Illegal dump sites are a problem all over the commonwealth, and officials said they can be pricy for counties to clean up. Which is why the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet has a grant program that provides funding to smaller communities to help with cleanup costs.
Wolfe County has been a beneficiary of this program for several years, and Judge Executive Raymond Banks said it has meant big improvements countywide.
He said dump sites are a consistent problem and one that causes the county significant problems.
“Some of these places they just, people move in and just destroy the place, then we got to go back through and clean it all backup. And it’s not always people from out of the county, sometimes it’s people in the county. But altogether they come in and make a mess and leave it there as it is for the county to have to deal with,” said Banks.
An area is classified as a dump site if it is a collection of at least two yards of consolidated waste. It can accumulate over time or be deposited all at once.
Bryan Faulkner, Director of Waste Management for Wolfe County, said he’s happy to see the dump sites go.
“To start with, they’re an eyesore. Plain and simple, they make our county look bad, our towns our communities, they look terrible. They also pose a health and safety risk to the people and wildlife as well. And some of them, depending on location, they can also threaten to contaminate our water systems, our creeks and rivers, either by actually washing into them or from run-off from above,” said Faulkner.
Faulkner said in this grant cycle they were approved to clean up 15 dump sites throughout the county. So far, cleanup of three of those sites has been completed, and Faulker said they have removed around 58 tons of waste from those three sites alone.
Breathitt County also received grant money from KEEC to clean illegal dump sites.