Wilkes-Barre, PA - Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) hosted a meeting of federal officials, local officials, and other supporters of the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed in Wilkes-Barre today to discuss what the American Heritage River designation could mean for residents of the region, which stretches from Thompson in Susquehanna County through Scranton, Pittston, Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke, Hazleton, Bloomsburg, and Danville to Northumberland in Northumberland County.

"Getting designated as an American Heritage River is not an end in itself, but rather a means to an end. The American Heritage River designation provides Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania with a window of opportunity during which the federal government will provide five years of sustained, focused assistance in helping us to implement our plans to solve our local environmental and economic challenges. But make no mistake: we in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania, and not the federal government, are responsible for making this program a success. The federal government will now help us more actively to create jobs and clean up our watershed, but ultimately the American Heritage River designation will be what we make of it," remarked Congressman Kanjorski.

The event included a live satellite appearance by President Clinton who discussed the significance of the American Heritage Rivers designation to the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed and the other thirteen designated rivers via satellite feed from North Carolina. Also speaking at the event were:

* Jim Lyons, the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment;

* Kathy Karpan, the Director of the federal Office of Surface Mining;

* Howard Grossman, the Executive Director of the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which nominated the watershed with Kanjorski;

*and Dr. Christopher Breiseth, the President of Wilkes University.

The American Heritage Rivers initiative is designed to highlight rivers that have important cultural, historical, economic, and environmental value and needs. The program will assign a "River Navigator" to each designated community to help with the implementation of a common plan developed by the community to address its long-term goals. The program does not entail the specific expenditure of any additional taxpayer dollars, but designated rivers will be assisted in obtaining existing federal grants and resources.

"The River Navigator is at the heart of the significance of the American Heritage River designation. The economic and environmental restoration of an area as large as the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed with 176 municipal jurisdictions is unfeasible without some sort of centralized assistance. The genius of the American Heritage River program is that we will soon be provided with a River Navigator who will help us to achieve our goals by coordinating with our various municipalities to help Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania obtain existing federal grants," added Congressman Kanjorski.

Washington, DC - In a dramatic victory for Northeastern Pennsylvania, Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) today announced that President Clinton has named the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed one of the nation's fourteen American Heritage Rivers. The watershed stretches from Thompson in Susquehanna County through Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Bloomsburg, and Danville to Northumberland in Northumberland County.

"There have been very few days in my years as a Congressman as gratifying as today," remarked Kanjorski. "From the first moment the President proposed the American Heritage Rivers initiative in his 1997 State of the Union address, I knew that this program had great potential for allowing the 176 communities in the watershed to join together to promote economic development and clean up our river."

<President Clinton's announcement on July 30, 1998 of the fourteen rivers to receive the American Heritage River designation was fed live by satellite to an auditorium at Wilkes University.>

The American Heritage Rivers initiative is designed to highlight rivers that have important cultural, historical, economic, and environmental value and needs. The program will assign a "River Navigator" to each designated community to help with the implementation of a common plan developed by the community to address its long-term goals. The program does not entail the specific expenditure of any additional taxpayer dollars, but designated rivers will be assisted in obtaining existing federal grants and resources.

Congressman Kanjorski credited the success of the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed's application to its comprehensive vision: "Our community action plan demonstrated a long-term and comprehensive vision for the future of not only the two rivers, but also the streams that feed into them and the entire watershed. We recognized the importance of cleaning up the entire area for our future economic growth and emphasized planned development as much as environmental restoration. President Clinton obviously understands how much our area can benefit from this recognition, and I am deeply grateful for his vote of confidence for our vision."

Congressman Kanjorski also expressed appreciation for the near-unanimous support the application received from local leaders in the watershed's 176 municipal jurisdictions. The application drafted and submitted by Kanjorski and the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania has been endorsed by elected state, county, and local officials who represent close to 95% of the watershed's population. Supporters include U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, Congressman Joseph McDade (PA-10), a bipartisan coalition of State Senators and State Representatives, the County Commissioners of Luzerne, Lackawanna, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, and Lycoming counties, the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, and numerous business, environmental, and cultural organizations. A list of those who wrote in support of the designation is available upon request.

After learning in June that the American Heritage River Advisory Committee did not include the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna River Watershed in its list of recommendations to the President, Congressman Kanjorski personally urged President Clinton and other White House officials to select the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna River Watershed. Congressman Kanjorski thanked the President "for having the wisdom to recognize that the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna River Watershed is the kind of community that could benefit most from the American Heritage River program."