Pennsylvania Law requires all property being transferred in the Bituminous coal region have that warning. The actual Coal Rights may have been retained, unless it clearly says all that was being sold is the surface rights. Notice I use the term "may", sometime in the last 200 years the Coal Rights probably were separated from the surface rights. Remember the South Hills is in the Middle of the Pittsburgh Seam of Coal, the Richest Seam of Coal for Steel Production in the World (We export it extensively). It has been estimated that 1/4 of total US Coal Production has been in Western PA. The Pittsburgh Seam starts in Mt Washington and continues into the Middle of West Virginia. It has been called the single richest mineral find ever.
Now, it is possible you own property where the Coal Rights were NOT sold, it is possible but not probable. An extensive deed search in the Recorder of Deeds is the only way to make sure that is the case (And you have to go back to the finding of Allegheny County and look at every deed, most Attorneys only go back 50 years). The main purpose of the above law was to protect Attorneys doing Deed Searches (And title insurance agencies). Under PA Law your deed is considered valid, even when it is not, if you live on the property and hold it out as your property for 21 years and no one objects in court. Thus attorney rarely check pass 50 years for the above Adverse Possession law kicks in. A problem arises as to Coal Rights, how do you hold yourself out as the sole owner? To avoid that issue the State Legislature passed the law that requires the above working. Yes it is to protect lawyers from malpractice suits if the coal rights were sold 100 years ago but the lawyer ended his searched at 50 years ago.
I point this out that the warning, required by state law, does not say your coal rights is held by someone else, but that it might be and the deed does NOT include those rights IF those rights had been sold. Only an extensive deed search will reveal the owner of the Coal Rights, but you have to go back 200 years to see where the rights were sold and then who own those rights now (Probably no one, most Coal Companies just shut down and closed shop once the coal was gone, no coal no reason to pay taxes, so the property went for tax sale, but since it had no coal, no one made a bid on the rights, thus the property is in limbo, still held by the coal company, that is long out of existence, but no one else wants it. The only way to obtain those coal rights is to find out who owes it, and that the taxes were never paid on it and then ask the County to do an "upset" sale of the property so you can get a clear title without having to pay the taxes due. Most work (and costs especially attorney's fee) then it probably is worth but possible.
One last comment, just because your coal rights were never sold does not mean it was never mined. Coal mining in the late 1800s and early 1900s were noted for cross-shafts and other illegal mine i.e. mining in areas the mine operator had no right to mine in, either the mine owner never purchased the rights OR it was held by another mine owner. Thus it is possible your land was under mined even if the coal was never sold. That is one of the problems of buying property in Western PA.
My point is that language in your deed is required by law, but it does NOT mean the coal rights were ever sold. I would bet it was, and it be a very safe bet. Doing the required Deed Search for the last 200 years and then looking at the deeds to find out who owes the Coal Rights today will take a lot of time. Once you find out who owes the Coal Rights you have to check if the right was ever subject to a tax sale for non payment of taxes. If it was then you can request an upset sale of the right and re-merge it back into your deed. The new deed will not cost that much, but the upset sale will. Thus most people it is not worth it, but it can be done if you want to spend several thousands of Dollars just to know you own what ever remains of whatever coal that ever existed under your home.
The Actual Statute requires one of the following two statements in every deed in Western PA":
(1) "This document may not sell, convey, transfer, include or insure the title to the coal and right of support underneath the surface land described or referred to herein, and the owner or owners of such coal may have the complete legal right to remove all of such coal and, in that connection, damage may result to the surface of the land and any house, building or other structure on or in such land. The inclusion of this notice does not enlarge, restrict or modify any legal rights or estates otherwise created, transferred, excepted or reserved by this instrument."
(2) "This document does not sell, convey, transfer, include or insure the title to the coal and right of support underneath the surface land described or referred to herein, and the owner or owners of such coal have the complete legal right to remove all of such coal and, in that connection, damage may result to the surface of the land and any house, building or other structure on or in such land. The inclusion of this notice does not enlarge, restrict or modify any legal rights or estates otherwise created, transferred, excepted or reserved by this instrument."52 P.S. § 1551
Notice the first notice option uses the term "may" the second does NOT contain the word, most deeds uses the option that uses the term "May".
This is a West Citation through the State Assembly Web Site:
http://weblinks.westlaw.com/result/default.aspx?cite=UUID(N4595214034-4511DA8A989-F4EECDB8638)&db=1000262&findtype=VQ&fn=_top&ifm=NotSet&pbc=4BF3FCBE&rlt=CLID_FQRLT75126281110156&rp=%2FSearch%2Fdefault.wl&rs=WEBL9.06&service=Find&spa=pac-1000&sr=TC&vr=2.0
You may have to go through the State Assembly Web Site to Access it:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/page_redirect.cfm?link=http://government.westlaw.com/linkedslice/default.asp?SP=pac-1000&display=Unofficial%20Purdon%27s%20Pennsylvania%20Statutes%20from%20WestHome page for the State Assembly:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/You may have to start here and go to the bottom of the Screen on the left under "Law Information" and click on the following:
Unofficial Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes from West
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