Environmental Impact Statement Released for Controversial Proposed BOP Lockup in Kentucky
On July 10, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) released the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed new lockup to be constructed in Kentucky, moving the project closer to construction than it has ever been in more than 20 years since it was first proposed.
A pet project of Rep. Hal Rogers (R) from Kentucky’s Fifth U.S. Congressional District, the prison was tabled in June 2019 after activist groups sued on behalf of 1,408 future prisoners who would allegedly be incarcerated atop “a toxic strip mine site”—until BOP revived the plan in December 2022, as PLN reported. [See: PLN, Apr. 2023, p.33.]
Shifting federal government priorities have also affected the project, making strange political bedfellows of former Pres. Donald J. Trump (R) and Pres. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D) after both called for defunding the project in budget proposals—which Rogers was able to thwart. Though the EIS showed that construction will disrupt streams, wetlands and wildlife habitat around the 500-acre site near Roxanna, it nevertheless called the former coal-mining site the least affected location in Letcher County.
Opponents say the most troubling consequence is storm water runoff that not only threatens to pollute drinking water but also increases flooding risks. Letcher County was one of 13 counties devastated by a 2022 flood that killed 45 people and destroyed over 9,000 homes. The economic impact is also questionable given that BOP plans to fill the new prison’s 300-350 jobs with existing employees. The agency said it eventually hoped to recruit local residents for up to 60% of staff; however, research by the Kentucky Center for Economic Growth shows that similar federal prisons in nearby counties have not boosted economic growth at all. See: Final EIS, Proposed Development of a New Fed. Corr. Inst. and Fed. Prison Camp—Letcher County, Ky, BOP (July 2024).
Additional sources: Lexington Herald-Leader, Louisville Public Media, WFPL