Project 70 Land Acquisition and Borrowing Act

Project 70 Land Acquisition and Borrowing Act is a public lands acquisition law enacted in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 22 June 1964. It permits the state to issue bonds for the purchase of lands for public parks, reservoirs, and other conservation, recreation, and historical preservation purposes, and to coordinate those purchases with local governments. The act also permits acquisition of lands by eminent domain. Once the lands are acquired under Project 70, the General Assembly must approve any disposition of these lands. Pennsylvania Dept of Conversation and Natural Resources website [https://web.archive.org/web/20031229104347/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/legal/majorlaws.aspx] Project 70 Land Acquisition and Borrowing Act, act of June 22, 1964 (Sp.Ses., P.L. 131, No. 8), 72 P.S. §§ 3946.1-3946.22. This law implements Article VIII, Section 15 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which provides that . . . the Commonwealth may be authorized by law to create debt and to issue bonds to the amount of $70,000,000 for the acquisition of land for State parks, reservoirs and other conservation and recreation and historical preservation purposes, and for participation by the Commonwealth with political subdivisions in the acquisition of land for parks, reservoirs and other conservation and recreation and historical preservation purposes, subject to such conditions and limitations as the General Assembly may prescribe. The act authorizes the Commonwealth and political subdivisions to acquire suitable lands by eminent domain. Under the act, no lands acquired pursuant to the act may be disposed of or used for purposes other than for recreation, conservation and historical purposes without the express approval of the General Assembly.

The park in northeastern Pennsylvania, ten miles north of Scranton, was known as Project 70 during its construction prior to opening under the name Lackawanna State Park.