Eastern Kentucky county might condemn surface mine site for houses for flood victims

Bill Estep
·2 min read

An Eastern Kentucky county has taken the first step toward a possible condemnation lawsuit to acquire land for houses for people displaced by flooding in the region last summer.

The land at issue is a 1,346-acre tract in Knott County near a county recreation facility called the Sportsplex.

The site was leveled during surface coal mining, is easily accessible off KY 80 and has infrastructure such as water service nearby, so construction on houses could start relatively quickly.

Level land outside the flood plain is at a premium in Eastern Kentucky.

Knott County Attorney Tim Bates sent a letter this week notifying the owner, a land-holding company called Western Pocahontas Properties, that the county will seek to get the land through an eminent-domain action if necessary.

Flooding last July destroyed hundreds of homes in Knott, Breathitt, Perry and Letcher counties, leaving people scrambling to find other places to live.

Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference last week that there are 235 families living in travel trailers in the area.

Trailers provided by the state for victims of last summer’s flooding in Eastern Kentucky are setup at at Mine Made Adventure Park in Leburn, Ky. Ryan C. Hermens/rhermens@herald-leader.com
Trailers provided by the state for victims of last summer’s flooding in Eastern Kentucky are setup at at Mine Made Adventure Park in Leburn, Ky. Ryan C. Hermens/rhermens@herald-leader.com

Others are staying with friends and family or living in patched-together houses or storage sheds.

“The need is so great after the flooding,” Bates said Tuesday.

Beshear has announced one project near the border of Perry and Knott counties to create housing for people displaced by flooding and another near Hazard designed to create more housing in the area. State officials have negotiated with Western Pocahontas for the land in Knott County near the Sportsplex, but have not announced a deal.

Bates told Western Pocahontas the county fiscal court has determined the land is needed for a public purpose.

The site is assessed for tax purposes at $2.5 million.

The letter to Western Pocahontas said local officials wanted to find out if the county could buy the land through negotiation rather than by going to court, and asked the company to name a price.

But Bates said the fiscal court voted unanimously to sue the company to get the land if that is necessary.

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