This past week, the Bluegrass Institute was pleased to participate in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC’s) spring meeting on the Energy, Environmental, and Agricultural Task Force in Charlotte, NC.

There, representatives from the Bluegrass Institute met with numerous state legislators and corporate executives to discuss the Intrastate Coal and Use Act, a bill that would reiterate a state’s 10th Amendment rights to regulate its own internal commerce. Specifically, the bill would allow Kentuckians – not the unelected bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency – to weigh the costs and benefits of Kentucky coal when the coal is mined, sold, and used exclusively within the borders of the Commonwealth.

Among the crowd of around 150 dignitaries in the Energy, Environmental, and Agricultural Task Force were Duke Energy, which serves a portion of northeastern Kentucky, as well as State Rep. Tom Lockhart of Wyoming, the state with the most recoverable coal reserves in the nation.

The Bluegrass Institute had the unenviable privilege of informing the task force of the dangers the EPA poses to Kentucky and the Appalachian region in general if its out-of-control mandates continue to cost Kentuckians jobs and industry.

The Institute’s participation in the ALEC Task Force Meeting is a testament to the growing influence the Institute is having in the energy policy debate, and a sign that Kentuckians are passionate about state sovereignty over their energy sector.

“Coal is not only a vital national resource, but coal mining also supports thousands of Kentucky families. These arbitrary changes in EPA guidelines cause unnecessary and costly delays in permitting, which compromise jobs and investments. It’s time for the EPA to end these unpredictable policy swings and work with us on a reasonable policy that protects our families.”

-Gov. Beshear to President Obama during his September 2011 visit 

It looks like the the Environmental Protection Agency has found itself a tag team partner in its efforts to unilaterally bankrupt Kentucky coal companies.

Earlier this month, the US Department of the Interior sent a letter to Kentucky’s Energy and Environmental Cabinet threatening to force federal control over Kentucky’s bonding program for surface coal mining operations if the Commonwealth did not raise bond amounts to the liking of the unelected bureaucrats in Washington D.C.

Before starting a new surface mining project, a company must submit a bond to the Commonwealth to be returned in full once the relevant land has been restored to its former conditions. Apparently federal regulators believe Kentucky’s bonds aren’t satisfactory, and are once again threatening state sovereignty and Kentucky’s right to regulate its own internal commerce.

Just how do D.C. bureaucrats know the appropriate bond levels for Kentucky coal miners better than Kentuckians do? How are the subtle trade-offs between one state policy or another lost on the local citizens of the Bluegrass State, but so easily grasped by the far and away politicians in Washington?

Apparently that all-important local knowledge of the costs and benefits of such a change in the bond program are of no concern to the those in the Department of the Interior who wrote condescendingly to Kentucky’s Energy and Environmental Cabinet:

“I appreciate the complexities of the matter and recognize the deficiencies developed over the past decade or more will take a concerted effort over time to resolve. Nonetheless, it is time to make actual progress.”

Like a parent chastising a petulant child, the feds dismissed the state’s concerns with such a new bond program and are insisting on their way or the highway – a threat to be backed by the force of federal government if necessary.

This is yet another grievance for Kentuckians to discuss at the Environmental Protection Agency’s public hearings scheduled for June 5th and 7th in Frankfort and Pikeville respectively. 

This week the Kentucky Supreme Court found that denizens of the Bluegrass State do indeed have the right to defend their property from the unilateral rulings of Gov. Beshear and the Kentucky Cabinet for Energy and the Environment. Though disappointing that such a fundamental right was actually disputed in court, it’s a victory for smaller government and public accountability.

This ruling reflects a similar Federal Supreme Court ruling that allows US citizens to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s unilateral edicts in a court of law. 

Commenting on the unanimous verdict Kentucky Justice Lisabeth Hughes Abramson wrote, “Federal law encourages the states to permit interested citizens to intervene and be heard in state court enforcement proceedings … Congress’s express declaration that public participation in efforts to control water pollution is a priority of the Clean Water Act.”

It’s refreshing to see Kentucky officials take a cue from federal government for a change, in an effort to promote personal liberty and smaller government.

A recent article published in the Louisville Courier-Journal titled “Stand Against Mountaintop Removal,” should be commended for the passion and concern displayed by its three co-authors – all sophomores in high school. These students are right to be concerned for the energy and environmental future of a state as beautiful and rich in natural resources as Kentucky, especially when the air quality of our most populated city consistently ranks at the bottom of the nation.

In a lot of ways, these students’ genuine concern for Kentucky’s energy and environmental future is more on the mark than they even realize.

Unfortunately for these students and future leaders of the Bluegrass State, there’s a lot more to be concerned about in Kentucky than just our creeks, mountaintops, and aquatic wildlife. Kentuckians must also worry about this delicate balancing act: what happens when honest efforts to protect Kentucky’s natural habitats end up costing its citizens dearly, and how do we avoid such a road to calamity – a road paved by good intentions?

In recent months, the Environmental Protection Agency has provided a perfectly horrifying example of what can happen when no balance is struck – or even attempted.

Acting in the name of extreme environmentalism – i.e., without reasonable concern for the substantial costs of their eco-friendly edicts – the EPA has unilaterally imposed crippling mandates on coal-fired utility plants and threatened to choke the economic vitality out of Kentucky’s energy sector.

In fact, the EPA’s stance regarding Appalachian coal has become so manically unbalanced that EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz actually had to resign this week for his admission of the EPA’s strategy for enforcing its mandates against local dissenters:

“It [is] kind of like how the Romans used to, you know, conquer villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they’d crucify them. And then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years.”

Armendariz went on to say, “you make examples out of people who are, in this case, not complying with the law … and you hit them as hard as you can” — to act as a “deterrent” to others.

This is the same kind of balance we’d find if a 300 pound football player were to play seesaw with a ten year old.

Skip ahead to about 27 seconds for proof that the EPA’s strategy to defeat dissenters is to “crucify” energy producers in Kentucky.

Today’s resignation at the Environmental Protection Agency illustrates the uphill battle Kentuckians face in defending our energy sovereignty – but today’s battle was a victory for the home team.

A regional official at the EPA turned in his resignation today after failing to downplay the comments he made regarding his office’s strategy for enforcing the EPA’s most recent unilateral mandates plaguing the Bluegrass State. His disturbing comments show the sort of militant attitude federal regulators take in attacking cheap and efficient energy sources like Kentucky coal. 

So, Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz, just what is your strategy for stomping out those dissenting against the unelected bureaucrats at the EPA?

“It was kind of like how the Romans used to, you know, conquer villages in the Mediterranean,” he said. “They’d go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they’d crucify them. And then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years.”

Armendariz went on to say that “you make examples out of people who are, in this case, not complying with the law … and you hit them as hard as you can” — to act as a “deterrent” to others.

Such an attitude should come as no surprise to those following the battle between federal regulators and local energy sovereingty – a battle brewing since at least 2008.

Apparently, the plan was to bankrupt cheap and efficient energy sources all along. Take a loot at this 2008 video link for the proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aTf5gjvNvo

We’ve all heard about what a lackluster event this year’s legislative session was – but there was one auspicious development that deserves notice.

On April 11, Gov. Beshear signed House Bill 559 into law – a piece of legislation that opens the door for nuclear energy in the Bluegrass State. Similar legislation was shot down in previous sessions. Though the new law does not allow Kentucky utility companies to use nuclear power to produce electricity, it does allow them to use nuclear power for the conversion of coal and natural gas.

With the Environmental Protection Agency attempting to choke the economic vitality out of Kentucky coal, the Commonwealth cannot afford any cost-effective energy sources being banned by overzealous regulators. If Kentuckians want to continue to enjoy some of the lowest electricity rates in the country, a free market in energy production is the only way forward.