Coal Fields Industrial Park to get $37.7M water plant, $4.2M state grant

Coal Fields Regional Industrial Authority Inc., on behalf of the city of Hazard, is seeking to construct a secondary water treatment plant and transmission line at the Coal Field Industrial Park in Perry County. This is a regional project with support from Breathitt, Knott, and Perry counties. The project’s total investment is over $37.7 million, with $4.2 million of funding from the state." That language appears in both the state press release and media coverage of the project and summarizes the funding picture for the utilities upgrade.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved $10.2 million in state KPDI awards at its Oct. 31, 2024 meeting, a round that included the Perry County allocation. Terri Bradshaw, president and CEO of the Kentucky Association for Economic Development, said: "KPDI is a vital tool that will allow us to keep winning those economic development projects that trigger lasting impacts for Kentucky communities and make sure Kentucky remains competitive for game-changing growth projects. I am excited to hear the announcement of these awards to Caldwell, Floyd and Perry counties and can’t wait to see the economic progress they help make possible in the years to come."

OneEastKY site listings show why the water upgrade is being pursued: the park is served by a 12-inch water line from Hazard Utilities District and the current treatment plant is rated at 5 million gallons per day with roughly 500,000 gallons per day in excess capacity. Project sponsors and state materials frame the secondary plant and new transmission line as infrastructure needed to expand available capacity and ready the park for prospective manufacturers and logistics users.

The Coal Fields Industrial Park totals roughly 380 acres, with marketing materials listing a 42 acre future certified Build-Ready site that includes a 200,000 square foot building pad with utilities, permitting and preliminary building designs completed. Zoomprospector identifies the street address as 1301 Coalfields Industrial Dr, Hazard, KY 41701 and gives coordinates 37.3653, -83.2795, while OneEastKY also lists Truss Joist Lane, Chavies, KY 41727 as a park address. Neighboring employers cited in property materials include a FedEx regional distribution hub, Sykes/Intuit customer success center and Dajcor Aluminum, Inc.

Transportation and marketing materials show the park adjacent to KY 15 with connections to the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway and Interstate 75 via KY 80 in Hazard. Those same listings contain conflicting figures: Zoomprospector shows "Distance to Interstate: 82 miles" and "distance to freight rail: 8 miles" while OneEastKY lists "Nearest Rail: 2 miles" and both "less than two miles from Wendell H. Ford Regional Airport" and a separate field saying "Nearest Airport: 110 miles." These discrepancies appear in the public site profiles and should be reconciled as the project moves toward permitting and procurement.

KPDI Round 1 closed in December 2023 with 53 projects approved for $31.2 million in state funding and, with local matches, generated more than $123 million in site and building investment statewide. The Perry County water plant and transmission line sit within that broader state effort to make industrial-ready sites more competitive, with the sponsoring Coal Fields Regional Industrial Authority acting on behalf of the city of Hazard and regional support named from Breathitt, Knott and Perry counties.

Local economic development contacts listed on site materials include Hazard Perry County Economic Development Alliance Executive Director Zach Lawrence at 100 Citizens Lane, Suite B, Hazard, KY 41701 and phone 606-436-9731. The water plant project and the KPDI allocation position the Coal Fields Industrial Park to pursue larger industrial and logistics investments across the region.