Earth Conservancy

Upcoming Meetings

The next scheduled meeting of EC Board of Directors will be July 17, 2008 at EC's offices, 101 S. Main Street, Ashley. The public session begins at 8:30 a.m.

The Huber Breaker Preservation Society (HBPS) meets the third Tuesday of each month in the Earth Conservancy conference room at 101 South Main Street, Ashley, PA. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

Happenings

Cong. Paul A. Kanjorski announces a $200,000 EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant awarded to EC for the Franklin Bank in Hanover Township.

EC received several significant grants in support of our reclamation efforts in 2005. Those grants, totaling nearly $3.6 million dollars, demonstrates a commitment to the revitalization of mine scarred lands by state and federal agencies.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development awarded EC a total of $2.4 million in funding to reclaim the Huber III site. Of those funds, $1.3 million is in the form of a low-interest loan, and $1.1 million is in grant funds. All the funds will be used to rehabilitate the site, which sits at the southern entrance to the Hanover Industrial Estates business park. Once reclamation work is completed, the site will be available for industrial/commercial uses.

The PA DEP awarded EC $602,000 through its Energy Harvest grant program for the reclamation of Bliss Bank. EC will work in partnership with Northampton Fuel to reutilize the coal waste material located on the property for generation of electric power. The grant was the largest in the history of the program.

EC also received a Growing Greener grant from the PA DEP for reclamation of the Sugar Notch site. The $248,000 will be used to continue reclamation of a 50-acre portion of the 189-acre site that will result in a residential development. The remaining acres will be preserved as green space.

EC is awarded a $602,000 Energy Harvest grant from the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection. Pictured left to right: DEP Deputy Secy. Dan Desmond, Rep. John Yudichak, Sen. Raphael Musto, EC President/CEO Mike Dziak and W-B Chamber President Steve Barrouk

Community Outreach

Educational Brochure

EC has developed an educational brochure on land reclamation and its importance to the Wyoming Valley. This full-color brochure is now available and will be used as part of EC's educational programs and presentations. This brochure will complement EC's other educational offerings, which include an educational brochure and a video on Acid Mine Drainage, and an informational brochure on EC and its efforts to repair mine-scarred land in the Wyoming Valley. Copies of these brochures are available on request to interested groups, organizations and individuals. For more information, call Jacqueline Dickman at 570-823-3445.

Educational Tours

EC regularly offers educational/informational tours of its project sites, particularly its constructed wetlands complexes, and makes informational presentations to interested community groups/schools. Below, an environmental science class from the Greater Nanticoke Area High School tours EC's Phase I Wetlands.

Educational Video

EC has produced a 35-minute informational video on the Wyoming Valley's Acid Mine Drainage problem that details this widespread environmental problem, starting from its origins with past anthracite mining practices in the Wyoming Valley, past remediation efforts, and EC's use of modern technology to address this current water pollution problem

On-Site Presentations

EC will also visit schools and community groups to give informational presentations on EC's activities and projects. For more information on these outreach programs, contact Jacqueline Dickman, Director of Public Affairs and Development, at 570-823-3445.