Pennsylvania
Buying Land in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Seat Scranton, the historic heart of Pennsylvania's northern anthracite coalfield. Decades of deep underground mining left a documented legacy of ground subsidence, at least one known abandoned mine fire, and a body of Pennsylvania law -- including a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that started right here -- built around the idea that owning the surface and owning what supports it can be two entirely different things.
Anthracite country: real subsidence history, not a hypothetical risk
Lackawanna County sits at the center of Pennsylvania's northern anthracite coalfield -- a different mining tradition from the bituminous (soft coal) region of western Pennsylvania, with its own mining methods, its own century-plus of deep-shaft extraction along the Lackawanna River valley, and its own documented aftermath. For decades, hundreds of collieries operated on both sides of the Susquehanna and Lackawanna Rivers here, and when large-scale anthracite mining in the Scranton area wound down around 1966, the story didn't end at the surface: sections of the city that hadn't already experienced ground subsidence began settling in the years after, with subsidences opening unexpectedly in what had been ordinary neighborhoods. Pennsylvania DEP describes mine subsidence -- the collapse of old underground tunnels causing the ground above to sink, sometimes suddenly -- as one of the most common hazard calls it fields from across the broader anthracite region.
This isn't ancient history confined to a museum exhibit. DEP's Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation actively tracks and prioritizes abandoned-mine hazards county by county, and Lackawanna County has documented problems still on that list, including at least one addressed underground mine fire and associated abandoned surface mine lands covering roughly 72 acres -- a site distinct from, and not to be confused with, the far more widely publicized Centralia mine fire burning in neighboring Columbia County. For a land buyer, the practical question isn't whether anthracite mining happened here (it did, extensively) but whether a specific parcel sits over historic mine workings, near a documented subsidence-prone area, or close to any active DEP mine-hazard site -- all of which are answerable questions, not guesses.
Owning the surface, owning the support: a legal doctrine born in Scranton
Pennsylvania recognizes up to three separate estates in a single tract -- surface, mineral, and, specific to coal country, a "support estate" covering the right to have the ground physically held up by the strata beneath it. That doctrine is not an abstraction here: it is the direct subject of Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393 (1922), one of the most influential property-law decisions the U.S. Supreme Court has ever issued, and the case that established the modern doctrine that a regulation can go "too far" and become an unconstitutional taking. The dispute arose from anthracite mining under Scranton, involved a Pennsylvania statute (the Kohler Act) meant to stop mining that endangered surface structures, and drew direct participation from the City of Scranton itself in the argument before the Court.
The case's practical legacy for a Lackawanna County land buyer is this: a deed here can genuinely separate who owns the ground you'd build on from who owns the coal beneath it and from who owns the right to have that ground stay supported -- and a century-old severance can still control what happens on a parcel today. A full title search through the chain of title at the county Recorder of Deeds, ideally with an attorney experienced in Pennsylvania coal and mineral law, is the only reliable way to find out whether any of the three estates on a specific Lackawanna County parcel were split off from the others.
Zoning, septic, and other departments to know
Zoning authority in Lackawanna County rests with individual municipalities under the MPC -- the City of Scranton adopted a current zoning ordinance in 2023 -- rather than a single county-wide code, so confirm zoning status directly with the specific municipality. Lackawanna County does not operate its own county health department, so septic permitting for a new onlot sewage disposal system runs through a DEP-certified Sewage Enforcement Officer retained by the municipality, the same Act 537 process used statewide.
The Lackawanna County Recorder of Deeds (123 Wyoming Avenue, Suite 218, Scranton; 570-963-6775) holds deeds, easements, and plats -- the necessary starting point for any mineral or support-estate title search here -- and the county Assessment office (135 Jefferson Avenue, Scranton; 570-963-6728) handles property records. For subsidence-specific questions, Pennsylvania's own Mine Subsidence Insurance program (administered by DEP) offers residential coverage at rates historically well below typical homeowner's-insurance add-ons, precisely because Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Schuylkill Counties are among the anthracite-region counties it was built to serve.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Lackawanna County
Direct WebFetch to lackawannacounty.org was not attempted in this research pass, so current staff, fees, and office hours should be confirmed directly before relying on this page for a specific parcel.
Planning & Zoning
City of Scranton / individual Lackawanna County municipalities
Zoning verification for a specific parcel -- each municipality administers its own zoning ordinance.
Environmental Health
PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Known mine-subsidence, mine-fire, and abandoned mine hazard areas near a specific parcel.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Local Municipality Sewage Enforcement Officer
Percolation testing and onlot sewage disposal system permits for a specific parcel.
GIS / Parcel Records
Lackawanna County Assessment
Parcel data, property records, and assessment information.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Lackawanna County Recorder of Deeds
Recorded deeds, easements, plats, and title history -- essential for verifying mineral and support-estate ownership.
Other
PA DEP Mine Subsidence Insurance Program
Purchasing or asking about mine subsidence insurance coverage for a specific structure.
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Get local guidanceSources
- Home Rule Charter — Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania (accessed 2026-09)
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court upholds Lackawanna County Home Rule Charter in vacancy dispute — WOLF/Fox56 (accessed 2026-09)
- Deep Trouble: Danger Lurks in Mines — Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR) (accessed 2026-09)
- Office of Active and Abandoned Mine Operations (Powderly site, Lackawanna County) — Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (accessed 2026-09)
- Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation — Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (accessed 2026-09)
- Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393 (1922) — Justia (U.S. Supreme Court opinions) (accessed 2026-09)
- Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund Board — Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (accessed 2026-09)
- City of Scranton Zoning Ordinance (2023) — City of Scranton, via Lackawanna County (accessed 2026-09)
- Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Codes Current by County — PA Open Data Portal (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09