Stream Saver bill heard in House A & R Committee

There was a great hearing Tuesday on "stream saverâ€ legislation to stop the dumping of mining wastes in Kentucky streams. Very compelling and powerful testimony was provided by Rep. Don Pasley, Dr. Alice Jones of Eastern Kentucky University, Dr. Nathaniel Hitt of Virginia Tech and Tom FitzGerald of the Kentucky Resources Council to members of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee (which decided to hear the bill since the Natural Resources Committee has refused to).

Rep. Pasley introduced the bill and told why it is necessary for upstream and downstream communities. Drs. Jones and Hitt provided thorough documentation of the adverse impacts of valley fills on stream health, especially as it negatively impacts downstream communities. Fitz told how the laws designed to protect streams have eroded to the point where they no longer protect our water.

There were lots of questions and discussion, for and against. The best arguments the coal legislators on the committee could muster was that we ought to work to control pollution from all sources, such as agriculture and urban sprawl, and not just pick on coal companies. However, they had no evidence to refute the scientific data that shows the severe consequences of burying streams and filling valleys with mining wastes. Reps. Keith Hall, Rick Nelson and John Will Stacy took the lead in trying to divert the issue.

But as the testifiers pointed out, there are programs and practices in place to control water pollution from these activities. And a stream can’t be cleaned up if it no longer exists.

The testimony and discussion with the presenters went for about an hour and a half. The Kentucky Coal Association and KFTC did not have a chance to testify. So the committee will continue its meeting on Wednesday afternoon (upon adjournment, we’re expecting about 4 p.m., everyone welcome).

No doubt, the coal industry is going to apply heavy pressure to members of the committee in the next 24 hours. We need to also make sure that members of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee hear from hundreds of KFTC members before asking them to support this critically important bill.

ACTION:

Please call the Legislative Message Line (800-372-7181) and leave a message for all members of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. You can leave a message for all committee members with one phone call. The message line is open from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. Please try to call before 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

MESSAGE:

"Your support for Rep. Pasley’s stream saver legislation is very important. Please support an end to the dumping of mines wastes into our headwater streams.â€

The names of House A&R Committee members are below. If one of them is your representative, please make a special effort to talk to him or her and ask for their support. Besides the message line, you can fax legislators at 502-564-6543 or you can call them directly at 502-564-8100.

House Appropriations and Revenue Committee

• Harry Moberly (HB 164 cosponsor)


• Royce Adams (HB 164 cosponsor)


• John Arnold


• Scott Brinkman


• Dwight Butler


• Larry Clark


• James Comer


• Jesse Crenshaw (HB 164 cosponsor)


• Mike Denham


• Bob DeWeese


• Danny Ford


• Derrick Graham (HB 164 cosponsor)


• Keith Hall


• Jimmy Higdon


• Jimmie Lee (HB 164 cosponsor)


• Lonnie Napier (HB 164 cosponsor)


• Rick Nelson


• Fred Nesler


• Don Pasley  (HB 164 cosponsor)


• Marie Rader


• Rick Rand (HB 164 cosponsor)


• Charles Siler


• Arnold Simpson (HB 164 cosponsor)


• John Will Stacy


• Tommy Turner


• John Vincent


• Jim Wayne (HB 164 cosponsor)


• Robin Webb


• Brent Yonts

Please spread this post far and wide to your networks. We need lots of calls and faxes. Help us keep the momentum going.