OLYPHANT, Pa. — The state's Department of Environmental Protection has announced it will begin work to put out a mine fire in Lackawanna County.
The news comes as a major relief to a borough councilman who's been fighting for this to happen.
About 220 feet underground, below a mound of dirt in the Dolph Mine area of Olyphant, is a mine fire that's been burning for 16 years.
Tully has been fighting that fire since the beginning, first, as a volunteer firefighter when he was called to the scene back in 2004. He hasn't stopped trying to put it out since.
"My issue was that I was very much concerned about, you know, we have a lot of older people in town, and I was very much concerned about their safety," said Tully.
DEP officials believe that the fire started when someone was illegally burning garbage.
The department announced Wednesday it will finally begin the work to extinguish it.
Tully drove us in his truck to the site of the mine fire. Along the way, we ran into Marty Justick, who was hired to clear the timber before the DEP begins its work.
Justick says this should have been done a long time ago.
"When they find a fire, it should be done as quickly as possible. But through the government regulations, it takes a long time," Justick said.
In 2006, crews built a 200-foot trench around the burning coal to keep the fire from spreading. The hope was that the fire would burn itself out.
"They said, 'well, it might take 20 or 25 years. But the thing is, 20, 25 years is a lot of pollutants getting in the air. Sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, you know, those are things that kill people," Tully said.
Now that the DEP has made the plan official, funding, and all, Tully feels a weight lifted off his shoulders.
"Funding is the key," Tully said. "The money has been put aside, and we know it's secured money, so we know the fire will be extinguished this time."
The DEP estimates the first stage of this project won't be complete until December 2022, then the site is expected to be turned into an industrial complex.