News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
Public water supplies gain protection but opponents say bill still puts wells, wetlands at risk
House votes 69-26 to roll back Kentucky’s regulation of water pollution
by Liam Niemeyer, Kentucky Lantern
March 12, 2025
FRANKFORT — A bill that would limit state regulation of water pollution in Kentucky picked up an amendment in a House committee Wednesday morning, but opponents say the changes don’t do enough to protect against groundwater contamination while small streams and wetlands would still be stripped of state environmental protections.
That bill gained House passage Tuesday afternoon along party lines. The minority of Democrats echoed concerns from environmental groups and the secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet who said even with the amendment the measure is “very concerning.”
“The bill threatens the water quality of many Kentucky rivers, streams, and tributaries and, as a result, would
significantly compromise Kentucky’s groundwater, impacting the water quality of more than 31,000
private use wells and at least 156 public water systems,” Secretary Rebecca Goodman wrote in a letter to House members.
Audrey Ernstberger, an attorney and lobbyist for the Kentucky Resources Council, told the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee on Wednesday the amended SB 89 “exposes rural communities to pollution risks that could devastate local economies and health.”
Senate Bill 89 sponsor, Sen. Scott Madon, R-Pineville, and Rep. Jim Gooch, R-Providence, the chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, said they worked with various groups to add an amendment to SB 89 after fielding concerns the legislation didn’t adequately protect against groundwater pollution, leaving private water wells vulnerable in particular.
Madon, speaking before the House committee next to a lawyer representing the Kentucky Coal Association, reiterated his reasoning for SB 89 arguing that industries from farming to manufacturing to coal mining would benefit from a limited definition of what waters the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet can regulate.
”The more I learned, the more I realized this isn’t just a coal industry issue. These issues are affecting a wide variety of businesses and job creators across the Commonwealth,” Madon said.
Madon pushed back on criticisms that the bill would threaten groundwater, saying he worked with the drinking water utility Louisville Water Company on changes to the bill.
Vince Guenthner, a senior utilities consultant for the Louisville utility, told the Lantern he worked with Senate President Robert Stivers, Gooch, Madon and Kentucky House leadership on changes to SB 89. Guenthner said he believed the changes protected Louisville’s water supply along with “a vast majority” of public drinking water supplies in the state. He said his conversations with lawmakers did not discuss private drinking water wells.
The amended SB 89 passed the House committee with all Republicans except one voting in favor of the bill. Democrats opposed the bill, citing concerns from environmental groups that the bill could harm the private drinking water sources of rural Kentuckians.
Gooch said he met with the Energy and Environment Cabinet on changes to the bill but that it was his understanding the cabinet believed the changes did not go “far enough” with water protections. The secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet in a letter dated Wednesday expressed she still has “grave concerns” about the amended version of the legislation.
Energy and Environment Cabinet spokesperson Robin Hartman in a statement said SB 89 fails to protect drinking water sources for families and farmers and that the state, under SB 89, would “become the only state in the nation that has handed over its authority to regulate water resources to big business and outside interest.”
“As Audrey Ernstberger with the Kentucky Resources Council so aptly stated, this bill is an irresponsible, dangerous and deliberate choice to cater to a few at the expense of many,” Hartman said, referencing Ernstberger’s testimony to the legislative committee.
When asked about concerns from environmental groups about the amended bill still not adequately protecting groundwater, Gooch told the Lantern lawmakers would be willing to revisit the issue if “a well is not being protected, especially private wells.”
“Too many people in the state depend on those, and we’ll be looking at that,” Gooch said. “It might be in a couple years we may have to come back and tweak something.”
Gooch characterized one environmental lobbyist’s testimony as “hyperbole” during the Wednesday committee hearing.
Changes don’t alleviate environmental groups’ concerns
Environmental groups and a representative of a Letcher County nonprofit law firm in Eastern Kentucky in testimony honed in on strong concerns they still had about the bill’s impacts on groundwater and the state’s water resources at large, asserting the changes didn’t go far enough to protect Kentuckians from potential water pollution.
The amended version of SB 89, like the original, still changes the definition of “waters of the commonwealth” by removing “all rivers, streams, creeks, lakes, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, wells, marshes, and all other bodies of surface or underground water, natural or artificial.” The state definition is changed to instead mirror the federal definition of “navigable waters.” The bill also still sets bonding requirements for coal companies seeking permits for long-term treatment of water leaving mine sites.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that drastically cut the federal government’s ability to regulate bodies of water and wetlands led to the Biden administration weakening federal rules on water pollution. Litigation over how expansive protections are under the Clean Water Act has continued over decades as various federal administrations have tried to define “waters of the United States” in more broad, or restrictive, terms.
The bill’s amendment expands the definition of regulated state waters beyond the weakened federal standard in specific, limited cases, though not in ways that alleviate concerns from environmental groups.
The amendment would add to the state definition sinkholes with “open throat drains;” naturally occurring “artesian or phreatic springs” and other springs used as water supply sources; and wellhead protection areas, which are surface and subsurface areas surrounding a water well or wellfield supplying a public drinking water system.
Ernstberger in an interview with the Lantern said the specific examples included in the bill’s amendment don’t account for the variety of geological features involving groundwater such as karst aquifers. In testimony before the committee she said tens of thousands of agricultural wells along with private drinking water wells in rural Kentucky remain vulnerable to pollution.
“SB 89 also excludes off-stream ponds, reservoirs and headwaters. To say that none of these water resources require the same level of protection as our rivers and lakes is not just irresponsible. This is dangerous,” Ernstberger said.
Nick Hart, a water policy director for the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, in testimony called on the legislature to preserve the existing definition of regulated state waters and instead take time to study the economic and statutory impacts of SB 89.
Rebecca Shelton, the director of policy at the Letcher County-based Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, told lawmakers about how she uses a filter for a water well on her Eastern Kentucky property because the water contains heavy metals and bacteria. She said she’s paid thousands of dollars to install the filter and maintain it and worries how SB 89 could impact other private well owners.
“I’m fortunate to have had these choices and the ability to pay for them. Yet I know there are still areas of Letcher County that do not, where households do not even have the option of hooking up to the public water system because the lines don’t run to their house,” Shelton said.
Rep. Bobby McCool, R-Van Lear, the only Republican to vote against the modified bill passing the committee, cited concerns about private water wells and impacts on utilities for his opposition. McCool represents Martin County that has for years dealt with infrastructure woes with its public drinking water utility.
“I certainly appreciate the efforts in trying to help with the coal industry,” McCool said. “I just cannot take the risk of hurting the water system.” He said he wasn’t confident concerns about private wells were “taken care of.”
On the House floor, McCool was one of seven Republicans to join the minority of Democrats in opposing the bill. The House passed the measure 69-26, sending it back to the Senate to either concur with or reject the House changes.
Rep. Chad Aull, D-Lexington, on the House floor repeated what Goodman, secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet, wrote in her letter. Kentucky would be the only state to cede its authority to define its own regulated waters, she said, which in turn could cost it “primacy” or the right to manage federal regulatory programs. “This is not where Kentucky needs to be the exception,” she said.
Aull said, “We put at risk our drinking water supplies for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of our people. This bill fails to consider how Kentucky’s water chemistry is dependent on the entire watershed including those seasonal streams, and that underground and interconnected waterways will lose protection.”
Gooch responded by characterizing Aull’s comments as “hyperbole” similar to how he characterized the comments from an environmental lobbyist earlier in the day.
“There are people who we could not write an amendment that would please all of them,” Gooch said.
Rep. Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, who voted in favor of the bill advancing, said the amendment came about from multiple people working on the changes.
“I think it’s very important for all of us to recognize we all want clean water, and that is the intent of amending and just reassuring that we’ve protected the water,” Miles said.
This story has been updated with the House vote, a letter from Kentucky Energy and Environment Secretary Rebecca Goodman and a statement from an Energy and Environment Cabinet spokesperson.
Energy and Environment Secretary Rebecca Goodman’s letter to House members
SB 89 Concerns Letter to House Members
Utilities dependent upon groundwater
Domestic use wells impacted by groundwater
Domestic Use Wells Impacted by Ground Water
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
Soaking rains finally moving out tonight
SUMMARY: Soaking rains brought flooding to Southern Indiana, especially Clark and Washington counties, with some areas receiving up to two inches of rain. Flash flood warnings were extended until 12:15 a.m. due to continued rainfall. While storms will taper off overnight, scattered showers and storms are expected each afternoon through Monday, with the strongest activity near the parkways. Temperatures will remain in the upper 80s to low 90s, with patchy fog possible in the mornings. Drier weather is forecast by midweek, but that will bring rising temperatures into the mid-90s and heat indices climbing well into the triple digits.
WLKY meteorologist Eric Zernich’s Thursday night forecast
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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
Morgantown resident throws first pitch at Great American Ballpark
SUMMARY: Butler County native Jason Mode, who has worked 14 years at McCormick Equipment, was honored to throw the first pitch at Great American Ballpark on July 12 before the Cincinnati Reds game against the Colorado Rockies. Mode, a baseball enthusiast with both children playing for the Butler County Bears, found the moment especially meaningful after his son’s recent emergency eye surgery. Despite being selected from 300 employees, Mode felt the day was surreal and unforgettable. He hopes to return someday to pitch while his son or daughter catches, treasuring the family connection to the sport and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The post Morgantown resident throws first pitch at Great American Ballpark appeared first on www.wnky.com
News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
2 new candidates — a physician politician and former federal prosecutor — enter US House race
by McKenna Horsley, Kentucky Lantern
July 17, 2025
Kentucky’s race for an open U.S. House seat got two new candidates — one from each party — Thursday morning.
Republican Dr. Ralph Alvarado, a former Kentucky lawmaker, and Democrat Zach Dembo, a former federal prosecutor, announced they’re running.
Alvarado has been Tennessee’s health commissioner since 2023, a post he held until recently announcing that he was considering a run for Congress from Kentucky.
The two new candidates bring the field to six, three from each party. The 6th Congressional District seat is up for grabs because its current holder, Republican Andy Barr, is running for U.S. Senate in hopes of succeeding Republican Mitch McConnell, retiring after seven terms.
Democrat Cherlynn Stevenson, a former Kentucky House Democratic caucus chair, has gained an early fundraising lead according to recent campaign finance reports. David Kloiber, a former Lexington council member, is also running for the Democratic nomination.
Alvarado joins Republicans state Rep. Ryan Dotson who announced his campaign earlier this year and state Rep. Deanna Gordon who launched her bid last week.
The primary election will be held in May 2026.
Alvarado: ‘Shoulder to shoulder with President Trump’
In his announcement, Alvarado, a physician, said he would “stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump in Washington, to secure the border, revive the economy, and put America first.”
Alvarado describes himself as “a proud son of immigrants and a relentless defender of the American Dream.”
He said Trump is “under attack from every direction, and he needs reinforcements in Congress.”
Alvarado said in Congress he would “fight to lower healthcare costs, save rural hospitals, and stop illegal immigrants from abusing Medicaid,” as well as fight for Kentucky’s signature industries “including bourbon, thoroughbred horse racing and manufacturing.”
Alvarado was born in California, the son of a father from Costa Rica and mother from Argentina.
He became Kentucky’s first Hispanic legislator after unseating incumbent Democrat R.J. Palmer in a 2014 state Senate race from a district made up of Clark and parts of Fayette and Montgomery counties.
Alvarado spoke at the 2016 Republican National Committee in support of Trump. He was Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s running mate in Bevin’s losing 2019 bid for reelection.
In his farewell speech to the Senate in January 2023, he said, “I love solving problems. … Work is play for me. When I wake up, my mind clicks and I can’t really turn it off until I go to bed. When I am in social gatherings with many of you, I pursue discussions about policy. Some of you have said, ‘Ralph, let it go. We’re not on the clock.’ The problem is that I’m always on the clock. I have a really hard time turning it off. It’s both a blessing and a curse.”
Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee appointed Alvarado commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health. He recently left the Tennessee post after saying he likely would run for Congress from Central Kentucky in response to state Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe’s announcement that she would not be seeking the seat.
In his announcement, Alvarado said he and his wife, Dawn, still live in Clark County where they raised their two children and are “active members of their church and community.”
Dembo: ‘D.C. corruption getting in the way of helping folks in Kentucky’
A former federal prosecutor and staffer for Gov. Andy Beshear, Dembo, a Lexingtonian, left his job as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Department of Justice earlier this year amid Trump’s return to the White House.
“I couldn’t stand by while the administration was playing politics with the justice system to carry out a personal political agenda instead of protecting the Constitution,” Dembo said in a telephone interview with the Kentucky Lantern. “And I felt like D.C. corruption was getting in the way of helping folks in Kentucky. So I wanted to continue serving my country, but obviously my public service had to take a different path, and that’s why I’m running for Congress now.”
Dembo previously worked in the U.S. Department of Justice during the first Trump administration, but said that “while there were many things I disagreed with, personally and politically, I still felt that everyday line prosecutors were able to do their job at DOJ.”
In February, several federal prosecutors resigned after being directed to drop charges in a corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams. More recently, Reuters reported earlier this week that 69 of the roughly 110 lawyers in the DOJ’s federal programs branch, which is tasked with defending legal challenges to the president’s policies, have left the unit since Trump’s recent election or plan to leave.
“This second administration, as we’ve seen through many publicly reported things, is not the same,” Dembo said, adding that “prosecutors are being asked to do things that are immoral, unethical” and facing being fired if they do not go along with it.
In addition to his decision to leave the DOJ, Dembo also has concerns about the recently passed GOP megabill, which included cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding. Barr voted in favor of the bill, and has supported other Trump policies as he seeks the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
“The current congressman is voting very enthusiastically in favor so that he can give tax breaks to his rich buddies and coastal elites, which, again, that’s just not the Kentucky values I was raised with,” Dembo said of Barr.
Dembo plans to distinguish himself from his opponents by focusing on his background as a Navy veteran and federal service. However, he said he is “clear-eyed” that voters may not know him at present. But he remains optimistic that his background in public service, in Kentucky and the district will “connect with voters.”
“Certainly that’s going to be an uphill battle with maybe the name ID, but at the same time, I think it’s a real advantage at a time where people are looking for new and fresh ideas, so I will definitely be looking simply to add to the conversation, not to tear anyone down,” Dembo said.
Dembo has taken some lessons from Beshear. The governor named Dembo as his policy adviser in 2020. Dembo was later promoted to become Beshear’s legislative director.
“Something that I learned from Gov. Beshear is that I don’t think that Kentuckians primarily are waking up thinking about who they vote for or what party they’re registered. I think they’re worried about their families and how they can be successful and have a good paying job and make ends meet,” Dembo said.
“So that’s very much how I’m going to approach it, and it’s not going to be as important to me what party someone identifies with, because if I’m lucky enough to get elected, I’m going to represent all of them.”
This story was updated early Thursday morning to include Republican Ralph Alvarado’s announcement.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
The post 2 new candidates — a physician politician and former federal prosecutor — enter US House race appeared first on kentuckylantern.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This content provides a balanced overview of the candidates running for the open U.S. House seat in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, presenting both Republican and Democratic perspectives. The piece includes factual information, campaign announcements, and quotes from candidates across the political spectrum, without emphasizing or favoring either party. The reporting highlights differences in policy stances and backgrounds while maintaining a neutral tone, typical of centrist political coverage aimed at informing voters rather than persuading them.
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