Zoning › State preemptions › Kentucky

Mammoth Cave National Park — Federal Adjacency & Karst-Hydrology Watershed (KY)

Tracked preemption from the Kentucky overlay bundle.

Overview

← All state preemptionsKentucky overlay roll-upKentucky zoning wikiKentucky building codesFederal overlaysGlossaryFederal-conflict: Yes
Effective
1941-07-01
Sunset
—
Authority
federal_via_state
Scope
state:KY
Other Kentucky preemptions
2024 HB 443 — Objective-Standards / Ministerial-Application MandateKRS 65.490 et seq. — Tax Increment Financing (Local Development Areas)KRS 67C / Ky. Const. §156a — Louisville Metro Consolidated Local GovernmentKRS Chapter 224A / 224.01-400 — Brownfield Voluntary Environmental RemediationKRS 100.348 — Manufactured Housing Anti-Exclusion & Parity (2025 HB 160)KRS Chapter 350 / SMCRA — Surface Coal Mining Regulation & Mountaintop RemovalOffice of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP) — Designated Nature Preserves & T&E HabitatKRS 146.200 et seq. — Kentucky Wild Rivers System

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

AND
  • city.county_fips ∈ {21031, 21061, 21099, 21169, 21009, 21105, 21217, 21235}
  • OR
    • parcel.adjacent_to_mammoth_cave_np == True
    • parcel.in_mammoth_cave_recharge_area == True

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
base_districts[*].park_adjacency_review_standardsoverridekarst_hydrology_water_quality_low_impact_designPark-adjacent development subject to enhanced review for karst-hydrology / cave-system water-quality impacts; sinkhole-conduit recharge area extends well beyond surface park boundary
review_typerequirenps_section_106_or_nepa_coordinationFederal nexus triggers NEPA / NHPA §106 coordination with NPS Mammoth Cave Superintendent and KY SHPO

Citation

Authority source
16 USC §§404 through 404c-1 (Mammoth Cave NP enabling acts); 16 USC §1 et seq. (NPS Organic Act); 54 USC §306108 (NHPA §106); 42 USC §4321 et seq. (NEPA); UNESCO World Heritage designation (1981); International Biosphere Reserve (1990)
§ 16 USC §§404 et seq.
https://www.nps.gov/maca/learn/management/lawsandpolicies.htm

Research notes

Mammoth Cave NP (52,830 ac in Edmonson, Hart, Barren counties — FIPS 21061, 21099, 21009) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. The world's longest known cave system (425+ miles mapped). Surface park boundary is just the tip — the karst recharge area extends across Edmonson, Barren, Hart, Logan, Simpson, Warren, Allen, Grayson counties. Sinkhole-plain hydrology means surface land-use impacts (septic, agriculture, stormwater) propagate rapidly into the cave system. No state-level karst-protection statute; protection operates via NPS coordination + KDOW karst-region BMP guidance. Pairs with KY Wild Rivers (Green River reach).