Press Releases
WHITESBURG, Ky. (March 28, 2024) – U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) released the following statement in support of the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Medium Security Federal Correctional Institution and Federal Prison Camp in Letcher County. The BOP hosted another public meeting at Letcher County Central High School on March 27 to gain additional local and regional feedback about the proposed plan.
“In 2006, Congress directed the Bureau of Prisons to initiate various investigations leading to the development of a new federal correctional facility in Letcher County, Kentucky. Since then, I have secured more than $500 million for construction of the BOP’s next prison facility, intended for our region. This community has also invested in the infrastructure to support the proposed facility, in good faith. With 18 years of hard work, investments and partnerships, and the need for more good paying jobs in Eastern Kentucky, my support of the BOP’s proposed construction is stronger than ever before.
“The Federal Bureau of Prisons employs more than 1,300 people in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, investing more than $83.7 million each year in wages in our region. Building a medium-security prison and camp in Letcher County will add more than 300 jobs, employing people from surrounding counties, and creating new economic development opportunities. Federal prisons in our region are also among the largest customers for some of our local water and sewer districts, strengthening our infrastructure.
“Throughout this process, the BOP has followed environmental regulations with the utmost integrity, conducting multiple studies in Roxana. In fact, some of that work was repeated last year in the same footprint as the original proposed facility. This federal agency has held numerous public comment periods and public meetings to ensure they have received ample feedback, and I applaud their thorough and transparent work.
“According to the BOP, nearly half of its facilities were developed between 1890 and 1991. Fifty-five of them were developed between 1992 and 2007, leaving only a handful that have been built since 2008. It is clear that a new facility is necessary to address safety, modernization needs and to help alleviate lingering problems with overcrowding.
“If this new prison facility isn’t built in Letcher County, it will be built in another state and Kentucky will lose out on the funding and opportunities that come with it. So, I am pleased to see that the DEIS confirmed that the site in Roxanna meets the environmental requirements once again. We are one step closer to building the Letcher County Prison.”
For more information about Congressman Rogers work in Washington and at home in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, visit halrogers.house.gov.
Click here to read BOP’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement: https://www.proposed-fci-letchercountyky.com/_files/ugd/5947b2_6cd3ea7da5044517b0a31a636019012f.pdf
“In 2006, Congress directed the Bureau of Prisons to initiate various investigations leading to the development of a new federal correctional facility in Letcher County, Kentucky. Since then, I have secured more than $500 million for construction of the BOP’s next prison facility, intended for our region. This community has also invested in the infrastructure to support the proposed facility, in good faith. With 18 years of hard work, investments and partnerships, and the need for more good paying jobs in Eastern Kentucky, my support of the BOP’s proposed construction is stronger than ever before.
“The Federal Bureau of Prisons employs more than 1,300 people in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, investing more than $83.7 million each year in wages in our region. Building a medium-security prison and camp in Letcher County will add more than 300 jobs, employing people from surrounding counties, and creating new economic development opportunities. Federal prisons in our region are also among the largest customers for some of our local water and sewer districts, strengthening our infrastructure.
“Throughout this process, the BOP has followed environmental regulations with the utmost integrity, conducting multiple studies in Roxana. In fact, some of that work was repeated last year in the same footprint as the original proposed facility. This federal agency has held numerous public comment periods and public meetings to ensure they have received ample feedback, and I applaud their thorough and transparent work.
“According to the BOP, nearly half of its facilities were developed between 1890 and 1991. Fifty-five of them were developed between 1992 and 2007, leaving only a handful that have been built since 2008. It is clear that a new facility is necessary to address safety, modernization needs and to help alleviate lingering problems with overcrowding.
“If this new prison facility isn’t built in Letcher County, it will be built in another state and Kentucky will lose out on the funding and opportunities that come with it. So, I am pleased to see that the DEIS confirmed that the site in Roxanna meets the environmental requirements once again. We are one step closer to building the Letcher County Prison.”
For more information about Congressman Rogers work in Washington and at home in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, visit halrogers.house.gov.
Click here to read BOP’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement: https://www.proposed-fci-letchercountyky.com/_files/ugd/5947b2_6cd3ea7da5044517b0a31a636019012f.pdf