In a separate action, the department has also asked the Office of the Inspector General to review the DEP's oversight of Rosebud Mining’s compliance and operations.

Eric Hill, 30, of Saltsburg, died from asphyxiation when he was crushed by a roof fall when operating a continuous miner.

Immediately after the accident, the DEP ordered the company to cease coal mining. The department also issued orders to Rosebud officials on December 22 to address the roof control plan.

The company must prepare a new roof control plan, submit it to the DEP and train employees on the new plan once it is approved. The mining suspension remains in effect until the new plan is in place.

The DEP said its initial investigation showed severe failure by the mine foreman, assistant mine foreman, section foreman and roof bolter, along with numerous violations that contributed directly to the fatality.

The orders suspend the employees' certifications, meaning they cannot act in these capacities at any Pennsylvania mine. The DEP will also file complaints with the Environmental Hearing Board seeking revocations of the miners' certifications.

Hill's death was the second fatality this year in a Rosebud-owned mine. Boyd Alfred Beer Jr, 26, of Kittanning, died in June in an accident at the company's Tracy Lynne Mine in Kiski, one of eight the company operates in Armstrong County.

The DEP immediately investigated the incident at Tracy Lynne Mine and found the company was operating in compliance with state regulation.