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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. |
In Memorandum Opinions entered in lawsuits pending against the DuPont and Rohm & Haas Rubbertown chemical plants, U.S. District Court Judge Heyburn allowed 30-days for the defendant companies to decide whether to accept an amended class settlement that would limit the five-year proposed injunction against new lawsuits to those class members that did not opt out of the lawsuit, and would provide that no one moving into the area after the entry of the order would be bound by the settlement. KRC represented Eboni Cochran Neal in both cases in objecting to the proposed settlement agreement as being unfair for these and other reasons. Click the headline to read KRC's comments on the proposed revisions to Kentucky's water supply regulations. Click the headline to read the text of a speech by KRC's Director at the 19th Annual Heartwood Forest Council meeting, which was held in Mount Sterling in May, 2009. Click the headline to read KRC's objections to issuance of a strip mining permit to A&G Coal Corporation for multiple-seam strip mining in the watershed of Looney Creek, which provides the raw water supply to the City of Lynch, Kentucky. Click the headline to read Fitz's speech before the 2009 Small Business Ombudsman / Small Business Envionmental Assistance Progam National Conference Click the headline to read the comments submitted by KRC regarding a proposed 350-acre multiple-seam mining operation in the Buckhorn Creek watershed in Breathitt County. Citizens for Alternative Water Solutions (CAWS) filed their opening brief in the appeal challenging issuance by the Public Service Commission of a certificate allowing Kentucky-American Water Co. to construct a new water treatment plant and transmission main from Lexington to Pool 3 on the Kentucky River. Click the headline to read the brief. The company and other parties have until July 20 to file a responsive brief. Click the headline to read the text of KRC's presentation at the May 5, 2009 annual meeting of the Office of Surface Mining Kentucky staff. KRC's Director was one of several speakers at the plenary session of the World of Coal Ash Conference in Lexington on May 5-7, 2009. Click the headline to read the written text of the presentation. Click the headline to read the printed text of Fitz's keynote address to the United Nations Association USA - Kentucky Chapter Annual Luncheon on April 27, 2009. Click the headline to read the text of "Valuing Kentucky's Natural Resources", Fitz's conversation on the EKU Campus as part of the month-long celebration of "Earth Day in The Cumberlands" Click the headline to read the Objections filed on behalf of Eboni Cochran to the proposed class action settlement regarding emissions from the Rohm & Haas plant in Louisville. Ms. Cochran is represented by KRC. At the fairness hearing, Judge Heyburn extended the time for residents within a 2-mile radius of the plant, to opt out of the settlement class. KRC is working with REACT to better inform those residents of the legal impacts of remaining in or opting out of the class. Similar objections were filed by KRC on behalf of Ms. Cochran in the pending DuPont case. KRC Director Tom FitzGerald has been appointed by Governor Beshear to the initial Board of the Center for Renewable Energy Research and Environmental Stewardship. Click the headline for more details. Click the headline to read the Keynote Address presented by KRC's Director at the 2009 Environmental Quality Commission Earth Day Awards Ceremony. Go to http://www.ket.org/cgi-bin/cheetah/watch_video.pl?nola=KKYTO+001619&altdir=&template= to watch a panel discussion on Kentucky Tonight concerning mountaintop removal mining In the latest chapter of Kentucky's "Adventure Tourism" initiative, KRC took the Kentucky Horse Council to task for seeking "immediate" issuance by the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources of a special use permit for a horse trail ride in the Cranks Creek Wildlife Management Area, suggesting that in the future they refrain from publicizing the event until the permit is obtained. To read the KRC letter, click the headline. At the request of Congressman John Sarbanes, KRC supplemented earlier testimony on H.R. 493 to provide additional information concerning beneficial reuse of coal combustion wastes, and the elements of an effective federal regulatory framework for managing coal combustion wastes. To read the supplemental written testimony, click the headline. Click the headline to read of the fate of those bills and resolutions that KRC was tracking during the "veto days" of the 2009 General Assembly Regular Session. A final wrap up of KRC's lobbying activity during the session will be posted late Sunday, March 29. Click the headline to read the current status of the bills and resolutions that KRC is tracking during the 2009 Kentucky General Assembly regular session. The General Assembly has adjourned until March 26, for the first of two veto days. The fate of the bills and resolutions of particular concern to KRC, SB 13, SB 138, HJR 119 and HB 537, are uncertain. Click the headline to read more about the bills and resolutions that KRC is tracking during the 2009 Kentucky General Assembly Regular Session, and to learn how you can make your voice be heard on bills of concern. This update is current through end of day March 6. |
In a 9-page Memorandum Opinion, U.S. District Judge Heyburn denied a motion to approve a settlement agreement that would have bound persons within 2 miles of the Zeon chemical plant in Rubbertown, while providing nominal compensation only to persons living within 1 mile. The Court found the agreement to be unfair to those persons residing between one and two miles of the Zeon Facility, ruling that "the Court will not approve ...the arbitrary division of class members, questionable releases and extensive immunity from future actions, absent greater tangible benefits." With respect to the proposed injunction against bringing future claims for three and up to ten years, the Court ruled " What the Court cannot agree upon is an injunction which limits the rights of those unrepresented here in any fashion. Because the Court concludes respectfully that these flaws, taken together, permeate the proposed settlement and make it fundamentally unfair to entire segments of the proposed class, there remains no alternative other than denying approval." KRC represents Eboni Cochran Neal, who is the named Plaintiff and sole objector to the proposed settlement. In comments submitted on the proposed revisions to solid waste permitting fees, KRC urges the Division of Waste Management to increase the proposed fees in order to fully fund the permitting program through permit fees rather than taxpayer subsidy. The current solid waste program costs 1.6 million per year, yet brings in only $200,000 in fees. Click on the headline to read KRC's comments. Columbia Gas of Kentucky filed a rate case, 2009-00141, before the Kentucky Public Service Commission, seeking approval of an alternative rate design that decouples recovery of fixed costs from volumetric sales of gas. On behalf of AARP, which has concerns about the rate design and its impact on low-income senior customers, KRC moved to intervene in order to present those concerns. By Order dated June 29, AARP was granted full intervention status. KRC appreciates the decision by Columbia Gas not to oppose AARP's intervention. To read the case filings, go to http//psc.ky.gov/pscscf/2009%20cases/2009-00141/ Grady Clay, former Courier-Journal urban affairs editor, writer, and editor of Landscape Architecture magazine for 25 years, was honored in Denver recently at the Congress for the New Urbanism. Grady, now 92 and living in Louisville, coined the phrase "new urbanism" in a 1959 article in Horizon magazine, and was an early advocate for development and maintenance of walkable, mixed-use communities. The Board and membership of the Kentucky Resources Council join with the Congress for the New Urbanism in acknowledging the many contributions that Grady Clay, and his wife Judith McCandless, have made to making our built and natural environment healthier. If you want to write a note of congratulations, Grady's address is 330 Wildwood Place, Louisville, Kentucky 40206. In comments on the proposed reissuance of a "general" permit covering water pollution discharges from coal mining operations, KRC has requested that additional biological and chemical testing be done to prevent impairment of receiving streams. Click the headline to read KRC's comments. On behalf of lead Plaintiff Eboni Cochran, KRC has filed objections to the proposed class action settlement regarding Zeon's facility in Louisville's Rubbertown. Under the settlement terms, if approved by U.S. District Court Judge Heyburn, residents within a 2-mile radius of the facility would lose an array of current and future property and personal injury claims against Zeon, while only those within 1-mile would be eligible to file a proof of claim for a modest monetary award. To read the objections, click the headline. The fairness hearing on the settlement was held on June 19, and at KRC's request, the period during which potential class members can "opt-out" of being in the class, or obejct to the settlement, was extended until July 20. Click the headline to read KRC's statement in response to the reforms announced today by the Obama Administration Click the headline to read KRC's comments concerning proposed revisions to Kentucky's no-discharge and pollutant discharge program regulations. On behalf of Cliff and Judy Wilburn, KRC has petitioned the Kentucky Court of Appeals to rehear their appeal of a Greenup Circuit Court Order condemning an easement on their property to allow an unlawfully installed private sewer to remain on their land. To read the petition, click the headline. Motions to dismiss filed in 3 pending Franklin Circuit Court cases challenge the power of the company to condemn right-of-way for the proposed Kentucky River Pool 3 water project. Since the remainder of the 100+ easements were obtained based on letters which sought "voluntary" easements but claimed the right to condemn in the absence of agreement, the outcome of the cases could have a wider impact on the project viability. A decision is expected later this week. To read the motion, click the headline. Click the headline to read KRC's comments on the Beshear Administration Energy Plan, presented at the opening session of the 3rd Energizing Kentucky Conference on April 15. To read the Governor's energy plan, go to http://governor.ky.gov/ and click on Energy Independence. Click the headline to read the thoughtful and provocative address from UK History Professor and author Dr. Ron Eller, on the road to building a better future for Appalachian communities. Click the headline to read her essay, which was selected by a panel of judges for the 2008 Kentucky Conservation Writing Contest, over 14,516 other entries. Thanks to Ms. Jennings, who is a 15 year old 9th grader at DuPont Manual High, for allowing us to post her essay. To listen to a January 2009 WFPL progam on "clean coal" in which KRC's Director discusses coal mining and combustion technology and the myth of "clean coal," cut and paste this into your browser: http://www.wfpl.org/CMS/?p=3340 In a conversation with WFPL's Julie Kredens, KRC's Director discussed the steps needed to assure that the "Adventure Tourism" initiative does not damage the values and goals for which state-owned lands are managed. To listen to the hour-long program, cut and paste this into your browser: http://www.wfpl.org/CMS/?p=4523 An agreement reached with Bellarmine University to construct a 118-space parking lot in conjunction with construction of a new dorm on campus, will resolve an administrative appeal of the approval of that dorm, which had been filed by KRC on behalf of university neighbors. KRC continues to work with BU on behalf of neighbors regarding lighting and parking issues. Click the headline to read the text of KRC Director Tom FitzGerald's Earth Day speech at Eastern Kentucky University. Click the headline to read the Continuing Legal Education presentation given by KRC's Director at the recent Kentucky Bar Association Environmental Law Update Seminar An agreed order dismissing an administrative appeal filed by the Kentucky Waterways Alliance over issuance of a limestone quarry permit to Edmonson Stone, will result in development of a plan for studying and protecting the water resources and protected species of the Turnhole Springs Basin. KRC represented the Waterways Alliance in the case. To read the Agreed Order of Dismissal, click the headline. In two letters sent to the Huntington Corps of Engineers District on March 23, the EPA has voiced serious concerns regarding pending requests for authorization to dump mine rock and soil into headwater streams, and in one case has hinted at a veto if the authorization is granted. To read more, click the headline. |
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