Welcome to the EPCAMR Homepage!
Mission Statement: “The general purpose of the organization [EPCAMR] is to encourage the reclamation and redevelopment of land affected by past mining practices. This includes reducing hazards to health and safety, eliminating soil erosion, improving water quality, [and] returning land affected by past mining practices to productive use, thereby improving the economy of the region.” -from the Preamble of the EPCAMR Bylaws.
Incorporation Date: January 15, 1997
Formed in 1995 by concerned conservation districts, EPCAMR represents a coalition of watershed organizations and reclamation partners. Members range from individuals to the active anthracite mining industry and co-generation power plants, to non-profit organizations, 16 county conservation districts, and other organizations in the anthracite and bituminous coal region of eastern Pennsylvania that are involved with abandoned mine reclamation issues. Counties covered by EPCAMR in Northeastern and North Central PA include: Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Dauphin, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne, and Wyoming. As of the last census (2020), the population we serve equates to approximately 1.7 million people. Salazar & Pizarchik Announce $485 Million in Grants to States and Tribes to Clean Up Abandoned Coal Mines
December 2011 – Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, and Office of Surface Mining (OSM) Reclamation and Enforcement Director, Joe Pizarchik, announced that nearly half a billion dollars in grants will be allotted to states and tribes working to eliminate health and safety hazards caused by past coal mining. This year’s…
EPCAMR Executive Director Becomes a Natural Teacher through the Children & Nature Network
EPCAMR Executive Director, Robert Hughes, became a “messenger and change-maker” by joining the Children & Nature Network as a Natural Teacher. Through this new role, Robert commits to increasing the diversity of people benefiting from meaningful connections with nature, outdoor activities, and green job opportunities.
EPCAMR is a non-profit, non-government, non-partisan public charity dedicated to:
- Reducing health and safety hazards, eliminating soil erosion, improving water quality and endorsing the reclamation of abandoned mine lands to productive uses in the region, there by improving the economy.
- Promoting the spirit of cooperation among all parties with an interest in resolving abandoned mine drainage / abandoned mine land problems
- Serving as a liaison among the various governmental agencies (federal, state, and local), watershed associations, industry, and conservationists with a common goal of abandoned mine reclamation
- Encouraging the remining and reclamation of lands, streams, and resources impacted by mining
- Educating, informing, and involving the public with mine drainage and mine reclamation issues
- Seeking and acquiring available sources of funding for restoration, reclamation, education and assessment projects
- Providing assistance in developing watershed associations and coalitions interested in abandoned mine reclamation issues