You are making an impact
First, we want to thank all of you who attended KCC’s Legislative Summit this past Sunday. We were excited to “see” all of you virtually, and had a great time visiting with our special guest, Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman, and our other special presenters. If you were not able to join us, don’t worry— you can find the recordings of the conference here: [Part 1], [Part 2]. You can also find resources from the Summit on the Summit Event page and Legislative Resources page.
Thank you for your action!
Keep making calls
We want to thank you for your quick action on a bill we highlighted last week, HB341, which allows utilities the right to ask for a quicker approval process with less notice and less public participation for a variety of proceedings such as rate changes approvals. The bill was not heard in committee this week, and your quick action may be one of the reasons why, so please keep making those calls (1-800-372-7181) and emails to oppose this bill. See full details and talking points on this bill at this link, and WFPL’s coverage on the bill here.
New bill highlights of the week:
Senate Bill 118: (Oppose). Requires the Energy and Environment Cabinet to update and study the state assumption of the Section 404 permitting program and authorizes the Governor to seek assumption. The U.S. Army Corps currently administers the 404 permitting program. If the U.S. EPA grants the delegation the Cabinet must ensure the permitting process reduces duplication, streamlines the process for coal companies, and ensures permits are issued in a fair manner. The bill also requires the cabinet to implement an online portal for the processing of permits issued including Section 404 permits (dredge and fill), Section 402 permits (KPDES permits) and Section 401 certification (water quality certification). The portal must provide a flow chart of each permit process, when an application is complete, and the expectation on when a final decision is made. However, access to the portal applications must be restricted and is not subject to the open records act. There are some good proposed changes in this bill, but the lack of transparency, the lack of any reference to public participation, and the proposal to transfer a very resource intensive 404 permitting program to an already underfunded and under-resourced cabinet is not prudent environmental management. The bill already has several co-sponsors, all from Eastern Kentucky mining communities. ACT: ask your Senator and Senate Leadership to oppose this bill.
House Bill 342 (Strong Support). We were glad to see the re-filing of this bill that includes rate affordability when determining fair, just, and reasonable utility rates. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Hatton. ACT: ask your Representative to co-sponsor this bill.
Senate Bill 114: (Support). Attempts to address the theft of catalytic converters by requiring purchasers to keep record of ownership. ACT: ask your Senator to co-sponsor this bill.
Updated Position:
We want to flag for you that we have modified our position on House Bill 45 (Bowling), “An act relating to resource recovery” (Advanced Recycling) from “strong oppose” to “oppose.”
This bill exempts "advanced recycling" facilities from solid waste regulation, but would still be subject to other environmental regulations. While advanced recycling allows used plastics to be recycled into inputs for different types of products and plastics, the processes used are very energy intensive and produce hazardous byproducts. Fourteen states have already passed laws to allow "advanced recycling" but the Federal Government has been looking at potential future regulations addressing Pyrolysis and Gasification units as this legislation would allow.
This week a bill substitute was filed (HCS1), that included improvements suggested by our friends at The Kentucky Resources Council, which we are very happy to see. Those changes included the removal of language that would support "plastics to fuel" (crude oil, naphtha, and liquid transportation fuels) among its modifications. However, we at KCC are still unable to "support" this bill. Currently single-use plastic waste has only a 9% recycling rate and Advanced Recycling technology is not well tested over time. The EPA is currently considering regulations on this process, and the proposed "Break Free From Plastics Act of 2021 (S. 984, 117th Congress) would suspend permitting of these facilities for three years to study the environmental impacts on air, water and local communities.
KCC supports the goal of managing plastics at the source, rather than methods that may be perceived as "recycling" as a solution to the plastics problem. However, in light of the improvements adopted in the House Committee Substitute, we have modified our position from "strong oppose" to "oppose." We want to thank our friends at KRC for their work on the bill substitute.
State Budget (House Bill 1) Action:
Please make CALLS (1-800-372-7181) and EMAILS to add important funding to:
The Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund (KHLCF) and the Purchase of Agricultural Lands Program (PACE). Download the Conserving Kentucky brief for details and talking points.
We would also like for you to contact to ask for more funding for the Public Service Commission.
Contact Senate Leadership and members of Senate Appropriations & Revenue on these items.
Need for More Co-Sponsors:
ACT: Urge Your Representative to Co-Sponsor These Bills:
HB338 (PFAS limits and monitoring) KCC Strong Support: Requires the Energy and Environment Cabinet to promulgate regulations establishing maximum PFAS limits and monitoring requirements for drinking water provided by public and semi-public water systems, and maximum PFAS limits and monitoring requirements for discharges into the waters of the Commonwealth. More about PFAS impacts. Link to your Representatives HERE.
HB222 KCC Strong Support:Anti-SLAPP (Strategic lawsuit against public participation) legislation. Allows you to recover costs and attorney fees for successful defense of SLAPPs.
Link to your Representatives HERE.
ACT: Urge Your Senator to Co-Sponsor This Bill:
SB69 (Merchant Solar). KCC Strong Support. Senator Hornback's well thought out bill addresses many (but not all) concerns we have heard over the rapid expansion of large-scale "merchant" solar developments in Kentucky. Please ask your Senator to sign on as a co-sponsor.
Link to your Senator HERE.