The Department of Environmental Protection Tuesday announced it has awarded a $2,696,723 contract to Earthmovers Unlimited, Corp. of Kylertown, Clarion County, to restore 88-acres of abandoned mine land on Curry Hill-Avondale in Plymouth Township, Luzerne County.

“This well-known area has been scarred for decades by the aftermath of coal mining in Northeast Pennsylvania,” Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program Manager Mike Korb said. “This project will ensure that public health and safety hazards are eliminated, and the area be returned to a place of recreation for residents to enjoy for years to come.”

The work will involve backfilling and grading more than 6,000 feet of dangerous high-wall at heights between 25 to 100 feet. One opening to an abandoned coal mine will be backfilled and a bat gate will be installed on each of three other vertical openings. The work will also include the construction of drainage ditches that will convey most of the stormwater to a total of seven detention ponds.

Additionally, ten acres of wetlands will be constructed on the project site. The site will then be re-vegetated with a seed mixture of various grasses, along with the planting of trees.

Work on the project is set to begin in February of 2015. The project is being funded by the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund, which is subsidized by fees paid by the coal industry on each ton of coal mined.

For more information, call 570-826-2511.

12/22/2014