An investigation was completed by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. The primary cause of the water inundation was the use of an undated and uncertified mine map of the Harrison No. 2 mine that did not show the complete and final mine workings. Using this map led to an inaccurate depiction of the Harrison No. 2 mine workings on the Quecreek #1 mine map required by MSHA and on the certified mine map submitted to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the permitting process. The root cause of the accident was the unavailability of a certified final mine map for Harrison No. 2 mine in Pennsylvania's mine map repository. Governor Mark Schweiker convened an investigation committee in the days after the rescue was completed, paying particular attention to the actions of the Black Wolf Coal Company, which had been previously cited 25 times for violations.