) Brownfields 2010 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet
~ Ea/tA7 Conservancy, Hanover Township, 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 was selected to receive three
brownfields cleanup grants. The Earth Conservancy is a
nonprofit organization that reclaims and reuses former
coal company-owned lands in Luzerne County,
Pennsylvania (population 94,228). When the coal mining
industry declined, mining companies went bankrupt and
abandoned the mines. Hanover Township, the location of
the target sites, encompasses 21 square miles of land that
are scarred by piles of coal waste and large pitted areas
left from strip mining. The median household income is
lower than the national average, and the number of
families living in poverty is higher than the national
average. Cleanup of the target sites will remove a cause of
acid mine drainage in the Nanticoke Creek Watershed and
the Susquehanna River. When the target sites are cleaned
up, the Earth Conservancy intends to make them available
for mixed-use redevelopment. Cleanup and
redevelopment are expected to provide job opportunities,
space for additional economic development, and
increased tax revenues.
Cleanup Grants
$600,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Earth Conservancy for three
brownfields cleanup grants. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to clean up Hanover 9
Parcels B, C, and D in Hanover Township.
Parcels B and D are both 39 acres, and Parcel C is
35 acres. The three parcels are part of Hanover 9,
a 390-acre area that was used as a strip mine and
coal waste holding area until the mid-1970s. All of
the parcels are contaminated with acid mine
drainage. Grant funds also will be used to establish
stormwater systems and conduct community
involvement activities.
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-10-054
April 2010
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