PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP -- Dozens of acres of old, scarred coal land in Luzerne County will be turned into property that can be used again.
The state announced Tuesday that it awarded a company a more than $2.5 million contract to revitalize the land near Plymouth.
Right now, the old strip mining land is an 88-acre eyesore, but it could soon be converted into a recreational area, with one of the most spectacular views of the Wyoming Valley.
The scars from decades of strip mining still dot the landscape at the top of Curry Hill in Plymouth Township, but those who know where to go on the property can find spectacular views not found anywhere else.
"It looks beautiful up there and everything. You can see just about everywhere you can look," said Jean Jones of Plymouth.
"It will become a place of recreation, which is essentially what this area really was meant for. If you think about it before the coal companies," said Colleen Connolly, spokeswoman for the state's Department of Environmental Protection.
Connolly said current coal companies are essentially paying $2.7 million for this cleanup from an abandoned mine trust fund paid for by coal company profits.
Connolly said the DEP has been trying to get this money for more than a decade because land at the top of this hill has so much potential.
As part of the project, workers will fill in a handful of strip mine pits. They`ve already cleaned out some of the debris, but there`s still a lot more work to be done. The area is expected to be safer and cleaner shortly after work begins in February.
To some people in Plymouth, the land at the top of Curry Hill will give families, especially kids, a chance to enjoy nature.
"And they`d have more to do up there and everything, instead of just hanging around town just getting in trouble," Jones said.
The DEP said people will notice a big difference this summer after the cleanup is completed and much of the land is seeded with trees and grass.