Council follows Mayor's recommendations for property tax rates
The new tax rates will raise revenue by 4% from last year for the General Fund and Urban Services Fund.
The EPA Consent Decree requires Lexington to make major improvements to this pump station.
In Tuesday, August 12th's Environmental Quality and Public Works (EQPW) Committee, Water Quality Director Charlie Martin will give a presentation on proposed improvements to the Mint Lane pump station.
The Mint Lane pump station serves west Lexington in the Beaumont area. Improvements to the pump station are required by Lexington's EPA Consent Decree with the federal government.
In 2006, the EPA and the Commonwealth of Kentucky filed a lawsuit against Lexington for violating the Clean Water Act, arguing that the city had failed to properly maintain its sanitary and storm sewer systems.
These violations caused pollution and flooding of the waterways near the city, costing the state and federal governments significant environmental remediation costs.
This lawsuit resulted in a settlement between the three parties, called a Consent Decree, which mandated that Lexington spend close to $590 million to repair these systems by 2030.
During the discussion around expanding the Urban Service Area in 2023, there was a lot of discussion around potentially moving the Mint Lane pump station to an area further downstream along Cave Creek if the USA expanded in that direction. However, the USA was not expanded in a way that allowed the pump station to be relocated efficiently.
The Division of Water Quality is proposing a timeline to design a new pump station in the same location by 2026. Construction would likely begin in 2027 or 2028.