Environmental Watchdog

Two oil well operators accused of violating federal water quality laws in Hart County were arrested after a federal indictment unsealed Thursday charged them with two additional criminal counts. A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment Wednesday against Charles Stinson of Horse Cave and Ralph Dowell of Edmonton, operators of Logsdon Valley Oil Co., with two counts of violation of an underground injection control program. The indictment accuses the two men of willfully injecting fluids into a sinkhole that was not permitted.

Kentucky's Division of Water has joined neighboring Indiana and Ohio in entering a water pollution credit trading program. Basically, this program would allow power plants and other industrial facilities to avoid some controls--and pollute a little more--if they pay farmers upstream to control their runoff.

An Illinois-based fishery is working to open a plant in western Kentucky to process large amounts of Asian carp into fertilizer and food. Asian carp is an invasive species, and has been slowly working its way toward the Great Lakes.

Kentucky's Division of Water has joined neighboring Indiana and Ohio in entering a water pollution credit trading program. Basically, this program would allow power plants and other industrial facilities to avoid some controls--and pollute a little more--if they pay farmers upstream to control their runoff.

The involvement of a state representative in a major coal deal in Kentucky is raising some eyebrows. Under the terms of a new $7 billion contract, Kentucky coal producers will ship nine million tons of coal a year to India for the next twenty-five years. Representative Keith Hall was instrumental in brokering the deal, and Hall represents both the people of Kentucky, and his own private coal interests. 

Every community with water supplies contaminated by pre 1982 mining operations will soon have access to city-water.   Since 1986, the state’s Division of Abandoned Mine Lands has funded new water utilities in 24 of Kentucky’s coalfield counties.   Within just a few years, Division Assistant Director Mark Meade says all eligible areas should have water works.

Kentucky is number one on a list of the states with the most toxic air pollution from power plants.  The Natural Resources Defense Council analyzed the data self-reported by industries in the Toxic Release Inventory, which is managed by the federal government. The most recent data is from 2010, and that year, Kentucky’s power plants emitted more than 40 million pounds of toxic air pollution. This gives the state the dubious honor of being ranked number one in the nation.

Recent rains in the Lexington area have caused green growth in neighborhoods.  That has increased the disposal of grass clippings and other yard waste.   Workers in the city’s Division of Waste Management have noticed an increase in household waste and yard waste in plastic bags in the city’s plastic Lenny cart containers.  The use of plastic bags and other non compostable  items interfere with the composting process.  All household waste should be placed in the Herbie container.

Environmental groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, in hopes they can force federal regulators to crack down on air pollution in national parks. The groups—including Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, and the National Parks Conservation Association—filed a lawsuit in federal court this week.

The announcement Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency had been defeated in a federal court case regarding surface coal mining permits has left some within the industry with mixed reactions. Now, those people are waiting to see what impact, if any, the decision may have on the future of coal mining in Central Appalachia and how the EPA may respond.

Carbon capture has been out of the news lately, as many power plants have abandoned efforts to capture and store carbon dioxide. But the University of Kentucky says the technology is still relevant. UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research will host a carbon capture workshop in September. It’s meant for utility members and researchers to learn more about the technology.

Kentucky environmental attorney Tom FitzGerald has turned down an award from the federal Office of Surface Mining. FitzGerald--also the head of the Kentucky Resources Council--was to be the first-ever recipient of the ECHO Award, named for the agency's stated principles of Environment, Community, Humanity, and Ownership. The award was given out yesterday in recognition of the 35th anniversary of the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, or SMCRA.

The regional compact that oversees water quality in the Ohio River has a new chairman. Kenneth Komoroski is an attorney that often represents the oil and gas industry. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission—or ORSANCO—is a regional body that oversees pollution in the Ohio River. It’s governed by a board made up of members from all eight member states, plus up to three federal commissioners appointed by the president. The board appoints its own chair.

Kentucky fails to make the coal industry pay enough to clean up the environmental wreckage it leaves behind, according to the U.S. Office of Surface Mining. Though state and federal regulators are negotiating this summer in an attempt to solve the problem, Kentucky lawmakers said Thursday the criticism is another example of President Barack Obama's "war on coal."

A 240-pound black bear that has been trolling around Corbin for more than a week was caught by fish and wildlife officers Monday night near Baptist Regional Medical Center and then put down. According to Mike Marraccini, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, officials had been tracking the adult male bear through the radio collar around its neck.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is praising a federal judge's ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency infringed on state's rights by setting up water-quality criteria for surface coal mining operations. The decision is considered a victory for the coal industry, which filed one of the four lawsuits against the EPA regulation along with West Virginia and Kentucky. According to EPA officials, the policy was set up to ensure a better system for surface coal-mining permits under the Clean Water Act.

A new pest threatens to Kentucky’s hardwood trees.  This one is called the Asian Longhorned Beetle and has destroyed tens of thousands of trees in the northeastern United States, Ohio and Illinois.