Wilkes-Barre, PA - Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) today announced that more than $1 million of federal funds has been appropriated for Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania to create a comprehensive ecosystem restoration master plan of the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed, which stretches from Thompson in Susquehanna County through Scranton, Pittston, Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Nanticoke, Hazleton, Berwick, Bloomsburg, Danville, and Shamokin to Sunbury in Northumberland County. These monies are the first funds appropriated for the watershed since President Clinton designated it as one of the nation's fourteen American Heritage Rivers in July of 1998.

Congressman Kanjorski (shown at the left with Wilkes University President, Christopher Breiseth and Montour County Commissioner, Tom Herman) said: "I am very pleased today to announce that I was able to obtain the first $1 million in federal funds to start the multi-million dollar environmental restoration and economic revitalization plan for the Upper Susquehanna- Lackawanna Watershed. To ensure that the overall project is done as efficiently as possible, the first part of any comprehensive clean-up initiative must be an identification of the various environmental and economic problems in the 1,800 square miles of the watershed and a cataloguing of potential solutions. At my request, Congress appropriated $800,000 for the United States Army Corps of Engineers to help local officials create a comprehensive ecosystem restoration master plan for the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed using state-of-the-art Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. An additional $140,000 federal "Innovation Fund" grant has be made to a local GIS Consortium that includes Wilkes University and King's College to assist in the creation of the master plan. With more than $75,000 in additional funds committed by Environmental Protection Agency for organizational assistance, the watershed has already obtained its first million dollars as a demonstration of the federal commitment under the American Heritage River program to help us clean our watershed."

Colonel Bruce A. Berwick, the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District, said: "We're pleased once again to have an opportunity to serve the citizens of the region. Using a Geographical Information System (GIS) as a tool, we've begun to identify major water resources-related problems impacting the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed. With the support of our partners, I'm confident we will develop sound, workable solutions that will improve the environmental resources of the entire watershed."

In September of 1998, Vice President Al Gore announced that the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed would be the site of one of six national demonstration projects to highlight the use of new information technologies that help local communities promote economic growth and environmental protection. The GIS project envisioned for the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed will include data on sources of acid mine drainage, sites of mine-scarred land, sewer and storm drainage systems, flood plain maps, transportation infrastructure, and many other items. GIS allows massive amounts of disparate data to be stored in computer systems and then processed in such a way that the data is visualized in thematic maps which are easier to understand and interpret.

Congressman Kanjorski also announced that the United States Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to fund and develop a "Preliminary Restoration Plan" for Nanticoke Creek and its tributaries in Hanover Township. Water from Nanticoke Creek is presently being diverted into the mine pool where it reemerges as acid mine drainage from a bore hole several miles down stream. The restoration of this creek bed would greatly reduce the flow at the bore hole and reduce pollution flowing into the Susquehanna River. This study is expected to begin within several weeks and if the project is found to be feasible, it could qualify for full funding under the Army Corps of Engineers ecological restoration program.

The Steering Committee consists of representatives of groups that played a major role in the drafting of the American Heritage River application and representatives of the five counties that encompass most of the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed. Members of the Steering Committee include Congressman Kanjorski, Howard Grossman of the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Steve Barrouk of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Area Chamber of Commerce, Tom Bresenhan of the Susquehanna Economic Development Agency, Ellen Alaimo of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Mark Evan of Riverfront Parks, Stanley Sowa of Pennsylvania Outdoor Life, Rob Krehely of Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, Allan Sachs of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Drew Magill and Allan Gregory of the Friends of the Nescopeck, Ken Klemow of Wilkes University, Mike Dziak of the Earth Conservancy, and Robert Hughes of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition of Abandoned Mines. The five county representatives, who were recently appointed by the County Commissioners of each county, are Luzerne County Commissioner Thomas Makowski, Bernard McGurl of the Lackawanna River Corridor Association, Northumberland County Commissioner Allen Cwalina, Columbia County Commissioner Frederick Trump, and Montour County Commissioner Tom Herman.

The American Heritage Rivers initiative is a multi-million dollar effort to assist and promote rivers that have important cultural, historical, economic, and environmental value and needs. Designated rivers will be assisted in obtaining existing federal grants and resources and will receive a "River Navigator" to help with the implementation of a common plan developed by the community to address its long-term goals. Congressman Kanjorski and the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania drafted the application of the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed to become an American Heritage River.