Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky Energy and Environment (EEC) Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman announced approximately $587,000 in grants Tuesday for the cleanup of 72 illegal dumps in 18 counties across the commonwealth.

The following counties received grants: Adair, Breathitt, Butler, Floyd, Green, Hart, Henderson, Johnson, LaRue, Lawrence, Madison, Magoffin, Marshall, Metcalfe, Pike, Warren, Whitley and Wolfe.

As part of the grant funding, counties must agree to provide a 25 percent match of the grant amount. The EEC may waive the 25 percent match on any individual illegal open dump where cleanup costs exceed $50,000.

Grants for the Illegal Open Dump Grant Program comes from the Kentucky Pride Fund, which is generated through a $1.75 environmental remediation fee for each ton of garbage dumped at Kentucky municipal solid waste landfills. This “tipping fee” was first authorized by the 2002 General Assembly under House Bill 174, for use in a dump cleanup reimbursement program, and for the remediation of historic landfills. In 2006, Senate Bill 50 changed the reimbursement program to a grant program and expanded the scope of the fund to address household hazardous waste collection and recycling infrastructure.