, produced by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for Parliament in June 1994 to explain the intended provisions of the Coal Industry Bill The Water Act 2003 The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 Statement by Lord Strathclyde in 1994 on the government's expectations of the Coal Authority relating to mine water remediation Re-statement by John Battle MP in 1998 that the Coal Authority is the designated body with responsibility for dealing with mine water discharges from former coal mines The Energy Act 2011
Its headquarters are in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where its Mining Heritage Centre is also based. This archive houses a large quantity of data, including historical information, relating to coal mining in Britain.
The unique collection of around 120,000 coal abandonment plans, covering both opencast and deep mining operations, dates as far back as the 17th century and depict areas of extraction and the point of entry into the same.
Historical mine plans can be accessed for research purposes, for desktop studies prior to development or simply by members of the public with an interest in the history of mining.
The Coal Authority also has a large collection of more than 47,000 British Coal photographs, which feature a wide range of collieries and cover every aspect of coal mining.
All plans and photographs have been digitally scanned and are available to any interested parties. They can be viewed at the Mining Heritage Centre in Mansfield.
The Water and Abandoned Metal Mines (WAMM) programme
To tackle the water pollution caused by historical metal mining in England, the Coal Authority works with the Environment Agency in the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines partnership, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).