Judge/executive invokes coal legacy
BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty used a special Fiscal Court meeting March 26 to publicly urge the Kentucky Senate and Gov. Andy Beshear to approve $25.8 million in WWATERS funding for local water and sewer projects, arguing the county has earned basic infrastructure after decades of sending coal wealth out of the Appalachian hills.
Before making that appeal, Lafferty opened the meeting by reading into the record The Mountain Citizen’s March 24 editorial, “When the roads ran coal black,” saying it captured what Martin County has long given to the rest of the state and country through coal.
“I have never read any better words that talk about how much this county has contributed to the rest of the state and to the rest of the country,” Lafferty said.
He then used the county’s coal legacy as a springboard for a direct plea to Frankfort, saying Martin County is not asking for more than it deserves.
“Our House of Representatives has passed [House Joint Resolution 81] for the WWATERS program of $26 million,” Lafferty said. “Now that bill is before the Kentucky Senate. So we, as a people, would certainly ask that the Senate take this up, look on it favorably and pass this measure and that the governor sign it. We are not asking for anything that we do not deserve. We have sent billions that way. We’re asking for a few million so that our children can have clean, safe drinking water.”
HJR 81 passed March 17 and would release $52,502,260 in previously appropriated WWATERS funding statewide. Of that amount, $25,818,550 is designated for eight Martin County water and sewer projects. The resolution still requires Senate approval and gubernatorial action before the money can move forward.
Lafferty continued the appeal in personal and pointed terms.
“We’re not asking you to come and line our streets with gold,” he said. “No. We’re asking for basic services of clean drinking water. That’s not too much to ask for, for what we have done for the rest of this state.”
Later in his remarks, Lafferty donned a Martin County Water District ballcap as he praised the water district’s recent work and credited chairman Tim Thoma for helping move long-delayed improvements forward.
“It’s not my usual tradition to wear a hat at the Fiscal Court, but I’m going today,” Lafferty said.
He said the district has made measurable progress since Thoma became chairman in October 2023, citing reductions in water loss, meter replacements, treatment plant upgrades and work to address the county’s raw water intake on the Tug Fork River.
“We all know the problems with Martin County Water and Martin County Sewage,” Lafferty said. “They have reduced the leak rate percentage from the high-70s down to the mid-40s. And that leak rate is going to come right on down. We have replaced 95-96% of all meters throughout the county.”
He said the district is also pressing to correct longstanding problems at the raw water intake. He also noted that the treatment plant has undergone necessary renovations, including replacing filters that had not been changed in 15 to 17 years.
“We have $16 million in grant funding right now, and you will see those signs going up and those shovels going into the ground just any day now,” Lafferty said.
The judge reserved more special praise for Thoma.
“He’s been instrumental in seeing these changes through, providing the plan — coming up with a master plan,” Lafferty said. “He helped us — went downstate to meet with House and Senate leadership — and has helped move this bill forward to where it is now.”
Lafferty closed by addressing the Senate and Gov. Andy Beshear directly.
“I’m speaking now to the Senate and to the governor: We need these funds,” he said. “We’re not asking for anything that we don’t deserve. We ask that you take this up favorably and move it forward as quickly as you can.”
If approved, the Martin County share of the WWATERS funding would support eight projects identified in the House resolution: the Route 292 booster station and waterline, the Davella pump station and line, Martin County Water District debt service, tank repair and painting, Blacklog gravity line replacement, countywide lift station replacement, Martin County Sewer District debt service and the Inez wastewater system.
The WWATERS program, short for Kentucky Water and Wastewater Assistance for Troubled or Economically Restrained Systems, was created by the Legislature in 2024 to direct funding to distressed water and wastewater systems across the state. Martin County officials have argued that the county’s projects rank among the strongest in Kentucky and that the funding is essential to continue turning around long-troubled infrastructure.
For Lafferty, the argument came back to a familiar Appalachian equation: a county that helped power the region and the nation should not still be fighting for the most basic services.
“We know the people of this county will certainly be very appreciative of you doing this,” he said, “and we ask that you do this post-haste.”