“This is a process that will take two generations.”
East Germany dug the coal. Reunified Germany got the bill. The cleanup has cost €7 billion in Lusatia so far, with another €4.8 billion coming, paid 75% by the federal government and the rest by the states. Now it gets sold as a tourist lake almost the size of Lake Como, as long as river water keeps getting pumped in to hold the acid down.