LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Urban County Council postponed a decision Tuesday on whether to relocate a troubled pump station behind Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, choosing instead to request a full report from city officials for further consideration at an April 28 work session.

The delay came after councilmembers reviewed a study examining three options for addressing the Mint Lane pump station, which has been leaking sewage into the surrounding area. The facility requires major upgrades by the end of 2030 to comply with an EPA Consent Decree under which the city is working to fix aging sewer and stormwater systems.

Acting Commissioner of Environmental Quality and Public Works Charlie Martin presented the three options, which ranged in cost from $19.6 million to $48.4 million. The least expensive option would upgrade the pump station at its current location but faces constructability challenges related to karst topography and potential floodplain issues. The most costly option would relocate the facility to Blue Grass Airport, which Martin described as a "Hail Mary" approach that would require 11 easements and temporary closure of Parkers Mill Road.

The most controversial proposal involves relocating the pump station to a portion of Mill Ridge Farm by Bowman Mill Road at an estimated cost of $24.9 million to $27.3 million. Mill Ridge Farm, a renowned Thoroughbred horse breeding operation, sits outside the city's Urban Service Area, the designated boundary containing the city's development.

The farm's owners previously sought inclusion in the Urban Service Area during the 2023 expansion, which did not occur. Opponents argued during Tuesday's public comment that locating the pump station on the property would circumvent the city's established process for expanding development boundaries and set a troubling precedent. "The Urban Service Boundary should not be up for sale," said John Phillips, a resident from Council District 5.

Price Bell, one of the farm's owners, countered that the relocation would enable a state-funded wetland restoration project on Cave Creek and address years of environmental damage from sewage overflows in the area. He told the council the project would create opportunities for public greenspace and trail connections along what he described as "one of the most beautiful corridors in Fayette County."

The Consent Decree, which Lexington agreed to in 2008, requires the city to spend approximately $590 million to repair sewer systems and prevent untreated sewage from reaching local waterways. The original 2026 deadline was extended to 2030 to accommodate supply chain disruptions and labor shortages related to the pandemic.