SLATE HILLS QUARRY PROJECT CAN BEGIN WORK
THANKS TO $1 MILLION STATE GRANT

Sen. Boscola’s persistence and support “integral” to funding 

     HARRISBURG (FEB 19) – What do you call a 550-foot-deep hole filled with water at the bottom of a quarry? 

     “Dangerous, hazardous and treacherous” is what State Senator Lisa M. Boscola calls it.  But, thanks to her help, $1 million in state funds will soon be used to fill in the excavation pit and reclaim 34 acres of surrounding waste slate piles for commercial development. 

     Boscola said that Acting Secretary John Hanger personally called to tell her that the Slate Hills Quarry Project was recently awarded $1 million from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  Funding was provided under the state’s Growing Greener program. 

      “This is tremendous news,” Boscola said.  “These state funds will benefit the local economy in the Slate Belt and the quarry site will be reclaimed and re-used in an environmentally friendly manner.  Whenever you can turn a dangerous, deep hole in the ground into an economic development opportunity, you know you’ve accomplished something!”

      The million-dollar grant will be administered by the Slate Belt Council of Governments, according to Boscola.  The developer will be Gibraltar Development, located in Mt. Bethel.  It is estimated that the project will take 18 to 21 months to complete. 

     Boscola’s involvement with the Slate Hills project began when she managed to get $250,000 inserted into last year’s state budget, earmarked specifically for filling in the quarry.  However, those funds were part of more than $400 million that were later “frozen” by the Governor’s office in order to reduce an anticipated budget deficit of $2 billion at the end of this fiscal year.

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