Brownfields 2009 Cleanup Grant  Fact Sheet
    ™          Ea/tA7 Conservancy, Nanticoke City, PA
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. In 2002,
the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act was passed to help states and
communities around the country cleanup and revitalize
brownfields sites. Under this 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.
Additionally, funding support is provided to state and
tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Earth Conservancy (EC) was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. The EC is a not-for-profit
corporation that promotes conservation and land
revitalization in Wyoming Valley (population 94,228) in
northeast Pennsylvania. Wyoming Valley has a rich coal
mining history. When the  coal mining industry declined,
companies went bankrupt, mines were abandoned, and
strip mines and coal waste were left behind.  The targeted
Hanover 9, Phase I site is  in Nanticoke City  (population
10,341), where the median household income is
significantly lower than the national median. More than
23 percent of area residents are 65 or older. The target site
has blighted the neighborhood for many years. It has been
a source of acid mine drainage to the area's watershed,
and has attracted illegal dumping. Cleanup of the site will
reduce acid mine drainage and help protect the long-term
health of the community and the Susquehanna River
Watershed.  The EC's Land Use Plan has earmarked the
site for commercial and industrial use, which is expected
to create much-needed jobs in the area.
                     Cleanup Grant

                     $200,000 for hazardous substances

                     EPA has selected the Earth Conservancy for a
                     brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
                     grant funds will be used to clean up 37 acres of the
                     Hanover 9, Phase I site on Kosciuszko Street in
                     Nanticoke City. The Blue Coal Company used the
                     site as a strip mine area until it declared
                     bankruptcy in the mid-1970s. For years, the site
                     has been contributing acid mine drainage, which
                     contains dissolved metals and other contaminants,
                     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
                     (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                     EPA Region 3 Brownfields Team
                     (215)814-3129
                     EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf -Ir)

                     Grant Recipient: Earth Conservancy,PA
                     (570)823-3445

                     The information presented in this fact sheet comes
                     from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
                     accuracy of this information. The cooperative
                     agreement for the grant has not yet been
                     negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this
                     fact sheet are subject to change.
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-09-027
      May 2009

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