Environmental Matters in the Commonwealth of Kentucky

U.S. EPA awarded the Letcher County Conservation District two Brownfields assessment grants in the total amount of $400,000. Located in southeastern Kentucky, Letcher County (population 25,277) was a prominent coal mining community. When the railroad reached Letcher County in the 20th Century, large corporations such as U.S. Steel and Consolidated Coal quickly brought tens of thousands of immigrants to work in the mines along with local farming families. The mechanization of the mining industry in the second half of the 20th Century brought economic decline and out-migration. Old mining refuse piles and surface mines scar the landscape. Abandoned elevated coal bins and other industrial infrastructure, such as machine shops and switchyards, sit vacant. More than 27 percent of Letcher County’s population lives below the poverty level, and the unemployment rate is over eight percent. The county’s per capita income is $11,984. Assessment of mine-scarred lands throughout the county is expected to spur redevelopment and boost community pride.