Brownfields
Success Story
The Past Is Prologue for
Taylor Colliery
Taylor Borough, Pennsylvania
Beginning in 1856 and for more than a century, the Taylor Colliery was best
known for coal mining and heavy industry. The 150-acre site provided nearly
700 jobs for the Taylor Borough community in its heyday.
But as coal production declined, so did Taylor Borough. The colliery closed in
1966, and the site sat abandoned for more than 50 years.
The Cleanup
Taylor Borough received two grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), one in 2006 for assessment and another in 2010 for cleanup,
totaling $400,000. A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment revealed that, in
addition to soil contamination, the site was riddled with polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons and metals. Nearby Keyser Creek was also impacted by
sedimentation of red ash materials.
Taylor received more than $3 million in private, local, state and federal funds
to help remediate the site. All impacted soils were delineated and disposed.
Subsurface hazards, such as dangerous mine spoil piles and embankments
and vertical mine shafts, were mitigated. Remediation activities were
completed by 2015.
The Benefits
The plan for the Taylor Colliery redevelopment is to construct 54 single
homes, 224 townhomes and 116 condominiums, as well as a community center
and an area for office buildings. The rest of the land will be used as open
space by the community.
Taylor Borough estimates that the completion of the redevelopment project
will put more than 200 acres of land back in active reuse. The development
is also estimated to generate up to $3 million for the borough and create
approximately 250 new jobs for Taylor residents.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA Grant Recipient:
Taylor Borough
EPA Grant Types:
Brownfield Assessment,
Brownfield Cleanup
Former Use: Coal Mining
Current Uses: Residential, Commercial
This project is a great
example of government
at work. It's amazing
how reclaiming and
repurposing land that
was vacant for so long
can make a town so much
more vibrant.
Ed Fortuna,
Secretary, Development
Authority of the Borough of Taylor
For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website at
www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact
Felicia Fred or Fred.Felicia@epa.gov.
H:Pa,5B0-F4y2M
October 20T?

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