NEWS RELEASE / June 2026

EPCAMR invites business sponsors and public to join

in its 30^th Anniversary Celebration this September

ASHLEY – The nonprofit Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR) will hold a 30^th Anniversary Celebration later this year, reflecting on its long track record of successfully doing projects in the region’s coal communities to improve landscapes and lives.

The event is scheduled from 5-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Sand Springs Country Club in Drums.

For ticket holders, dinner and a cash bar will be provided. Ticket prices are deliberately being kept low ($30 for nonprofits/students; $50 general) to minimize cost as a barrier to people’s participation. Business sponsors can participate at levels ranging from $250 to $5,000 or more.

David E. Hess, who formerly served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, will deliver remarks during the banquet. EPCAMR Executive Director Bobby Hughes will talk about the organization’s major accomplishments, including its recent completion of a multiyear, grant-funded reclamation project in Swoyersville Borough.

EPCAMR is a small but impactful nonprofit organization based near Wilkes-Barre. Founded in the mid-1990s, its mission is to encourage the reclamation and redevelopment of land affected by past coal mining practices.

To fulfill its mission, EPCAMR:

• Manages large-scale projects to reclaim abandoned mine lands for productive reuse, which aids the region’s economy.
• Reduces the amount of mine-polluted water that enters the region’s streams, where it can discolor water, kill fish, and deprive people of recreational opportunities such as fishing and boating.
• Provides professional services such as water quality monitoring, stream restoration, and GIS mapping to businesses, local governments, and nonprofits.
• Converts old coal mine maps into electronic versions that can be widely shared.
• Beautifies communities by conducting cleanups of illegal dumpsites.
• Shares environmental education lessons at schools, festivals, and other sites.
• Reclaims iron oxide – a pollutant commonly found in abandoned mine drainage – from area streams and processes it into a pigment that can be used in artists’ paints and ceramic glazes.

Traditionally reliant on federal and state grant funding, EPCAMR has recently adopted a strategy to strengthen its financial condition. It aims to develop a reliable stream of revenue so that it can better serve residents of the region’s coal communities today and remain a sustainable and impactful nonprofit organization long into the future.

Businesses and employees can assist by volunteering at EPCAMR’s trash cleanups and tree plantings; donating money or material goods toward general operations; sponsoring EPCAMR’s conferences/events; promoting environmental education through a Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) partnership with EPCAMR; and contributing major gifts (such as cash, securities, and real estate) to the nonprofit’s organizational endowment fund.

To support EPCAMR or learn more, visit epcamr.org.