Eastern KY communities get $6.6M in abandoned mine grants after floods, droughts

Two Eastern Kentucky communities are on tap for $6.6 million in abandoned mine lands grant funding that will go toward expanding drinking and wastewater capacity in the Appalachian highlands.

A little over $2 million will be allocated to the Knott County Water and Sewer District to expand its Ball Creek Wastewater Plant, according to Gov. Andy Beshear and Eastern Kentucky Congressman Hal Rogers. The City of Campton in Wolfe County will receive $4.5 million for a transmission line project to extend treated Cave Run water to the popular Red River Gorge recreation area just east of Lexington.

Beshear and Rogers issued a joint announcement Thursday unveiling the grant funding under the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization, or AMLER, program. Rogers, who is dean of the U.S. House and a longtime Appalachian Republican lawmaker, has long championed the federal effort to reconnect local communities to economic development potential at reclaimed mines.

“When we invest in reliable water and wastewater in the mountains, it provides confidence for our families, schools, businesses and new opportunities,” Rogers said in a statement.

Hundreds of Knott County residents have or are relocating to state-sponsored “higher ground” communities in the aftermath of devastating 2022 floods that killed two dozen and caused nearly half a billion dollars in property damage in and around Eastern Kentucky.

That sudden influx in property development near the Chestnut Bridge and future Olive Branch and Hickory Hills communities is putting a strain on the county’s capacity to treat sewage, said Knott County Judge-Executive Jeff Dobson.

“The sewer plant can handle 100,000 gallons a day, and we’re already almost at max capacity with the higher ground communities that we have under construction,” Dobson told the Herald-Leader. “At Chestnut Ridge, we were able to put in 57 homes in phase one. There’s going to be 90 homes in phase two, and then there will be 75 units in phase three.

“We need to be ready,” he said.

An elementary school and higher ground community in neighboring Perry County will also be tied into the Ball Creek plant, Dobson said.

“It puts a lot of hope back into the old communities impacted by those floods,” he said.

Rogers has requested an additional $1.5 million in federal Community Project Funding to support the total $8 million cost of the project that will more than double daily treatment capacity at the plant and poise Knott County for more economic development growth.

Campton drying out under tourism boom

Whereas abandoned mines are funding projects needed to build back after historic floods in Knott County, a drought just 60 miles northeast in Wolfe County near the Red River Gorge has left Campton city leaders scrambling to tap into a neighboring water treatment system to keep residential taps flowing.

The city will receive half of the costs needed to build an 8-inch water main between Cave Run Lake in Rowan County south to rural tourist hot-spots in Daniel Boone National Forest, particularly the Red River Gorge canyon system, Clifty Wilderness and Natural Bridge State Resort Park.

Water levels in Campton Lake just north of downtown Campton have reached historic lows, Mayor Kathi May told the Herald-Leader. On Thursday, the city issued another in a series of water conservation notices to county residents who rely on the municipal water supply.

“Supplies have been low honestly since the late fall,” May said. “Once we’re able to get this transmission line in place, it will take a lot of pressure off our current reservoir. It’s pre-treated water, so it will also offset the strain that’s on our water treatment plant, too.”

Drought conditions have exacerbated a water system already in high demand during the summer months as tourists from Central Kentucky and out of state flock to the county to hike, climb and explore in and around the gorge.

May said her small city of fewer than 300 residents saw an influx of visitors during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s never really died down since. It’s a good problem to have, she said, but the potable water system wasn’t designed to handle that summer load, especially during drought conditions that have become more frequent.

“It’s making things a lot more difficult,” May said. “It’s a lot of stress.”

Kentucky has been on the receiving end of nearly $30 million in AMLER funding so far in 2026 and more projects are expected to receive funding this year, according to the governor’s office. The commonwealth was responsible for a record number of applications this funding period: 112 projects topping $268 million in economic development.

Part of that influx is due to counties in the Western Kentucky coalfields being opened up for funding for the first time in 2026.

“These projects show just how strategic infrastructure investments can create lasting benefits for our Kentucky communities,” said Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary John Lyons in a statement. “These improvements not only give our fellow Kentuckians improved access to essential services; they put Eastern Kentucky in a better position for continued success in the years ahead.”