I JBt | Brownfields 2006 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet % Taylor Borough, 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. 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. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Community Description Taylor Borough was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in the central region of Lackawanna County, southwest of Scranton, Taylor Borough (population 6,262) is in an area of Pennsylvania known as the "Anthracite Region." The area overlays large deposits of coal seams that were mined heavily in the 18th and 19th Centuries. In 1966, when the Taylor Colliery site closed after more than 100 years of operation, this small borough lost 895 jobs. Taylor Borough experienced greater population losses and a larger increase in its poverty rate then did the county as a whole. Assessment of the target site will help the borough address the issue of subsurface subsidence, which is a major obstacle to the redevelopment plans for the site. Cleanup of the site will remove potential risks and obstacles associated with the property's coal mining history. The borough anticipates that redevelopment of the Taylor Colliery site will create an estimated 357 new jobs, expand the tax base, bring new residential and commercial facilities to the area, and provide more than 48 acres of greenspace for area residents. Assessment Grant $350,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected Taylor Borough for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct community outreach, produce quality assurance and health and safety plans, perform a Phase II environmental site assessment, and develop cleanup plans for the Taylor Colliery site, a 150-acre former coal mining operation. Environmental concerns at the site include silt piles and coal mining refuse that contribute to acid mine drainage and hazards associated with near surface mining. 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 -lr) Grant Recipient: Development Authority of the Borough of Taylor,PA (570) 562-1400 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 c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 560-F-06-056 Protection Agency Response (5105T) May 2006 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (si us ) ------- |