Dec 15, 2017 3 min read

For years, it was essentially a 150-acre brownfield that included a mine refuse dump, sediment ponds and memories of a grimy but prosperous vocation. This was a tract of West Bethlehem Township that was forlorn and, seemingly, forgotten by time.

Not anymore. The land has been reclaimed and impressively repurposed in an area where coal mining predominated more than a quarter-century ago. That waste dump and those sediment ponds are gone, replaced by a pond with clean water and a bounty of fish, encircled by a large, healthy wetlands with cattails galore. All of this is complemented by the creation of a mile-long grass hiking trail with a steep ascent that tests one’s stamina and yields scenic views.

The beast has become a beauty. “It’s gorgeous,” Lisa Scherer, a volunteer at the property, recently told the Observer-Reporter’s Scott Beveridge.

These are positive developments for the municipality informally known as West Beth and for neighboring Marianna Borough, sparsely populated communities that have endured hardships since Marianna Mine closed permanently in 1991. The property off Jefferson Avenue is a clean attraction to hikers, anglers and hunters, and may become a bridge to history.

It has taken time, though. West Bethlehem purchased the land from Bethlehem Steel Co. in 2003 for $40,000. That was one year after the state Department of Environmental Protection ordered the steel firm to spend $45 million to remediate six coal mines, including Marianna, and clean up its waste pile and sediment ponds. A 12-inch-thick layer of topsoil was put down to seal the refuse area.

The DEP, Beveridge reported, tests the pond water on a regular basis, and township supervisor Bob Mercante said there have been no issues.

West Bethlehem’s sales agreement with the steel company included a requirement that this land be available to the public. The township has done that, and more, removing undergrowth around the pond, making it more accessible to those who fish, and forging an agreement with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to allow hunters on a permission basis.

The township, according to Mercante, also is formulating plans to plant donated trees and stock pheasants there, enhancing the property even more. The signature feature, however, may be the trail, which ends atop the hill that overlooks Marianna. Not only is it a physical challenge, “the view up there is spectacular,” said borough council President Wes Silva.

From there, one sees rows of houses that were built a century ago for workers at Marianna Mine. There was a time when the borough was considered to be one of the world’s most modern mining towns. And that isn’t the only slice of local history that could become more accessible through the repurposing of this once deplorable property. Silva said Marianna and West Beth are formulating plans to enable the public to reach old coke ovens that are near the former mine and Ten Mile Creek.

Although the transformation from brownfield to vibrant recreational space isn’t complete, the process has been impressive thus far. It has been a textbook example of what can happen if land remediation is executed properly.