Kentucky
Clandestine Methamphetamine Lab Cleanup
Regulatory oversight of clandestine methamphetamine labs in Kentucky is shared by the Department of Kentucky State Police, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the Energy and Environment Cabinet's Department for Environmental Protection (DEP). Under KRS 224.1-410, the Cabinet set up a tiered response system for the decontamination a property needs, based on the degree of meth production and of potential contamination from it. DEP's Superfund Branch says its program manages a list of contractors certified to conduct meth lab cleanups and tracks meth property locations and their remediation.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name meth lab records among its standard record sources. They matter for any inhabitable building, because the contamination DEP describes is inside it. DEP describes how meth cooking releases chemicals, vapors and particles that are absorbed into soft materials, walls and ventilation systems, and how chemicals may be dumped into drains.
- A posted property needs at least a Tier 1 response. Under KRS 224.1-410(7), all inhabitable properties that have been posted by law enforcement or the health department must undergo at least a Tier 1 cleanup response. DEP's decontamination standard for methamphetamine is 0.1 ug/100 cm2.
- The owner has three options. DEP lists decontamination by a certified contractor, demolition, or no action. With no action, the property must remain posted until decontamination has occurred, and DEP says it may not be re-rented or sold without full disclosure.
- Cleaning and demolition each leave a form. A certified contractor completes and self-certifies a Contractor's Certificate of Decontamination, Form DEP 5035, recording the assessment, decontamination and post-decontamination sampling, and submits it to the Division of Waste Management within 60 days of finishing. An owner who demolishes instead must notify the Cabinet in writing 10 days before, and within 60 days submit an Owner's Certificate of Demolition, Form DEP 6085, with photographs and waste disposal receipts.
For a property that was posted, ask whether either certificate is on file.
How the cleanup works
An owner cannot decontaminate the property unless the owner is a certified contractor. Pre-decontamination sampling cannot be used to show compliance with the standard. The Division of Waste Management reserves the right to oversee decontamination and to collect samples. Waste from a demolition goes to a permitted contained landfill, contaminated interior materials may not be salvaged or reused, and the owner remains responsible for asbestos, lead and mercury containing materials. Burning a contaminated structure in place of decontamination is prohibited unless approval was granted in advance.
The program's rules are in 401 KAR Chapter 101, which covers definitions, contractor certification, financial requirements, the tiered response system, and cleanup and sampling requirements. The public health rule linked from the page is 902 KAR 47:200.
Where to look a site up
The pages read link a list of certified contractors, the tiered response criteria and a Form DEP 1016, Meth Lab Preliminary Assessment, but no public list of meth properties. The program's page gives only a named staff contact. The Division of Waste Management takes general questions at waste@ky.gov or 502-564-6716. This handbook does not read the State Police or Health and Family Services pages.
Getting the file
The Cabinet takes open records requests by email to EEC.KORA@ky.gov, with as much detail as possible about the records sought. Name Form DEP 5035 or Form DEP 6085. Only residents of the Commonwealth, as the Open Records page defines them, may request to inspect public records.
Sources
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet pages, read October 12, 2026, no modified date shown: