FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 10, 2015) – The Energy and Environment Cabinet today announced funding will be made available in emergency grants to help 24 flood-damaged counties clean up solid waste generated by the July flood events.
Counties will be eligible to request up to 110 percent of the preliminary damage assessment estimate for debris clearance that was provided to the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management. The total grant amount to be awarded will not be available until all applications are received.
The counties eligible to apply for the emergency dump grant include: Bracken, Carroll, Carter, Cumberland, Fleming, Floyd, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Lincoln, Menifee, Montgomery, Nicholas, Owsley, Perry, Robertson, Rowan, Spencer, Trimble, Washington and Wolfe.
Application packages with additional information will be sent to eligible counties. Counties where a preliminary damage assessment estimate was provided to the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, that included costs for debris clearance in that county or its incorporated cities, are eligible. These counties may request up to 110 percent of the total debris clearance estimate in the county and its cities.
Grantees must provide a 25 percent match to their grant amount. Counties may collect the municipal solid waste from curbsides or other locations, or may establish collection points where residents or businesses can deliver solid waste for disposal by the county.
This emergency grant is administered through the cabinet’s illegal open dump grant program. State funding for the illegal open dump grant program comes from a $1.75 environmental remediation fee for each ton of garbage disposed of at Kentucky municipal solid waste disposal facilities. The “tipping fee” is collected quarterly and placed in the Kentucky Pride Fund to help combat illegal dumping and finance the closure of old landfills.
