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Congressional Budget Blocks Fees for Using Lake Cumberland as Water Source

Lake Cumberland
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Lake Cumberland
Lake Cumberland
Credit U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Lake Cumberland

The federal budget passed by both chambers of Congress this week would block a future fee on some southern Kentucky towns that use Lake Cumberland as a water source.

The US Army Corps of Engineers was set to complete a study on allocating water storage capacity.

The Herald-leader reports that the study would have resulted in the charging of a one-time fee to area cities and counties that use Lake Cumberland as a water source. That includes Somerset, Burnside, Monticello, Jamestown, Albany, and McCreary County.

Somerset officials have warned their fee would be around $1 million. Local officials were also worried that they would have to pay fees to help maintain Wolf Creek Dam.

U.S. Representative Hal Rogers of Somerset said in a news release that local communities only use one percent of the water in Lake Cumberland and shouldn’t be subjected to unreasonable fees.

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