Whitley County gets funding to clean up two illegal dumps

Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) Secretary Rebecca Goodman announced Tuesday that approximately $587,000 in grants had been awarded for the cleanup of 72 illegal dumps in 18 counties across the commonwealth, including Whitley County.

“Kentuckians deserve to live in clean, safe communities. Illegal dump sites can affect families’ quality of life and property values through no fault of their own,” Beshear said. “This grant program provides a healthier environment for thousands of our people.”

The following counties received grants:  Adair, Breathitt, Butler, Floyd, Green, Hart, Henderson, Johnson, LaRue, Lawrence, Madison, Magoffin, Marshall, Metcalfe, Pike, Warren, Whitley and Wolfe.

Whitley County Solid Waste Coordinator Amber Owens said that the county has two dumps on the list. One is located along Mosley Branch, and the other is located near Highway 2792. The second dump starts near the bottom of the road by Highway 92 and goes all the way up to the top of the mountain.

As part of the grant funding, counties must agree to provide a 25 percent match of the grant amount. The EEC may waive the 25 percent match on any individual illegal open dump where cleanup costs exceed $50,000.

“This grant has funded the clean up of more than 2,000 dump sites across the state since its creation in 2006,” Goodman said. “I encourage all counties to take advantage of this program.”

Grants for the Illegal Open Dump Grant Program comes from the Kentucky Pride Fund, which is generated through a $1.75 environmental remediation fee for each ton of garbage dumped at Kentucky municipal solid waste landfills. This “tipping fee” was first authorized by the 2002 General Assembly under House Bill 174, for use in a dump cleanup reimbursement program, and for the remediation of historic landfills. In 2006, Senate Bill 50 changed the reimbursement program to a grant program and expanded the scope of the fund to address household hazardous waste collection and recycling infrastructure.

Kentucky has made significant progress in addressing the illegal dump issue thanks to this funding, along with statewide cleanup and educational campaigns by local, state and federal agencies.