Union Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Adams County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The population was 3,148 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Union Township is located in the southeastern corner of Adams County. It is bordered by York County ( West Manheim Township) to the east and by Carroll County, Maryland, to the south. Germany Township and the borough of Littlestown border Union Township to the southwest. Mount Pleasant Township is to the northwest and Conewago Township is to the northeast. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.18%, is water.

Demographics

According to the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,989 people, 1,074 households, and 891 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,112 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.33%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.07%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.13% of other races, and 0.57% of two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race was 0.84% of the population. There were 1,074 households, out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.0% were non-families. 13.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.02. In the township the population was distributed, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 97.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $47,619, and the median income for a family was $51,845. Males had a median income of $37,727 versus $24,028 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $19,506. About 2.0% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 4.6% of those under the age of 18 and 0.8% of those aged 65 or over.

Environmental issues

Keystone Sanitation Landfill is located on a ridge of 40 acres of former farmland. From 1966 until 1990, it accepted municipal and industrial waste and construction debris. The site leached volatile organic compounds and heavy metals, and runoff went in all directions into the groundwater and surface water, affecting 2,300 people living in a three-mile radius. EPA added the landfill to the

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

list in July 1987. From 1990-1997, cleanup consisted of extraction and treatment of on-site groundwater, installation of an impermeable cap, a landfill gas collection system, construction of a fence, and water monitoring. In 1999, 34 residences in proximity received whole-house treatment units, and groundwater was also extracted off-site. In May 2003, a landfill gas extraction system was added. However, due to low flow rates, 14 additional landfill gas wells were installed in November 2010. In September 1993, EPA tried to recover approximately $1.4 million of clean up costs in litigation, which as of 2015 was still stayed, pending court-ordered settlement negotiations. The three owners of the landfill, Waste Management Inc., the Keystone Sanitation Company, and Anna and Kenneth Noel, refused to participate in cleanup and in 2000, the EPA fined them $250,000.

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1735 Townships in Adams County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania Superfund sites in Pennsylvania 1735 establishments in Pennsylvania