PSC Names Karen Wilson as Legislative Director

22-year veteran of state government will also advise commissioners

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 10, 2018) – Karen Wilson, a 22-year employee of Kentucky state government, has joined the staff of the Kentucky Public Service Commission as its legislative liaison and executive advisor to the commissioners.

Wilson most recently served a policy advisor in the Department of Energy Policy in the Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC). She previously held several other posts in EEC and also worked in the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy.

“With her extensive experience and knowledge, Karen will be an effective liaison between the PSC and the Kentucky General Assembly,” PSC Chairman Michael Schmitt said. “This is a time of rapid change in the energy sector, and we are fortunate to have someone like Karen to both advise the commission and provide information to legislators.”

Joint Meeting of the Waste Water and Drinking Water Advisory Councils Announced

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 6, 2018) – A joint meeting of the Kentucky Wastewater and Drinking Water Advisory Councils is scheduled for Dec. 11, 2018 at 10 a.m. in Training Room C of the Sower Building, 300 Sower Blvd., Frankfort, Ky.

The agenda is as follows:

U.S. EPA Brownfield Grant Guidelines Released

Have a blighted property? Got properties with a questionable environmental history? Chances are you have brownfields. Brownfields are properties that are abandoned or underutilized due to contamination or the perception of contamination. They include a variety of sites, including abandoned schools and hospitals, former factories, mine-scarred lands, gas stations and dry cleaning sites.

There are resources out there to assist communities, nonprofits and quasi-governmental agencies in assessing and remediating their problem properties, allowing communities to get those properties back into productive reuse.

Low-Interest Cleanup Loans Available Through Brownfield Program

Frankfort, Ky. (Nov. 26, 2018) –– The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Brownfield Redevelopment Program is pleased to announce the availability of low-interest cleanup loans through its Cleaner Commonwealth Fund (CCF). Brownfields are properties are that abandoned or underutilized due to contamination or the perception of contamination. The CCF makes funds available to qualified entities wishing to clean up brownfield sites and put them back into productive reuse. Entities and properties must meet certain requirements to be eligible.

• Loans are available to nonprofits and local governments.
• Applicants must adhere to proper Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser guidelines to be eligible for cleanup loan funds.
• Properties must be considered brownfields.
• While in most cases the applicant must own the property, there are some cases where the property can be owned by a partner organization.

Drinking Water, Wastewater Advisory Council Subcommittee to Meet

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 19, 2018) – The Operator and Recruitment and development Joint Subcommittee of the Drinking Water Advisory Council and Wastewater Advisory Council will be meeting on Tuesday Nov. 27, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 300 Sower Blvd., Frankfort, Ky.

The agenda is as follows:

Oil and Gas Workgroup to meet November 15

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2018) – The OIL and GAS WORKGROUP will meet from 1 – 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018 in conference room 332 at the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, 300 Sower Boulevard, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.

Please arrive early so that you can be checked in.

Agenda:

Martin County Water Ordered to Obtain Outside Management

PSC grants rate increase, but imposes stringent conditions

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 5, 2018) – The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) has granted Martin County Water District a permanent rate increase, while also ordering the district to contract with an outside party to manage the troubled utility.

In an order issued today, the PSC told Martin County Water that a failure to comply with the terms of the order could prompt the commission to either force a merger with another water system or seek appointment of a receiver to operate the utility, removing all local control.

The rate increase granted today will add another $3.30 to the average monthly bill for Martin County Water residential customers, bringing it to $54.37. The PSC in March granted Martin County Water an emergency rate increase that brought the average bill to $51.07, an increase of $11.17, from the previous $39.90 for a customer using 4,000 gallons per month.

Winter Begins with Higher U.S. Heating Oil and Propane Prices

U.S. residential heating oil and propane prices at the start of the 2018–2019 winter heating season were 23% and 4% higher, respectively, than at the start of the last heating season. During the winter months (October–March), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) conducts weekly surveys of residential heating oil and propane prices for many states through the State Heating Oil and Propane Program (SHOPP).

Kentucky Association of Mitigation Managers Honored by National Weather Service

Cindy Minter, Campbell County Planning and Zoning Administrator and Carey Johnson, Ky. Division of Water are honored by the National Weather Service for their work in KAMM, promoting a weather-ready nation.

The Kentucky Association of Mitigation Managers (KAMM) promotion of the National Weather Service (NWS) was honored by the NWS for promoting a weather-ready nation with an 2018 Ambassador Recognition.

KAMM was honored for its efforts at its September, 2018 conference, which exemplified its commitment to building a Weather-Ready Nation.

According to the citation, the NWS said of KAMM, “To actively encourage expansion of the Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network in Kentucky, KAMM purchased 48 of the standard four-inch gauges required of the program, handing them out as speaker gifts and door prizes. Through this effort, KAMM truly served as a force multiplier, strengthening a valuable Weather-Ready Nation partnership.”

The citation went on to say KAMM has worked closely with the NWS offices in Kentucky for 14 years in an effort to mitigate the loss of life and property from flooding, and KAMM’s 2018 promotion is just the latest example of its commitment to the core mission of the NWS, and to its goal of creating a Weather-Ready Nation.

Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands Funds Knott County Waterline Supply Project

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 31, 2018) – The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet has announced an $850,000 grant from the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands (KDAML) will be used to design and construct a drinking water line to serve approximately 58 homes along Runnels Branch, in central Knott County.

The grant, which uses funds from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), was issued to the Knott County Water and Sewer District (KCWSD), which will install over 7,000 feet of water supply pipeline later this year or early 2019, with KDAML oversight.