Abandoned coal mine converts to wetland

KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - An abandoned southern Indiana coal mine is undergoing a transformation to a wetland.

Runoff from the old Enoco Mine in Knox County has been a source of water pollution for decades.

The metals in the water have left a dead stream through the area. Now, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is in the process of creating a wetland area on the old mine site.

The wetlands are expected to clean up a water problem that has lasted for almost a century.

Kip Turpin, D.N.R. Division of Reclamation, said, "It may take some time for the water to get through the system, but we think that once it gets through the system it will be good."

The $650,000 project is expected to be complete in a couple of months.