Perry County seeks funding for Leatherwood wastewater project

Perry County Fiscal Court is seeking outside funding for a Leatherwood wastewater project that could help replace failing septic systems, cut health risks and make more property usable for homes or businesses. If the money does not come through, Leatherwood could remain stuck with sanitation limits that make daily life harder and development more difficult.

The request lands in a county where wastewater has already been identified as a long-running infrastructure problem. A Kentucky River Area Development District planning document for Perry County’s water and sewer, wastewater system shows local officials have been tracking the issue for some time, and a 2024 Urban Institute report found that inadequate wastewater capacity and physical deterioration can hinder business development and expansion opportunities in rural communities.

Leatherwood has also already seen how basic utility failures spill into everyday life. In January 2024, WKYT reported that hundreds of people in the Leatherwood community were still without water, with some residents saying they had gone nearly two weeks without service. That history helps explain why the wastewater project is not being treated as a routine public works item, but as a basic service issue tied to how the area can function.

The county’s push for outside money fits a broader pattern in Eastern Kentucky, where major water and sewer work often depends on grants and other outside sources. On Aug. 21, 2024, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers announced a $10.7 million federal Economic Development Administration grant for Perry County’s Buckhorn Water Project, money meant to build a transmission line from a new water treatment plant in Buckhorn to the Coalfields Regional Industrial Park in Chavies. On June 24, 2026, Gov. Andy Beshear and Rogers announced $6.6 million in Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization funds for water and wastewater projects in Eastern Kentucky.

Leatherwood has stayed on the fiscal court’s radar in other county business, too. The court’s Nov. 12, 2024 agenda included extending the lease agreement with Appalachia Service Project, Inc. for the former Leatherwood Elementary School, another sign that the area remains part of ongoing county planning as officials try to line up money for the wastewater work.