Senate Bill 6, an anti-immigrant bill similar to one recently passed in Arizona, was just diverted to the House Local Government Committee and will have hearings on Wednesday, February 2nd and 9th.

This committee shift is unexpected and we want to get as many people to call the legislative message hotline as possible TODAY so that legislators will actually receive the messages before their committee meeting.

Call 1-800-372-7181 before 11pm tonight and leave a message for "all members of the House Local Government Committee."  A simple message like "please vote against SB 6" works fine. 

If you live in the district of one of the legislators on the committee, it would be even better to send a more personal message by calling their office directly, etc.  The list of committee members is below. 

Rep. Steve Riggs (Chair)
Rep. Mike Denham
Rep. Adam Koenig
Rep. Michael Meredith
Rep. Jim Wayne
Rep. Ron Crimm
Rep. Ted Edmonds
Rep. Richard Henderson
Rep. Brent Housman
Rep. Stan Lee
Rep. Tom McKee
Rep. David Osborne
Rep. Julie Raque Adams
Rep. Arnold Simpson
Rep. Kevin Sinnette
Rep. Rita Smart
Rep. Ben Waide

If you can, please also come out on Wednesday at noon to the Capitol Annex in Frankfort for the actual hearing.  Having plenty of supporters of immigrants rights in the room will make an impression on legislators.  

We need a constant steam of calls and actions over the next 9 days, but calling today would be especially useful.  Please circulate this widely!

Please visit our earlier blog entry for background information, as well as a report from a planning meeting a few weeks ago.

Join us this year for a whole week of events gearing up to I love mountains day. Here's the schedule:

Events:
Wednesday Feb 9 Tune in to 88.1 WRFL at 4 pm for "New Power Hour"

Thursday Feb 10 FREE screening of the award winning documentary "Deep Down: A story from the heart of coal country" 7 pm BCTCS in the Oswald building.

Friday Feb 11 I Love Mountains Oldtime Music Showcase at Al's Bar featuring Clack Mountain String Band, Rich and the Poor Folks, and Julie and Adrian Shepherd Powell. $10 All Ages 9 pm

Saturday Feb 12 Morris Book Shop is hosting a legislative letter writing party starting at 12 pm, featuring authors Jason Howard, Erik Reece, Maurice Manning, Eric Sutherland and Whitney Baker

Sunday Feb 13 from 12pm-3pm Third Street Coffee and Latitude Artist Community are hosting a sign and poster making party to gear up for the I Love Mountains Day Rally

Monday Feb 14 I Love Mountains Day March and Rally. March starts at 11 am in Frankfort at the Kentucky River

Monday Feb 14 Happy Hour For The Mountains 4-7 pm Al's Bar. After the march and rally come celebrate with good food, good music and good friends. Reel World String Band will play 2 sets.

For more information visit www.kftc.org/LexLove

The central Kentucky chapter hosted a lobby training last Saturday at Maxwell Street Presbyterian church in Lexington. Almost 30 people came out to learn about our various lobby priorities in 2011.

 The goals for the training were to 1. familiarize folks with lobbying and lobby related activities and 2. to teach people about our six lobby priorities for this session. We began the training with what for some folks may have been a refresher - how a bill becomes a law and what is the difference between paid lobbyists and ourselves. The discussion was very lively and folks contributed several stories about their own experiences lobbying in Frankfort.

We talked about KFTC's lobby priorities in 2011 and then folks broke out into small groups to learn the specifics about immigrant's rights, clean energy, protecting Kentucky's rivers and streams, tax reform, voting rights and LGBTIQ fairness.

 Finally, folks signed up to come along w/ KFTC to several big lobby days. If you're interested in joining us for any of these you can either show up for the carpools which normally leave from the Versailles Rd. Save-A-Lot at 8:15am, or get in touch with Ondine at ondine@kftc.org

Thursday Feb 3rd - Economic Justice Lobby day

Tuesday Feb 8th - Immigrant's Rights

Thursday Feb. 10th - Clean Energy

Monday Feb 14th - I love mountains day

Wednesday Feb 23rd - Fairness

Thursday Feb 24th - Voting Rights

KFTC and our allies were back in Franklin Circuit Court Thursday asking that citizens and public interest groups be allowed to intervene in an important Clean Water Act enforcement case.

The Beshear administration took the opposite position, arguing that citizens have no legal interest in the state's clean water enforcement actions. They supported the arguments of the two coal companies guilty of those violations.

Judge Phillip Shepherd said he would issue a ruling promptly.

"Prevention, abatement and control of water pollution are in the public interest," stated Mary Vance Cromer of the Appalachian Citizens Law Center in support of the citizens' Motion to Intervene.

She cited specific provisions in the federal Clean Water Act that "allowed and encouraged [citizens] to fully participate," and that specifically require states to not oppose citizen intervention.

Arguing for the Kentucky Energy Cabinet, Mary Stevens said that what holds true for federal law is not necessarily applicable in the state. "While they [citizens] have a clear interest in clean water, that is not a legally protectable interest in the state of Kentucky."

She and the other company attorneys argued that state court has no jurisdiction in a case brought under federal citizen intervention provisions, and that the proper venue is where the violations occurred, not in Franklin County. In their written brief, they stated that having to deal with citizens would be an "unwarranted burden."

Attorneys spent two hours before Shepherd presenting arguments about these issues.

Last October, Appalachian Voices, Kentucky Riverkeeper, Waterkeeper Alliance and KFTC threatened to sue – in federal court – International Coal Group and Frasure Creek Mining for an alleged 20,000 violations of the Clean Water Act. But the Kentucky Energy Cabinet stepped in and sued the companies in state court, preempting our federal court action.

The Cabinet sued after investigating and documenting more than 2,700 of those alleged violations. But instead of asking the court to help prosecute to companies, they asked the court to accept Consent Judgments, or agreements, they had already negotiated with the companies to settle the matter. The companies are not denying the violations.

Those Consent Judgments are anemic and proof that state officials are not acting in the public interest, Lauren Waterworth argued for our side. "We do not think the consent judgment is adequate. There's no transparency here. They have bypassed any opportunity for public scrutiny. They are asking us to give them the benefit of the doubt."

She said that additional discovery is needed to understand the full nature of the violations and answer questions about possible fraud by the companies (a claim state officials have ignored).

It was clear that the cabinet and companies were most worried that allowing third-party interveners might result in just such a deeper investigation into the companies' violations and the Cabinet's lack of enforcement.

"The coal industry attorneys are desperate that we don't get to discovery," observed Doug Doerrfeld.

Shepherd understood that if he approved the Consent Judgments that a federal court likely would interpret that to mean that the case had been diligently prosecuted. and dismiss any citizen lawsuit. So he questioned the attorneys about how the citizens interest could be represented.

Shepherd acknowledged the letters the court has received through a public comment process from a lot of people who believe the Consent Judgments need to be strengthened to ensure future companies with the law by the companies.  But he observed that "the only two parties I have before the court are those who are in agreement. How is the court going to be able to determine if the Cabinet acted appropriately?"

Several KFTC members impacted by water quality attended Thursday's hearing in Frankfort.

Media coverage:

• Ronnie Ellis, Ashland Daily Independent
• James Bruggers, The Courier-Journal
• Beth Musgrave, Lexington Herald-Leader
• Jeff Biggers, The Huffington Post
  

Twenty-three candidates have filed to run for six statewide constitutional offices in the elections later this year.  In cases where there is more than one candidate from the same party filed for the same position, the Primary Election on May 17th will determine which candidate goes on to appear on the November 8th General Election ballot. 

Steve Beshear (D)
Barbara Holsclaw (R)
Phil Moffett (R)
David Williams (R)

Secretary of State

Alison Grimes (D)
Elaine Walker (D)
Bill Johnson (R)
Hilda Legg (R)

Attorney General

Jack Conway (D)
Todd P'Pool (R)

Auditor

Adam Edelen (D)
John Kemper (R)
Addia Wuchner (R)

State Treasurer
Steve Hamrick (D)
Todd Hollenbach (D)
K.C. Crosbie (R)

Agriculture Commissioner
Robert Farmer (D)
Stewart Gritton (D)
John Lackey (D)
David Lynn Williams (D)
B.D. Wilson (D)
James Comer (R)
Rob Rothenburger (R)

So there are contested primaries in both parties for Secretary of State and Agricultural Commissioner, but only Republicans will have a contested primary for Governor or Auditor, only Democrats will have a contested primary for State Treasurer, and neither party will have a contested primary for Attorney General.  

Note that independent candidates (who would bypass the primary system in any event) do no appear on this race because their filing deadline is later in the year. 

KFTC will be creating candidate surveys for each of these races and will publish the candidates' responses in our Voter Guide and online at www.KentuckyElection.org. 

As the 2011 Legislative Session is heating up, so is our campaign to pass HB 70 – a bill that would restore voting rights to most former felons after they’ve served their debt to society. 

We’ve managed to pass the legislation through the House each year for many years, with strong bi-partisan support.  But HB 70 has stopped in the Senate each year when Senate leaders like Senator Damon Thayer and Senator David Williams refuse to allow the bill to come up for discussion or a vote. 

Our major short-term goal is to talk to all of the new legislators about this issue and to build on our already broad support in both the Senate and the House and then put pressure on Senate leaders to allow the bill to be heard.

KFTC will have members in Frankfort throughout February every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday talking to legislators about this and other issues.  Our major lobby day and rally is on Feb 24th and we’re hoping to bring out about 300 people then.

Voting Rights Lobby Day in Frankfort – Feb 24th

Meet in Capital Annex room 125 for rotating lobby training from 8am to 10am.

come to the cafeteria downstairs if you need a lobbying orientation after that)

Big rally in the Capital Rotunda from 1pm to 2pm.

But if you can’t make it out to Frankfort, we’re also planning video showings, community tables, speakers, and other events to raise awareness of this issue.  Be in contact with your local organizer to learn more!

You can also contact your legislators through email or the legislative message line, or write letters to the editor. 

The Legislative Message Line is quick and easy to use.  In just two minutes, you can leave a message for a dozen key legislators and really make an impact.

Call 1-800-372-7181, and ask to leave a message for "House and Senate Leadership, Senate State and Local Government," and your own Representative and Senator.

The line is open until 11pm most days.

Message: "Please vote yes on House Bill 70."

Scott County KFTC members have stayed active with an impressive array of work including fund raising, lobbying, community events like the recent Martin Luther King Jr. march, phone banks, and more.

Late last year, the chapter adopted a local issue campaign for the first time – creating a program for curbside recycling in the city of Georgetown and working alongside of the Georgetown College's Green Team to do it.  

Members are still researching the best ways to create a strong recycling program, but have already had some of the first meetings with city council members and plan to meet with many more in the coming months.

At their January meeting, we had a conversation about our New Power Leader program, and everyone in the room pledged to become a new power leader and to be in contact with 5-20 others as part of that organizing strategy.  

The chapter also wants to take a more intentional look at trainings and leadership development.  To that end, they’ve scheduled a lobby training for February 3rd, an organizing 101 training for March 3rd, and intend to schedule a membership recruitment/ fund raising training later in the year.  

Scott County KFTC meets in the first Thursday of every month at 7pm at the Georgetown Public Library.   Feel free to join us!

We also have a letter-writing day focused on KFTC's issues in the General assembly.  It's Feb 10th at 7pm at the Mulberry on Georgetown College's campus.

Members of the central Kentucky chapter of KFTC participated in Lexington's annual Martin Luther King Jr. march through downtown.

As the march circled through the streets of downtown Lexington, KFTC members passed out over 200 handbills about our restoration of voting rights campaign. Afterward everyone gathered at the convention center for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration, Commemorative Program.

 

Last Wednesday, students met for UK KFTC's first meeting of the semester. They reviewed their goals for the upcoming months, which include hosting a film screening of Democracy's Ghost to start a conversation about our restoration of voting rights campaign, hosting a letter-writing potluck in preparation for voting rights lobby day, working with other campus organizations to co-sponsor educational events around Islamophobia and Immigrant's Rights, and planning an event to educate students about the effects of Mountain-Top Removal. Members are excited to start planning and hope to recruit loads of other members this semester! If you'd like to join UK KFTC, please join us on Wednesday Nights at 7pm in Student Center rm. 111.

Groups Put Kentucky Coal Company on Notice

for Polluting Local Waterways with Toxic Selenium

 
The Sierra Club and KFTC took action this week to hold yet another Kentucky coal company accountable for its pollution of local waterways.

In a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue sent this week to Leeco (part of James River Coal Corp.), we assert that the mining company is illegally releasing toxic selenium into several waterways in Letcher County – including Bull Creek, Montgomery Creek, Defeated Creek, Upper Lick Branch, and associated tributaries – without a permit, a violation of the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.  The company’s own water monitoring reports, filed with the Kentucky Division of Water, show that its mines are discharging harmful quantities of the pollutant.

Selenium, a toxic element that causes reproductive failure and deformities in fish and other forms of aquatic life, is discharged from many surface coal-mining operations across Appalachia. At very high levels, selenium poses a risk to human health, causing hair and fingernail loss, kidney and liver damage, and damage to the nervous and circulatory systems.

“Selenium threatens our fish and other aquatic organisms because it readily bio-accumulates,” stated Tim Guilfoile, deputy director of Sierra Club’s Water Sentinels Program. “It’s a growing problem for this region.”

“Waterways across Kentucky and other parts of Appalachia are damaged by toxic mining waste that threatens our streams and our way of life,” said Rick Clewett, a volunteer with the Sierra Club’s Cumberland (Kentucky) Chapter.

This notice-of-intent-to-sue letter follows a similar notice sent to ICG Hazard in early December for selenium pollution from its mine in Leslie County.  Selenium pollution is quickly emerging as a major issue of concern for streams and communities below coal surface mines.  Citizen groups have filed several recent enforcement actions against mine operators in West Virginia regarding selenium pollution.  In September, a federal judge in West Virginia ordered Patriot Coal Corporation to post $45 million in secured credit to cover the anticipated cost of treating selenium at two of its surface coal mines.

The Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment and the Appalachian Citizens Law Center are representing the groups in this case. 

For more information on selenium get this factsheet.

A copy of the Notice of Intent letter is here.