Sanitation District 1 (SD1) has secured seven easements across Gayle Pille’s 45-acre Boone County property, forcing a 35-year-old private nature preserve into the path of a nearly $40 million sewer expansion. The agency plans to use the land for the final phase of the Central Boone County Sewer project, a 3.2-mile pipeline segment designated as B.2. This infrastructure move redirects wastewater westward to the Western Regional Water Reclamation Facility in Petersburg, bypassing the Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Villa Hills.
The dispute centers on a stark financial mismatch. SD1 initially offered Pille $22,100 for the entire 45-acre tract. A subsequent survey by the utility valued the native shrubs and trees Pille planted over decades at approximately $1.5 million. Unable to reach a buyout agreement, SD1 invoked eminent domain, the government’s authority to acquire private property for public use without consent. The Boone County Circuit Court ruled in SD1’s favor, permitting the acquisition.
Pille has appealed the decision, but the legal landscape offers little cover for the land. Attorney Jon Woodall told WVXU that the current ruling creates a procedural gap: "You're just dealing with compensation, that's it. And the project can go forward while you're fighting about the dollars." Construction on the affected section has not yet begun, but the legal barrier to starting work has been removed. The appeal is pending, yet the physical footprint of the project is already set.
Neighbors and supporters have pushed back publicly, holding protests outside SD1’s headquarters in Fort Wright and addressing the Boone County Fiscal Court. Jennifer Watts, a neighbor, argued that SD1 considered multiple routes but selected the one requiring access to 18 properties, including Pille’s. "I know they had multiple routes to choose from, and they chose the one that goes through — it requires them to go through 18 properties," Watts said. She urged the court to pressure SD1 to reconsider the B.2 route, distinguishing between controlling engineering decisions and having no role at all.
Judge/Executive Gary Moore responded that the fiscal court could not interfere with SD1’s engineering choices, stating the utility is better positioned to determine the appropriate route. However, Moore sent a letter to SD1 Executive Director Adam Chaney requesting an explanation of the criteria used to select the current path. Commissioner Chet Hand has also demanded a report from Chaney to the fiscal court.
The case highlights a growing tension in Kentucky as recent changes to eminent domain rules are examined in light of such disputes. Pille had planned to donate the land to the Boone Conservancy after her death to ensure it remained a community preserve, but no conservation easement was in place at the time of the seizure. The next critical step is the fiscal court’s review of SD1’s route justification, which could influence public pressure on the utility, though it cannot halt the legal mandate for construction.