Home » Environmental protection announces grants to clean up illegal open dumps in 20 Ky. counties

Environmental protection announces grants to clean up illegal open dumps in 20 Ky. counties

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 16, 2018) — Approximately $1.5 million in grant funding has been awarded for the cleanup of 108 illegal dumps in 20 counties across the commonwealth, Energy and Environment Secretary Charles Snavely said Tuesday.

“This grant program has been very successful in helping counties clean up their communities, but illegal dumping is still a problem that affects property values and quality of life across the commonwealth,” Sec. Snavely said. “I encourage all counties to continue to take advantage of this program.”

The following counties received grants: Breathitt, Butler, Calloway, Christian, Clay, Hart, Henderson, Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government, LaRue, Lee, Leslie, Magoffin, Martin, Metcalfe, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Warren, Whitley and Wolfe.

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

Funding for the Illegal Open Dump Grant program comes from the Kentucky Pride Fund. The Kentucky Pride Fund 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.

For grant amounts, please call your local solid waste coordinator or Lisa Evans at 502-782-6355.