U.S. Bureau of Prisons issues record of decision on proposed Letcher County prison

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has published a record of decision giving the go-ahead for the proposed Federal Correctional Institution and Prison Camp in Letcher County. Artie Ann Bates, a member of the Concerned Letcher Countians group opposing the project, said the record of decision doesn’t mean the facility is a done deal.

“In fact, when the previous prison battle was going on, the record of decision had already been signed, that Prison Project, when it was going to be a high security prison, got tabled after that.”

Bates was referring to USP Letcher in 2019. Supporters say the proposed medium-security facility would bring new construction and permanent jobs to Letcher County. Opponents say federal prisons are already understaffed and few of the new jobs would go to people who live in Letcher County.

“BOPs environmental impact statement says that when this prison is nearly ready to be opened, they will bring in 130 transferees from other federal facilities, which is 40 percent of the initial workforce.”

BOP stands for Bureau of Prisons. According to a statement from Congressman Hal Rogers Monday, the BOP director said they would build a modern, state-of-the-art facility focusing on safety and wellness.

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