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August 26, 2003 To: KRC Members From: Tom FitzGerald
Here at the Council, we take your e-mail privacy seriously. We attempt to avoid spreading any computer viruses, and never send or forward frivolous messages. Due to the recent concerns with virus attachments, KRC will NOT send any attached e-mails to our general mailing list. Instead, as issues or work of interest is generated by KRC, we will send you a message noting that the work has been posted (here) to our website, www.kyrc.org. If you receive any message from KRC that claims to have an attachment, or includes a questionable "subject," PLEASE let us know immediately in order that we may take steps to correct the problem. Thank you. Tom FitzGerald KRC
There is an organization in Frankfort that will take old computers, as long as they are Pentium or above, and old printers and monitors. They will fix them, and in turn donate the equipment to needy families. The name of the organization is the Salvation Student Technology Center, 119 West Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40601. The phone number is 502/226-6062. Cartridges that contain ink for inkjet printers and toner for laser printers and copying machines are being accepted in Jefferson County at: # 595 Hubbards Lane. # 3520 Newburg Road. # 7219 Dixie Highway (beind the Southwest Government Center). # 9300 Whipps Mill Road (behind police station). # 7201 Outer Loop (behind the Central Government Center). # 10620 W. Manslick Road (behind the police station). The Salvation Army of Frankfort will also take some type of gear. KRC has moved. Our new street address is: 213 St. Clair St. Suite 200. Court Square, Frankfort, 40601. Our mailing address is still the same P. O. Box 1070, 40602. |
Click the headline to read the remarks of Council Director Tom FitzGerald on the occasion of receiving the Brennan Haly Award, given in recognition of contributions to and leadership in the Louisville community. KRC appreciates the recognition! In an April 7, 2012 Lexington Herald article about the removal of contaminated soil around the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, resident Fay Buckingham, whose water well was contaminated by a cancer-causing chemical from the plant that has contaminated area soil and groundwater, had this to say about the Department of Energy: "They got more dadgum degrees than a thermometer, but that don't make them good people." Cut and paste this hyperlink to read about Speaker Greg Stumbo's opposition to the AT&T phone deregulation bill, which would compromise stand-alone basic phone service to many Kentuckians. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120314/NEWS01/303140102/Phone-deregulation-bill-runs-into-trouble?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home On Tuesday March 13 at 11:30, the Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee will take up Senate Bill 12 "An Act relating to revenue." Word is out that the Committee will do a committee substitute that will incorporate some version of SB 135, the AT&T telephone deregulation bill, into SB 12. Click the headline to read an op-ed piece on why the AT&T phone deregulation bill is bad news for Kentuckians who rely on stand-alone basic phone service, regardless of the bill number. In a letter sent to the LRAA Board and FAA Staff, KRC has cautioned both agencies that until the environmental study and assessment of possible "obstructions" to avigation is complete at Bowman Field, any efforts to acquire new air easements from nearby residents would be inappropriate and contrary to the limitations imposed on agencies during the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act. To read the letter, click the headline. In a February 29 letter, the LRAA has responded that it will not seek to acquire any easements prior to that time. Click the headline to read KRC's letter to the bill sponsors expressing continued concern that, even without a firm deadline, allowing the incumbent "providers of last resort" who have elected to be unregulated for nonbasic services, to cease providing basic telephone service, is underprotective of customers. The letter summarizes KRC's concerns and includes a longer analysis as an attachment. The Board and staff of the Council note with sadness the death of Mike Mullins, director of the Hindman Settlement School since 1977, and an outspoken, thoughtful, tenacious leader who devoted his life to education, the arts, and progress for Eastern Kentucky. His life, while too short in years, touched the hearts and minds of generations of students and community activists in the region. As Al Cross noted in his “Rural Blog,” http://irjci.blogspot.com, Mike will be “greatly missed.” To learn more about the Hindman Settlement School, go to http://www.hindmansettlement.org/ Click the headline to read KRC's testimony before the House Tourism Committee on Thursday, February 16, in support of HOuse Bill 209, which would restore the obligation of AT&T, Windstream, and Cincinnati Bell to report outages for nonbasic telecommunication services and to attempt to repair them within 24 hours. Click the headline to read KRC's testimony in opposition to House Bill 226, which would create a permitting program allowing the "trimming and pruning" of trees in order to assure that billboard can be seen from roads and highways. The House Transportation Committee approved the bill, and that committee meeting can be watched at http://www.ket.org/legislature/archives.php In comments submitted to Region IV of the US Environmental Protection Agency, KRC has questioned whether the proposal to shrink the boundary of the Jefferson County nonattainment area for the 1-hour sulfur dioxide standard to a small area immediately around the Mill Creek LG&E Plant, is supported by the air quality data. To read the letter, click the headline. In testimony presented at a hearing in Lexington, Kentucky on January 31, KRC expressed opposition to the proposed reorganization and merger of the federal Office of Surface Mining and the Bureau of Land Management. The Council disputed the Secretary's power to do so. To read the testimony, click the headline. Click the headline to read the October 25, 2011 presentation by Andy McDonld, Director of the Kentucky Solar Partnership and a KRC member, to the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government. Click the headline to read the text of the letter. This fall, the Board, staff, and membership of the Council joined with the larger Louisville community in mourning the passing and celebrating the life of our friend Owsley Brown II, who died on September 26, 2011. We will long remember his unwavering support for and interest in our work, his good-natured humor and genteel manner, and his quiet calm which so well balanced the energy and passion for justice of his wife and partner in planting seeds of change, Christy Lee Brown. In his memory, and in honor of his unflagging belief in the "better angels" of our nature, we at the Council rededicate ourselves to the unfinished work of restoring justice to environmental policy. In the "Statement of Consideration" filed regarding proposed changes to enforcement and hearing regulations for the state surface coal mining program, the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources made most of the changes recommended in comments submitted by KRC on September 30, 2011. KRC had expressed concern that a number of grammatical changes made to existing approved state mining regulations would render them inconsistent with federal counterpart regulations. The proposed regulatory revisions were intended to allow electronic service of documents, but a number of grammatical and structural changes (likely made in response to recommendations from the legislative review committee staff) altered the meaning and effect of several regulations. Click the headline to read KRC's concerns, and visit the DNR website to review the amended regulations. On behalf of two residents whose properties adjoin those on which LG&E and KU propose to build a coal combustion waste landfill, KRC submitted preliminary comments to the Divison of Waste Management. Among the issues raised is the insufficiency of TCLP and SPLP testing to determine the leaching potential for various metals and organics associated with coal combustion ash. Click the headline to read the preliminary comments. In a 14-page Memorandum Opinion dated September 12, U.S. District Court Judge Heyburn approved the third Amended Class Action Settlement in a case involving Zeon Chemicals in Louisville's Rubbertown area. On behalf of KRC's client, Eboni Cochran of REACT, KRC had objected to the class action settlement as unfair, and alteratively sought to narrow the scope of the injunction against future lawsuits, and to protect personal injury claims. After objections from Ms. Cochran, the Court ordered changes to the proposed settlement before it was approved preliminarily, and in the Memorandum Opinion further clarified the scope of the injunction and the protection of personal injury claims. The settlement strips residents within a 2-mile radius of the plant of many legal rights while providing only nominal compensation. Click the headline to read the memorandum filed by KRC. In response to concerns voiced by KRC, the American Lung Association of Kentucky, and a former agency official, the Metro Louisville Air Pollution Control District Board accepted staff's recommendation to defer action on proposed changes to the District's STAR air toxics program in order to allow staff to further review the concerns. To read KRC's comments, click the headline. The rules will be taken up next at the July 20 meeting. On June 3, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission will review a controversial staff proposal to hunt 400 sandhill cranes per year for a 3- year period. KRC opposes the hunt, both because of the concerns voiced by the International Crane Foundation regarding the science behind the hunt proposal, but more fundamentally, because this majestic migratory species should be managed for non-game wildlife values. To read more and to learn how to contact the Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission to express your thoughts, click the headline. In comments submitted to the Division of Water on the renewal of a permit for a hog operation in Carlisle County, KRC is seeking imnprovements in a nutrient management plan, as well as better assessment and controls on the emissions of air toxics from pit storage of manure. Click the headline to read more. |
Click the headline to read about the final disposition of the bills and resolutions that the Council supported, opposed, and tracked during the 2012 General Assembly Regular Session, which ended on April 12, 2012. The Governor has indicated that a call for a Special Session, to begin on Monday, will be issued, with the Transportation Cabinet budget and the "pill mill" bill on the agenda. KRC will release our annual "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" wrap-up of the session next week. Click the headline to read about the bills and resolutions that the Council has tracked, supported, and opposed during the 2012 General Assembly Regular Session, which has recessed until April 12. Click the headline to read more about the bills and resolutions that the Council is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 General Assembly Regular Session, complete through end of legislative day March 23, 2012. Click the headline to read more about the bills and resolutions that the Council is supporting, opposing, and trcking during the 2012 General Assembly Regular Session, complete through end of legislative day March 16, 2012. Click the headline to read about the bills and resolutions that the Council is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the Kentucky General Assembly's 2012 Regular Session, complete through end of legislative day March 9, 2012. Click the headline to read about the bills and resolutions that the Council is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 General Assembly Regular Session, complete through end of day March 2, 2012. Click the headline to read more about the bills and resolutions that the Council is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 General Assembly Regular Session, complete through end of legislative day February 24, 2012. Click the headline to read about the bills and resolutions that the Council is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly Regular Session. Click the headline to read more about the environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that the Kentucky Resources Council is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 General Assembly regular session, complete through end of day Friday, February 10. Click the headline to read more about the bills and resolutions that the Council is supporting, opposing, and trcking during the 2012 General Assembly Regular Session, complete through end of legislative day February 2, 2012. Click the headline to read about the bills and resolutions that the Kentucky Resources Council is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly regular session, complete through end of legislative day January 27, 2012. Click the headline to read more about the bills and resolutions that KRC is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly, complete through January 20, 2012. Click the headline to read more about the bills that KRC is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 General Assembly Regular Session, complete through January 13, 2012. Click the headline to read about the bills that KRC is supporting, opposing, and tracking during the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly Regular Session. Click the headline to read about the bills that have been prefiled for introduction in the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly Regular Session, which begins on January 3, 2012. In written comments presented by a Council member at a public hearing in Calvert City on November 18, the Council expressed concern that the permit conditions governing emissions, testing, monitoring, and recordkeeping for a speciality chemical manufacturer in Calvert City, Kentucky, are insufficient. To read the Council's written comments, click the headline. In an order dated November 9, 2011, the Kentucky Public Service Commission approved a package of enhanced energy efficiency and demand management programs proposed by Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities. To read the order, which describes the new and enhanced programs, visit www.lrc.ky.gov and go to Case No. 2011-00134. The Council represented the Metropolitan Housing Coalition in this case. A settlement submitted on November 10 for review and approval by the Public Service Commission would provide over $125,000 in new funds for Home Energy Assistance for the most vulnerable ratepayers in the LG&E and KU Service areas for years 2012 and 2013. The funds were sought by the Metropolitan Housing Coalition and Community Action Council of Lexington to help offset the increase in electricity rates due to installation of pollution control equipment needed to reduce pollution-related illness and death. Cathy Hinko, Director of the Metropolitan Housing Coalition, said this regarding the settlement: "For too long, environmental advocates and fair and affordable housing advocates did not cross boundaries. But now we all see that our interests are entwined, and none too soon. There was a tension between interests of consumers - cleaner utilities require funding, yet we are in a recession where incomes are lower and too many live in poverty. The Metropolitan Housing Coalition and Kentucky Resources Council worked for a settlement that balanced these needs. We both want clean air and soil, we both want to lower usage and make utilities affordable by improving energy efficiency of housing in lower income and older neighborhoods. And we both wanted prudent spending to keep costs lower and effective. We believe we achieved this in the settlement. It has been a joy to work with the visionaries at KRC, who made this possible." KRC was proud to represent Metro Housing Coalition in the environmental surcharge case, and looks forward to more opportunities to collaborate on the nexus between safe and affordable housing, energy, and quality of life issues. The proposed settlement can be read by visiting www.psc.ky.gov and searching for Cases No. 2011-00161 and 2011-00162. Click the headline to read KRC's comments regarding a construction permit requested by American Synthetic Rubber Company allowing substitution of cyclohexane and methylcyclohexane for toluene as a solvent in the production of rubber. On behalf of Citizens for Alternative Water Solutions (CAWS) KRC has filed a motion asking the state Supreme Court to review the issuance by the Kentucky Public Service Commission of a certificate allowing construction of the Pool 3 water treatment plant and associated pipeline. To read the text of the motion, click the headline. |
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