New York pays $28.25m to protect nearly 750 acres once reserved for nuclear plant

A nuclear power project abandoned decades ago has left behind nearly 750 acres of undeveloped coastal land in New York. The state has now purchased the property for $28.25 million to protect its forests, wetlands and shoreline permanently. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the acquisition on Thursday, marking the largest purchase of land on Long Island by the New York state department of environmental conservation (DEC), LongIsland.com reported.The property surrounds the former Shoreham nuclear power plant in Suffolk County. It stretches across parts of Shoreham and Wading river, along Long Island Sound. Although the nuclear facility was abandoned in 1989, much of the adjoining land remained undeveloped. The state will now manage the area for environmental conservation and eventually open designated sections to visitors.The purchase ends a conservation effort that had continued for more than a decade.