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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Earf/7 Conservancy,
Hanover Township, PA
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Earth Conservancy was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. The Earth Conservancy is a
non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation
and land revitalization of the Wyoming Valley in
Pennsylvania. The targeted cleanup site, the Franklin
Coal Bank, is in Hanover Township (population 11,488)
in Luzerne County. This region, once home to a thriving
anthracite coal mining industry, has been left with a
legacy of abandoned mines, and scarred and contami-
nated lands. Acid mine drainage from these lands
threatens the Solomon's Creek Watershed and, ulti-
mately, the Susquehanna River. To date, the Conser-
vancy has reclaimed approximately 850 acres of mine-
scarred lands and has about 1,000 additional acres in
Cleanup Grant
120051
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Earth Conservancy for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be
used to design a remediation plan, and clean up
the 13.8-acre Franklin Coal Bank site. This parcel
was used by the former Blue Coal Corporation as
a repository for anthracite coal mining waste
materials. The site, dormant for 30 years, is a
source of acid mine drainage to the area's
watershed.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
brownfields.
EPA Region 3 Brownfields Team
215-814-3129
http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm
Grant Recipient: Earth Conservancy, PA
570-823-3445
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
process. Cleanup of the Franklin Coal Bank will
remove an eyesore which is currently being used for
illegal dumping and other illicit activities. It also will
help protect the watershed by eliminating a source of
mine drainage runoff. Planned residential redevelop-
ment of the site will add much-needed affordable
housing to the community. This is expected to bolster
tax revenues, generate new jobs, and increase the
values of nearby properties.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-042
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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