BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
FRANKFORT — After receiving no funding last year due to scoring errors, Martin County returned to a competitive statewide process this fall with 12 water and sewer projects that ranked near the top for assistance under the Kentucky Water and Wastewater Assistance for Troubled or Economically Restrained Systems program.
The projects total $39,681,308, but according to the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, only eight fall within the range of money available.
KIA presented the full ranking lists during its special board meeting Nov. 20 and forwarded them to state lawmakers Dec. 1 as required by statute. Legislators on the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue will use those rankings as the basis for selecting projects for funding.
Representative Bobby McCool (R-Van Lear) attended the Nov. 20 KIA meeting.
“As I understand KIA has or will submit their findings with three options,” McCool said. “One is not good for Martin County.”
Instead of ranking projects by weighted scores as it did last year, KIA produced three separate ranked lists:
- A list ranked by weighted score, under which eight Martin County projects would receive funding of $28,160,524.
- A list ranked by median household income, under which Martin County would receive nothing.
- A list ranked by project category, with sub-ranking by score, under which eight Martin County projects would receive $29,947,208.
According to KIA, Martin County’s MHI is at $45,837 (based on 2023 DATA USA figures). At the same time, the U.S. Census Bureau’s official Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates places Martin County’s MHI at $35,522, the second lowest in Kentucky.
The WWATERS program, created by House Bill 563 in 2024, was designed to provide financial support to the state’s most distressed water and wastewater utilities. The General Assembly appropriated $75 million in FY 2025 and another $75 million in FY 2026 through House Bill 1.
According to KIA, only $53,389,556 remains for the 2026 funding round.
Statewide this year, KIA received 164 applications and deemed 152 eligible, requesting a combined $444.9 million.
With only $53.4 million remaining in WWATERS funds for FY 2026, the stakes for Martin County are substantial. Even under the most favorable ranking scenario, the county stands to secure only eight of its 12 proposed projects. The remaining four would receive no funding unless legislators add money or alter project selections.