McConnell Measure Saves Rough River Residents from Costly Payments; Bill Now Goes to President for Signature

Statement

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) praised congressional passage of legislation to support our nation's water infrastructure. The America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, which now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, includes a number of Kentucky priorities insisted upon by Senator McConnell -- including a provision to protect property owners at Rough River Lake.

More than five decades ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed land near the Rough River Lake for flood control purposes. However, it was recently discovered that the Army Corps made errors during its initial survey. The Army Corps then announced it would charge Rough River property owners costly administrative fees to resurvey the land and resolve the issue. The total cost of these fees could have reached $4,000 per household, resulting in millions of dollars flowing into the federal government at the expense of this Kentucky community. When families learned of this unfair demand they contacted Senator McConnell for his assistance. Working with Army Corps' leadership and local leaders like Breckinridge County Judge/Executive Maurice Lucas, Senator McConnell secured a measure in the water infrastructure bill prohibiting the Army Corps from collecting fees from impacted Kentuckians. The McConnell provision included in the legislation also requires the federal government to reimburse all property owners who have already paid fees.

"Families in the Rough River community can finally breathe a sigh of relief," said Senator McConnell. "The measure I secured will protect property owners from paying thousands of dollars in fees to fix decades-old surveying mistakes by the Army Corps of Engineers. This is a critical issue for Kentucky's Rough River community, where the Army Corps' errors threatened to stick local landowners with a steep bill. As Majority Leader, I was proud to lead the charge in crafting a commonsense solution to prevent this Kentucky community from paying a financial price for past government mistakes."

"I want to thank Senator Mitch McConnell for his willingness to help the Rough River community," said Breckinridge County Judge/Executive Maurice Lucas. "We have fortunately avoided a costly and burdensome process for all of our local landowners because of this legislation which Senator McConnell was able to secure as Senate Majority Leader."

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