Stream saver bill headed for committee vote

After years of withering in an unfriendly legislative committee, a bill that would stop coal mine operators from filling valleys and creek beds with toxic excess waste jolted to life Tuesday.

House budget committee chairman Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, inserted language from the so-called stream saver bill into a decoy measure that would have given tax breaks for camels and heard 90 minutes of testimony on the proposal from various proponents.

After hearing from a coal industry lobbyist on Wednesday afternoon, he plans to call a vote on House Bill 569. Moberly said he's not sure whether the measure will pass, but believes the vote count is "on the cusp."

Opponents of the proposal accused Moberly of "hijacking" the contents of HB 164 from the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, where it has languished under committee chairman Jim Gooch, a Providence Democrat with ties to the coal industry.

Moberly said he took action because proponents of the bill "deserve to have a fair hearing." He did not consult with Gooch before Tuesday's hearing because "I wouldn't engage in useless activities."

After the meeting, Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Caylor predicted the bill would halt all coal mining in Eastern Kentucky, but later acknowledged that many coal operators would "figure something out."

"It will drive up the cost of coal and it will drive down production and employment," Caylor said.

Two university scientists testified in favor of the measure, saying the industry's practice of pushing spoil and overburden over mountainsides and into the valleys below is harming water quality, increasing the potential for floods and destroying aquatic habitat.

"The increase in metal concentrations is particularly alarming because of their toxicity to humans and wildlife," said Nathaniel Hitt, a research associate in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Tech University.

As a result, many of the small streams that now flow into tributaries of the Kentucky River, which supplies water to 800,000 Kentuckians, are "as colorful as a fall Oak tree," said Democrat Don Pasley of Winchester, the sponsor of HB 164.

"While questions about Central Kentucky's water supply have divided us in recent years, we should at least be able to agree that it should be clean," Pasley said.

SEE WEDNESDAY'S HERALD-LEADER FOR MORE ON THIS STORY

- John Stamper

Comments

[Jes]

Good for Rep. Moberly!

It's about time this bill had a hearing! The streams, mountains, and people in Eastern Kentucky, and all of us who live downstream, have been waiting for this for a long, long time. If people do the right thing, the bill will pass.

[Media Czech]

3 cheers for Moberly!!!

and the backhanded statement towards The Gooch is the icing on the cake

[JW]

If Mr. Caylor's industry would practice and accept personal responsibility for it's actions, this legislation would not be necessary.

[aaa]

lots of ppl from the mtns shop in Winchester. Thanks to Pasley many of them will now be spending unemployment benefits.

[Amber in Kentucky]

Way to go Moberly and Pasley!

It's about time this legislation got a hearing.

I hope A&R Committee members will do the right thing and vote YES on this bill.

[Theresa]

I have a solution for all of Kentucky's problems! Those people who can't afford to pay a food tax for their camels can bring them to the mountain top removal sites. The elk seem to be doing very well there. I wonder how much money the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife can make from camel tags? On second thought we could race the camels on the ATV trails! Even if this sounds ridiculous, you should sill thank your Kentucky coal miner for the electricity that allowed you to read it.

[Don]

SAVE A CAMEL....STARVE A COAL MINER!

[Don]

How many camels does it take to break the coal industry? Just one in the hands of a few idiots.

[martin]

Many thanks to the hard working miners and none to the companies who put profits before people.

[M DeWitt]

Representative Moberly,
As much as I dislike non-related items tacked onto bills, I like this one! How long should we wait to protect the streams and valleys? Our beautiful state deserves to be as pristine as we can possibly make it.
Thanks to you, your fellow legislators have the opportunity to pass this bill.

[Kim Jacobs]

I am an educated person as I am sure many of you are. I have lived in the heart of the coalfields all my life and was raised by a coal miner and am married to one. My question is, "What do those of you who do not even live here propose our miners do for jobs when and if you get your way?". Have you even been to Eastern Kentucky? Get off your self-made soap boxes and come down here and live for a while. What soap box will you be on when your roads and other state paid luxuries go to pot as the coal severance tax dwindles? If you have nothing better to do, find another source to power that computer on which you are reading this. You are only creating problems instead of solutions.