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| --Current Session: Postings 6-30-- |
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HEADLINES-
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Legislative Update #10: 2004 Regular Session - Bills We're Watching *
Multiple Message Billboards *
Alert #2: Please Call To Stop Billboard Bill *
Legislative Update #9: 2004 Regular Session - Bills We're Watching *
KRC POSTS LEGISLATIVE UPDATE #8 *
Billboard Bill Would Allow "Tri-Vision" Multiple Message Ad Signs On Highways *
2004 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE #7 *
COALBED METHANE BILL TO BE AMENDED TO ADD SAFEGUARDS *
KRC Analyzes Coalbed Methane Bill *
2004 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE #6 *
Gathering Line Regulation Status *
2004 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE #5 *
KRC Testifies On Environment Budget *
2004 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE #4 *
Legislative Update #3 2004 *
KRC Opposes bill cutting off rights of injured to sue for lead poisoning *
Legislative Update #2 2004 *
Legislative Update #1 2004 *
August 7, 2003 Regulation Committee Rejects Non-Coal Reg. Reforms *
08/05/03: Your help needed today & tomorrow *
ADOPT EMERGENCY REGULATIONS ON SITING GATHERING LINES *
REMOVAL OF FUNDS FROM BOND POOL REQUIRES MINING PROGRAM AMENDMENT *
2003 Legislative Wrap-up *
EQC Funding Still in Doubt *
This updated list profiles the significant environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that are being tracked by the Kentucky Resources Council (KRC) during the 2004 session. This is the tenth update. Beginning with this update KRC is profiling only of those bills and resolutions on which some action has been taken by the legislature. KRC has removed from this list those bills that have not yet emerged from the first committee since they are unlikely to be acted on by both chambers during the remaining days of this session. Visit www.kyrc.org and click on the headline to read the latest update (#10). For a cumulative list of all bills that KRC has tracked this session, click on headline for Legislative Update #8.
Senate Bill 114 overrides state regulation and allows multiple message electronic boards to replace existing billboards on Kentucky's highways. Current state Transportation Cabinet regulation prohibits moving billboards: "The erection or existence of an advertising device shall not be permitted in a protected area of an interstate or parkway highway if it . . . moves or has animated or moving parts." With these words, existing state Transportation Cabinet regulation prohibits "tri-vision billboards", also known as multiple message boards, that have three separate sign faces and can be programmed to rotate every few seconds. Click here to learn more about SB 114. PLEASE take a minute to contact the members of House Leadership and ask that they oppose SB 114. Send call 1-800-372-7181 to leave a message, or send a fax to 502-564-6543 addressed to Representatives Rocky Adkins, Joe Barrows, Larry Clark, Jody Richards, Jim Callahan, Jeff Hoover, Bob DeWeese, and Ken Upchurch. Ask them to oppose SB 114, which allows multiple message billboards and also allows destruction of public trees that obscure billboard visibility. The e-mails for these state representatives are their name, separated by a . and followed by @lrc.state.ky.us. For example, Rocky.Adkins@lrc.state.ky.us WHY ARE MULTIPLE MESSAGE BILLBOARDS A CONCERN? Multiple message billboards are designed to attract driver's vision, and are much more effective in distracting drivers from the road, thus posing a greater traffic hazard. Multiple message boards also tend to be more brightly and persistently lit, increasing the contribution to light pollution. WHY DID THE SENATE APPROVE THE BILL? This updated list profiles the significant environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that are being tracked by the Kentucky Resources Council (KRC) during the 2004 session. This is the ninth update. Beginning with this update KRC is profiling only of those bills and resolutions on which some action has been taken by the legislature. KRC has removed from this list those bills that have not yet emerged from the first committee since they are unlikely to be acted on by both chambers during the remaining days of this session. Click here to read the latest update (#9). For a cumulative list of all bills that KRC has tracked this session, click on headline (below) for Legislative Update #8. KRC tracks the significant environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that are being considered by the Kentucky General Assembly during the 2004 session. To read the eighth update, cumulative and complete through March 6, click here. Senate Bill 114, approved his week, made the papers because it would allow cutting down of the public's trees if they blocked the view of highway billboards. But when the Transportation Committee heard the bill, not a word of explanation was given to the Committee about "multiple message systems." Yet the bill would end Kentucky's prohibition against these rotating 3-message electronic billboards, which are called "tri-vision", "multi-prism", or in the bill "multiple message boards." Under SB 114, multiple message boards, which rotate three separate message boards every 5 or more seconds, would become legal. Additionally, the way that SB 114 is drafted, these multiple message boards could arguably be placed along highways regardless of local zoning restrictions. Tri-vision boards pose a heightened highway safety concern, since they are designed to and do attract more attention from drivers, causing greater distraction. They are often lit with a greater intensity than traditional billboards, leading to additional light pollution along highways. (For more background on these tri-vision boards see Scenic America's website at http://www.scenic.org/billboardsign/trivision.htm) When the bill was presented to the Senate Transportation Committee, not a word was said about this significant and abrupt reversal of the current prohibition in Kentucky regulations against moving billboards. It is unlikely that any of the committee members knew of this effect of the bill, since it was not discussed. In fact, even the new Transportation Cabinet officials were apparently unaware of the bill's impact until KRC inquired about it. Tri-vision billboards have been prohibited along interstates and federal-aid highways by federal policy until 1996, when after persistent lobbying by the outdoor ad industry the U.S. Department of Transportation decided to leave the legality of these boards to the individual states. The tri-vision signs have remained prohibited in Kentucky - but that will change if SB 114 becomes law. Such a dramatic and potentially dangerous reversal of current highway safety policy demands more careful scrutiny than it has received to date. Please call 1-800-732-7181 toll free to leave a message for, or send a fax addressed to: Senator David Williams, Senator Dan Kelly, Senator Charlie Borders, Senator Elizabeth Tori, Senator Dick Roeding, Senator Bob Jackson, Senator Johnny Ray Turner and Senator Ed Worley. Ask them to recommit SB 114 to the Transportation Committee in order that the safety and other issues concerning multiple message boards can be presented to and considered by the Transportation Committee. KRC tracks the significant environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that are being considered by the Kentucky General Assembly during the 2004 session. To read the seventh update, cumulative and complete through February 27, click here. HB 577, a bill establishing a regulatory framework for permitting the drilling of wells to recover methane gas from coal beds, will be amended to include public and environmental safeguards sought by KRC and other groups. After presenting testimony before the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee concerning the bill, KRC met with representatives of the coal, oil and gas industries for several hours, culminating in a consensus on amendments the bill to include these new safeguards: * Notice to surface landowners and adjoining landowners of an application for a permit to drill or rework a coalbed methane well; * Submittal of a reclamation plan in all cases, rather than just where there was a severance of the coal rights from surface rights; * A requirement for notification of state and federal agencies when an application is filed, and provision for coordination of permit reviews to the extent possible; and * A requirement for submittal of a groundwater protection plan where the proposed well is within 1/2 mile of any water well used for domestic or residential purposes. The amendments will be folded into a new committee substitute and should be acted on by the House within a week. On Friday, February 20, House Bill 556 was introduced, proposing a new chapter of state law governing the extraction of coalbed methane. As with the extraction, collection, and transportation of any fossil fuel, there are environmental benefits and costs associated with the recovery and use of coalbed methane. The US Geological Survey fact sheet on coalbed methane properly describes the situation as one of "an untapped energy resource and an environmental concern." In reviewing the proposed bill KRC has identified several amendments needed to assure that coalbed methane (CBM) development occurs in a manner that respects the rights of surface landowners and is protective of the environment. To read KRC's analysis, click here. KRC tracks the significant environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that are being considered by the Kentucky General Assembly during the 2004 session. To read the fifth update, cumulative and complete through February 20, click here. On February 11, the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee approved 805 KAR 1:190, a new regulation governing the installation and reclamation of areas disturbed in installing gathering line, which are the lines used to convey oil and gas from wellhead to production treatment or storage facilities. The regulation was required under a state law enacted in the 2003 legislative session, and is anticipated to take effect after review by a second legislative committee next month. While the regulation falls short in several areas, it does for the first time require that prior to installing any new gathering lines, the operator apply for a permit from the Division of Mines and Minerals in the new Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, along with an operations and reclamation plan and emergency response plan. Additionally, citizens may request an inspection of a gathering line and issuance of administrative enforcement orders, including imminent danger cessation orders, and assessment penalties is provided. To read the regulation click here. KRC tracks the significant environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that are being considered by the Kentucky General Assembly during the 2004 session. To read the fifth update, complete through February 13, click here. KRC presented testimony on Tuesday February 10 before the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development and Tourism, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, on the proposed budget for the 05-06 Executive Branch Budget. To read KRC's testimony, click here. KRC tracks the significant environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that are being considered by the Kentucky General Assembly during the 2004 session. To read the fourth update, complete through February 6, click here. On January 6, 2004, the General Assembly convened in Frankfort for the regular "long" legislative session. The General Assembly will be in session until adjournment on April 13. Click here to see the Legislative Update. KRC has expressed grave concern with HB 349, a bill that creates a process for certification of dwellings as "lead-free" and "lead-safe" and gives the owners of these dwellings immunity from civil suit by injured persons. To read KRC's letter requesting that the sponsors withdraw the bill, click here. On January 6, 2004, the General Assembly convened in Frankfort for the regular "long" legislative session. During the first 3 weeks of the session, a number of bills relating to the environment have been filed. The General Assembly will be in session until adjournment on April 13. Click here to see the Legislative Update. On January 6, 2004, the General Assembly convened in Frankfort for the regular "long" legislative session. During weeks 1 and 2 of the session, a number of bills relating to the environment have been filed. The General Assembly will be in session until adjournment on April 13. Click here to see the Legislative Update. The Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee today rejected all of the revisions to the existing non-coal mining regulations, though the committee staff had identified only one provision of one of the regulations that it believed was in excess of the agency's authority. Rejected by the committee were moderate reforms in several areas of significance to landowners whose communities become the targets of new limestone and sand/gravel mines. Click on the headline to read more. On August 1, 2003 the Natural Resources Cabinet issued final revisions to the regulations governing non-coal mining (shale, limestone, clay, etc.) The final regulations did not include all of the reforms that citizens had sought REPRESENTATIVE STUMBO ASKS GOVERNOR TO ADOPT EMERGENCY REGULATIONS ON SITING GATHERING LINES AND TO EXPEDITE DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER REGULATIONS TO PROTECT LANDOWNERS - LETTERS TO THE GOVERNOR NEEDED By letter dated April 2, State Majority Floor Leader Greg Stumbo wrote asking Governor Patton to direct the Department of Mines and Minerals to develop for adoption by the effective date of House Bill 524, emergency regulations for siting natural gas pipelines, including requiring reclamation plans and setbacks. The letter also asks that the Natural Resources Cabinet and Department for Mines and Minerals be directed to complete the 2001 study on needed reforms in the area of oil and gas reclamation requirements within sixty (60) days, and that a task force be impaneled to consider and report on a proposed broader regulatory program for oil and gas, with a target of proposing regulations within 6 months. Click on the headline to read more. When the 2003 General Assembly proposed to shift $3 million from the bond pool, a fund that provides bond coverage for small coal operator's reclamation liability, KRC became concerned that the legislature's removal of those supposedly-dedicated bond funds might result in the bond pool being unable to satisfy reclamation liabilities in the event of mine operator forfeitures. KRC requested that the federal Office of Surface Mining demand a state program amendment be submitted requesting federal approval for the shifting of those funds, and on April 10, 2003, OSM requested that Kentucky file the proposed change as a state program amendment. OSM has directed that the funds not be transferred unless approved after public comment and OS This is KRC's legislative wrap-up for the 2003 Session. The General Assembly adjourned yesterday night, with the Senate failing to take up Legislative Veto #9 (eliminating funding for the Environmental Quality Commission) for a vote. The Governor's veto of the $253,700 appropriation for the EQC for FY 2003-4 is an affront to the citizens of this Commonwealth who have, for over a quarter of a century, benefitted from the EQC's educational activities. EQC is essential as an independent voice and a source of sound information about the status of Kentucky's environment. Please fax the Governor at 502-564-2517 and e-mail him at governor@mail.state.ky.us. Express your disappointment and concern that his veto of the EQC budget and his failure to veto HB 524 threatens to undercut his environmental record from past sessions. Call on him to immediately announce his support for the EQC budgetary needs for FY 2003-4 at the level in his own proposed budget ($276,300), and to identify the source of that funding for the EQC now, in order to prevent distruption of the important work of that agency. Thanks to each of you who took the time to contact your government on environmental issues during these difficult times. Click on the headline to read the wrapup. Yesterday, the House voted overwhelmingly to override Governor Patton's veto of budget language directing that the Natural Resources Cabinet fund the Environmental Quality Commission budget ($253,700) for FY 2003-4 out of a $900,000 additional appropriation given to the Cabinet for that year. Click on the headline to read more.
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