Clean Water at Risk for Millions of Kentuckians with SB 89

Rory and Elisabeth Tolliver, ages 11 and 6, made signs in opposition of SB89. They often play in the creek at Hill-N-Dale Park, pictured, in Lexington. 
Photo Credit: Kentucky Resources Council

FRANKFORT, KY — Drinking water, public health, and flood resilience for more than two-million Kentuckians would be seriously impacted by a bill currently advancing through the state legislature, said experts at a press conference this morning.

New York Times bestselling author, Silas House, joined advocacy groups and impacted residents to share his concerns. “I was raised working class and I stand with working class people. They will be the ones most affected by the passage of SB 89. Anyone who votes for this bill is voting against working people. Back when I was a little boy growing up in Eastern Kentucky, I learned about the concept of “the commons.” This is an ethical code that refers to shared resources—most often water and air—elements that are accessible to all of us and that the culture has collectively agreed to protect. It is an ethical code. It is unethical to harm our water, and passage of Senate Bill 89 will endanger all of us.”

The press conference on the banks of the Kentucky River featured water and environmental experts from Kentucky Resources Council (KRC), Sierra Club Kentucky, Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA), and Kentucky Conservation Committee (KCC), all of whom urged state leaders to stop the attempt by coal and other corporate interests to dismantle long-standing water protections. Senate Bill 89 (SB 89) passed out of the Senate and is expected to be heard by the Kentucky House Natural Resources and Energy Committee on Thursday, where it will advance to a floor vote by the full House. If it becomes law, SB 89 will strip protections for Kentucky's groundwater, headwater ephemeral streams, and many wetlands, increasing pollution risks, raising water treatment costs, and exacerbating flood risks for communities across the Commonwealth—including the drinking water of more than one million Kentuckians. 

Madison Mooney, a resident of Martin County whose water would be impacted by SB 89 rollbacks, is also a Community Care Coordinator at LiKEN. She said, “Do we want to tell our children to not drink the water that flows from our springs, our wells, and our taps? Do we want to tell our children that we do not want them to play in the creeks and streams? That we should tell them to be afraid of water? No one should be afraid of water. We actually need it to survive.”

SB 89 threatens decades of already well-established water protections. With alarms raised by the state’s own Energy and Environment Cabinet, the bill could have far-reaching consequences that impact every Kentuckian.

“Kentuckians deserve safe, clean water—not policies that prioritize polluters over public health. Kentucky should not be rolling back protections for our precious water resources at a time when the federal government is actively pushing environmental regulations back to the state,” said Audrey Ernstberger, staff attorney and lobbyist for KRC. 

Michael Washburn, Executive Director of KWA said, "Advocating for clean water is not political or ideological—water follows only one path: downstream. Anything placed in a waterway will ultimately reach the lakes and streams we swim in, fish from, and drink from. SB89 eliminates vital protections, exposing Kentuckians to irreversible harm.”

“Kentuckians have fought hard to protect our natural resources, and SB 89 undermines those efforts by prioritizing corporate interests over the well-being of our communities. This bill puts our water, our health, and our future at risk. We stand united with all those who are calling on lawmakers to reject it,” said Julia Finch, Director of Sierra Club Kentucky Chapter.

Lane Boldman, Executive Director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee said, “Kentucky’s waterways are an important part of the Commonwealth’s heritage as well as a critical resource for the benefit of our citizens, our communities, and for supporting a thriving economy and healthy ecosystems. SB89 would significantly narrow protections for headwater streams and groundwater that are an essential and irreplaceable resource for all Kentuckians.”

In a letter to Representative Jim Gooch, Chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, the Secretary of Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet expressed the state’s “grave concerns” about the bill, stating that it “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.”

Silas House added, “I am asking our representatives to protect the people of the commonwealth and the water that our children use for drinking, for fishing, and swimming, that we use for our crops and livestock, and that must be clean for us to survive. I ask our representatives to protect us instead of those looking to profit by more freely polluting our water. We all know that water is life, water is our most precious natural resource, and we must protect it at all costs.” 

SB 89 has already passed the Senate and is expected to be heard before the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee on Thursday. If voted out of committee, SB 89 could be heard by the full Kentucky House of Representatives as soon as Friday. If passed, it will go to Governor Andy Beshear, where advocates hope it would be vetoed. Constituents can still call and write to their representatives to urge them to oppose SB 89. For more information, please visit https://www.kyrc.org/news/water/vote-no-sb89.