Recovery Act funding jumpstarts new waste-to-energy facility

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA) to recognize a $1.95 million project funded in part through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky. The Kentucky Horse Park received loans through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for the purchase and installation of a manure bioenergy management facility.

The Kentucky Horse Park spends an average of $200,000 per year to dispose of horse manure. The construction of the new manure bionergy management facility is a practical and sustainable solution that will eliminate costs associated with waste disposal while providing many environmental benefits.

The productive reuse of horse manure to generate electricity is expected to substantially offset electric charges incurred. Energy from waste produces less greenhouse gases than the continued transport of manure to the landfill.

The project will serve the North Elkhorn Creek watershed and provide regional water quality benefits to the area. The on-site storage of manure will not contribute to ground or surface water pollution, which will help to maintain the unnamed tributaries to Cane Run that flow into North Elkhorn Creek.

In 2009, the EPA distributed $49.9 million in ARRA funding to KIA to help the state finance overdue improvements to water projects that are essential for protecting public health and the environment. The funding augmented Kentucky’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program, which provides low-interest loans for water quality protection projects for wastewater treatment, non-point source pollution control, and watershed and estuary management. The Kentucky Horse Park project received $1,950,000 in assistance through the SRF, including $950,000 in ARRA funds.