The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has the largest Appalachian population in the U.S. and has historically relied on coal production. However, declining coal demand has led to economic and environmental challenges, including job losses and abandoned mine lands. As of 2019, 287,000 acres of mined land require reclamation, with Pennsylvania needing over 50% of the total funding required for unfunded reclamation projects nationwide.

August 16, 2024 (Ridgway, PA): Grow Rural PA President Deborah Pontzer was asked to speak at the Energy Communities Interagency Working Group (IWG) meeting in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Department of Energy’s Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets grant program.

Grow Rural PA, an Elk County-based nonprofit, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. The grant program, Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets, is to assist communities in repurposing their energy assets, assets such as retired land mines, oil and gas facilities, and associated equipment and infrastructure.

Air Force proposal would have allowed pilots to fly as low as 100 feet above major recreational areas in Pennsylvania. Casey and Fetterman pushed for years to protect the PA Wilds. The 13-county Pennsylvania Wilds region contains the greatest concentration of public lands in PA and account for $1.8 billion in tourism. Casey: “I will always fight to preserve the PA Wilds and the rest of the natural resources that make our Commonwealth so beautiful”.

Read the article by Anthony F. Pipa and Natalie Geismar that led me to establish the nonprofit, Grow Rural PA ~ to serve as a champion for rural communities in the PA Wilds region.