AUSTINTOWN — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is set to begin a reclamation project at an abandoned strip mine in Austintown, near the intersection of Fairview and South Turner Roads, after receiving approval from the state Environmental Protection Agency.

According to Marissa Lautzenheiser, the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program manager at the ODNR, records show a coal mine in the area was abandoned 150 years ago. When the mine was abandoned, ODNR documents say steep highwalls reaching up to 24 feet were left behind.

The highwalls sit between the backyards of several homes on South Turner Road and the Mill Creek MetroParks bike trail. Lautzenheiser told 21 News this location raised the priority level of the project.

“There are some well-worn areas where people have l

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