🌎 Resumen en español · traducción automática
Un grupo de ciudadanos en el condado de Letcher se opone al plan del gobierno federal de construir una prisión federal de 500 millones de dólares en el sitio de Roxana, argumentando que la Oficina de Prisiones ha ignorado nuevos riesgos ambientales como especies de murciélagos en peligro de extinción y riesgos de inundación en el antiguo sitio minero de carbón. El grupo sostiene que la agencia no ha actualizado su declaración de impacto ambiental como lo requiere la ley federal, y señala que otras prisiones federales en condados vecinos no han generado desarrollo económico ni han revertido el desempleo y la pérdida de población después de más de 20 años de operación. Un grupo de restauración comunitaria compró 63 acres del sitio de 500 acres en diciembre de 2024 para prevenir la construcción de la prisión y restaurar la antigua mina a cielo abierto.
Traducción y resumen generados por IA a partir del artículo en inglés. Puede contener errores; consulte el texto original.
A citizens’ group in Letcher County is challenging the federal government’s plan to build a massive federal prison, saying the Bureau of Prisons has ignored newly discovered environmental hazards on the proposed site.
Concerned Letcher Countians contends that the bureau has failed to acknowledge evidence of endangered bat species and flood risks at the Roxana site, which sits on a former coal mine. The group also alleges the agency has not updated its environmental impact statement as required by federal law.
“The Bureau of Prisons continues to move forward as if that purchase never happened,” said Artie Ann Bates, secretary of the group, referring to a 2024 land acquisition. “Most significantly, they have not updated their environmental impact statement, which is a requirement under the National Environmental Policy Act.”
The proposed $500 million federal prison would house more than 1,000 incarcerated people and become the fifth federal prison in eastern Kentucky. The project was initially funded in 2016, faced stiff local opposition and was retracted in 2019, but was revived years later.
The Appalachian Rekindling Project, a community building and land restoration group, purchased 63 acres of the 500-acre site in late December 2024 for $160,000 to prevent the prison’s construction and instead restore the former strip mine.
The Bureau of Prisons approved the Roxana site in October 2024, but a coalition of advocacy groups submitted a letter in June 2026 asserting that new environmental evidence makes the project “legally and environmentally indefensible.”
Bates said the county lacks the resources to handle a prison facility of that size. She noted that the sheriff’s office operates only during regular business hours, relying on Kentucky State Police for coverage nights and weekends.
She also challenged claims that the prison would bring economic development, pointing to other federal prisons in neighboring Martin, McCreary, Clay and Boyd counties that have failed to reverse high unemployment and population loss despite operating for more than 20 years.
The Kentucky Resources Council warned that the project would destroy more than 120 acres of forest habitat and 2 acres of wetlands, potentially endangering watersheds and wildlife. The site lies on a former mountaintop mining area contaminated with air and water pollutants.
The proposed 2026 federal budget includes language to rescind $500 million in prior funding for the project, though Rep. Hal Rogers, a powerful Republican whose district includes Letcher County, has backed the prison as an economic development tool.
Sources
- Public News Service – Kentucky
- Concerned Letcher Countians
- Vera Institute – Building Prisons on Toxic Land
- Louisville Public Media Investigative Report – Land Purchase
- Federal Register – Record of Decision
- Kentucky Resources Council – Prison Opposition
This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Public News Service – Kentucky, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://app.publicnewsservice.org/story/kentucky-residents-proposed-prison-ignores-environmental-risks-1/5249a759-73f0-4447-86b2-e4298bd8c503.
