Sep. 6—WILKES-BARRE — According to Jill Avery-Stoss, president of The Institute, a healthy environment is essential to a community’s overall well-being.

“It supports not only physical and mental health but also the stability of the local economy,” Avery-Stoss said. “In Northeast Pennsylvania, many environmental challenges stem from the region’s industrial history. The legacy of coal mining and other heavy industries has affected the landscape in the forms of contaminated brownfields, coal refuse piles, mine subsidence, underground fires and streams affected by acid mine drainage.”

Avery-Stoss said cleanup of these sensitive sites is an important step in preventing further environmental harm and facilitating a return to productive use.

“The region is also home to 6.8% of Pennsylvania’s abandoned mine land (AML) sites and 27% of its anthracite coal refuse-producing sites,” Avery-Stoss said. “The good news is that Northeast Pennsylvania has also been home to a significant share of statewide funding dedicated to returning these sites to productive use.”

The Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) program — formerly known as the AML Pilot Program — provides funds for the reclamation of AMLs in conjunction with economic and community development and reuse goals. The sites could be former mines, coal refuse areas, areas with acid mine drainage, and more.

Across the region, Avery-Stoss said Lackawanna County is reported to have 92 AML sites, Luzerne County is reported to have 205 AML sites, and Wayne County is reported to have 39 AML sites.

Additionally, Luzerne County is reported to have 10 anthracite coal refuse-producing sites (among 37 for Pennsylvania). Despite the opportunity for reclamation, Avery-Stoss said there were no AML revitalization projects in the three counties as of 2022, and data for the following years were not yet available at the time The Institute’s Indicators Report was published. From 2020 to 2022, the number of AML revitalization projects decreased from 13 to three statewide.

Other environmental indicators include air and water quality, and recycling and waste volume.

“Data regarding the region’s air and water ecosystem quality have been positive,” added Avery-Stoss. “Since 2000, the Air Quality Index (AQI) score has improved by 15.9% in Lackawanna County and 17.8% in Luzerne County. Annual monitoring of the Susquehanna River by the Chesapeake Bay Project shows normal results in several metrics of stream water quality. This type of testing takes place at several sites along the river and adjacent watersheds.”

The amount of waste generated in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties declined in 2022 and 2023, following increases in 2020 and 2021. While Lackawanna and Luzerne counties saw a slight decrease in the amount of recycled materials, Avery-Stoss said Wayne County experienced an increase of 17.8% from 2022 to 2023.

Municipal waste is the largest component of all waste generated in the region. Recycled materials largely consist of single-stream substances and organics, followed by metals.

“In general, the quality of the environment in Northeast Pennsylvania is good, but there is room to improve,” Avery-Stoss said. “Continued efforts to reclaim and revitalize industrial sites will promote more economic growth and a healthier population.”

Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.