|
|
Growing
Greener Grants Fund Major Reclamation Projects
PA Dept. of Environmental Protection Secy. Kathleen
McGinty (right) presents a $100,000 Growing Greener Grant check to EC. Pictured left to right are: EC Board
Chairwoman Rhea Simms, Rep. John Yudichak (D-119), EC President/CEO Mike
Dziak, Sugar Notch Mayor Pat Mullin, McGinty. To date, EC has received
four Growing Greener grants totaling more than $2.35 million to fund major
reclamation projects in the Wyoming Valley. EC's first $750,000
Growing Greener grant was for the first phase of its Huber, Preston, and
Sugar Notch Bank Area reclamation project. The first phase reclamation
included the 42-acre Preston Bank site and a portion of the 200-acre Huber
Bank in Hanover Township, near State Route 29 and Interstate 81. The total project
area consists of four land parcels that will be reclaimed independently in a
phased approach. Eventually, 300 acres in the Solomon and Warrior Creek
Watersheds in Hanover Township will be reclaimed. The Preston site's
reclamation is complete and is being marketed for commercial uses. One of the first
developments to evolve from this project is a pair of multi-purpose athletic
fields adjacent to the Preston site that will be part of a planned 63-acre
recreational area. The first phase of this project has already been completed
and consists of two multi-purpose athletic fields, a parking area and a basketball
court on 17 acres. Preliminary reclamation work was begun on Phase II,
which will produce a Little League field, a soccer field, additional
basketball courts and parking.
This recreational
project was also funded by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Rural Abandoned
Mine Program, Luzerne County and EC.
In August 2002, EC
received another Growing Greener grant for $534,000 and another $100,000 in
2004 to complete this project, which includes reclamation of the 63-acre
Sugar Notch Bank area and completing Phase II of the above-mentioned
recreational project proposed for this site. EC's other Growing
Greener project was an award of $973,000 to cap the former Agnes Flood debris
area in Hanover Township, which has made it ready for future
development. This area will be the gateway to the Greater Wilkes-Barre
Chamber of Business and Industry's Hanover Crossings Business Park. To
date, one building has been erected and is occupied by Advance PCS, a
national pharmaceutical company and Hanover Crossing's first tenant. “Reclamation of
these areas will restore significant land in the Wyoming Valley, improve area
watersheds and promote economic revitalization by providing land for economic
expansion and eradicating the negative perceptions created by mine-scarred
sites” said EC President Mike Dziak. “This will be another great step
forward for our region.” The Growing Greener Program signed into law by Gov. Tom Ridge in 1999 will invest nearly $650 million over the following five years to preserve farmland and protect open space; eliminate the maintenance backlog in State Parks; clean up abandoned mines and restore watersheds; and provide new and upgraded water and sewer systems. In the May 17, 2005 statewide election, voters passed a $625 million bond referendum that allows the continuation of the Growing Greener program. This is the single largest investment in environmental programs in our state’s history. EC accomplishes its mission through: Reclamation Mine Drainage/Artificial Wetlands Land Use Plan Open Space Plan Composting Forest Game Program Environmental Technologies Land Sales/Development Opportunities
Page Comments to: webmaster |
|
|
|
