SOMERSET, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky PRIDE has awarded $35,000 for environmental improvement projects in Bell County. The Bell County Fiscal Court received a $35,000 PRIDE Community Grant.

PRIDE announced today that 47 grants totaling $1,106,515, were awarded this year. The one-year grants will be used primarily to remove illegal dumps and dispose of trash collected during community cleanup events, such as the PRIDE Spring Cleanup.

“The local officials who applied for these grants should be commended for their leadership,” said Richard Thomas, PRIDE executive director. “Congressman (Hal) Rogers makes sure PRIDE funds are available for environmental stewardship, but it is up to communities to put the funds to work.”

“Citizens also have a role to play in their local stewardship campaigns,” Thomas continued. “For example, volunteers may be needed to help with these Community Grant projects. I encourage you to call your local grant recipients to see if volunteers are needed. Second, throughout the year, citizens can report littering and dumping to their local solid waste coordinator.

Cleaning up after a few irresponsible people is expensive, and we need to send the message that we no longer will put up with their illegal activities.”

The PRIDE Community Grant program provides up to $50,000 to counties, cities, other public entities and nonprofit organizations for environmental improvement projects in southern and eastern Kentucky. The program encourages community and citizen involvement in projects to promote personal responsibility for the environment. Recipients must match the grant with a contribution worth at least 10 percent of the grant amount.

“PRIDE Community Grants have been used to clean up over 2,000 illegal dumps,” Thomas said. “It was the first PRIDE grant program, and it has made a tremendous impact on our region’s landscape. Since the region-wide cleanup campaign has progressed so well, PRIDE will begin to shift more resources toward environmental education. That’s the key to preventing our past pollution problems from re-occurring.”

Since 1997, PRIDE has invested $24,937,449 in grants to tackle the region’s solid waste problems. So far, local governments and nonprofit organizations have used PRIDE grants to clean up 2,268 illegal dumps across the region.