balancing the scales - July 2011

August 4, 2011

Inside...

New Power Leader Profile: Shekinah Lavalle

pg. 2

Putting damaged land to good use

pg. 5

Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Lexington, Ky. Permit No. 513

Action for Justice: KFTC members table across the state to build New Power pg. 8

Change Service Requested

Volume 30 Number 5

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth P.O. Box 1450 London, Ky. 40743

balancing the scales

Solar-powered potluck: New Power in action and practice pg. 6

Former Felon Voices: Kristi Kendall, Floyd County pg. 10

Berea Solar Partners: a personal investment in clean energy pg. 7

Enforcement efforts have not deterred coal companies pg. 13 And much more!

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

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New Power Leader Profile

Shekinah Lavalle and New Power leadership

KFTC’s New Power Leader Program continues to grow, with members across the state engaging clusters of their friends and families in conversations about KFTC, building toward a shared vision for Kentucky. Shekinah Lavalle is a member in Jefferson County and has been a New Power Leader since February. She shares a bit about herself, and a bit about being a New Power Leader.

How/Why/How long have you been involved with KFTC?

I’ve been an active member of KFTC for a little over a year now. I first learned about KFTC at the Kentucky Social Forum in 2009. I was there to see a talk about single-payer health care and I noticed that there was a tax workshop scheduled right before the talk, so I attended. I started working on a project where members interviewed people at non-profit organizations to get an idea of how budget cuts effect their ability to provide services.

I was already interested in taxes as a means to improve our public services, but this work made me draw direct and profound connections between what I saw was lacking in my community and the rhetoric surrounding taxation in this country. I want to help to build better conversations about what our state and what our country is capable of economically.

How/why did you decide to become a New Power Leader? Did you have a goal in mind, or did it simply (or not simply) just sound like a good thing to do, or some of both?

I decided to become a New Power Leader because working with KFTC has helped me learn how important individual efforts can be. I’ve felt very empowered by the guidance I’ve received and by the effects that little things I can do have on the people around me. I want to spread those feelings and ideas. I want to help KFTC build leadership around our wonderful vision for Kentucky because I think we take a holistic approach to improving the lives of Kentuckians.

How did you decide who you wanted to invite to be in your cluster of people?

I’ve made a concerted effort to invite young people into my cluster. I’m the girl who has uncomfortable conversations about politics at dinner, at parties, at bars in mixed company.

I’ve been impressed with the thoughts and ideas of my peers, and I’m always surprised at how powerless teenagers and 20-somethings feel with regard to politics and legislation that affects them and their communities. So, I’ve invited friends and acquaintances and even my sister to get more involved.

These people see the work that I do and I want to show

them that if I can do it, they can. I don’t want complacency and feelings of powerlessness to overtake the political potential of my generation. We’re the future business owners, parents of public school children, politicians and public servants and we need to be prepared and willing to engage in public discourse about what our communities need.

What are some of the things you’ve done with your cluster of folks?

I’m trying to figure out ways to be practical and creative with my cluster members. I’ve only scheduled one formal meeting since starting this New Power Leader program in November, but that was the least interesting thing we’ve done. We’ve gotten together to write letters to the editor for University of Louisville’s student paper, the LEO, The Courier Journal and the Herald-Leader. I took a few of my cluster members with me to lobby against SB6 during the last session. I brought one cluster member with me to the hearing for the Kentucky Forward Bill. One night recently, we got together at a local restaurant to talk about economic policy and the merits of alternative economies, and because it was a laid-back format for a meeting, we had some new people show up! We’ve also done some work with housing in Louisville, informing residents at Shepherd’s Square of their rights for relocation since their housing is going to be torn down to build newer facilities with the Hope VI Grant.

What are some of the outcomes you’ve seen?

Mostly, I’ve seen small things happen. I get excited just to see my cluster members engage in political discourse on Facebook! One member is considering joining the Economic Justice Committee for KFTC, some of my cluster members are planning to attend the statewide annual meeting, and another member was recently granted an internship with the LRC [Legislative Research Commission] for the next session!

My sister is one of my cluster members as well, and she has jumped right in to work with KFTC. She’s now working with us to inform members about the death penalty, she’s been tabling all summer for our chapter at various events, and she’s working with other members on reinstating voting rights for former felons. I think the most important things I’ve seen though, are increased engagement in political issues and a sense of empowerment to work for positive change in our community.

What are some of your plans with your cluster members?

We’re planning on having another meeting soon. In the fall, I plan to have a dinner/potluck night at my house to discuss the upcoming session. We’re planning to meet with some of our representatives at home now that summer travel plans are calming down. I’m always looking for new ideas too, so send ‘em my way if you’ve found anything to be particularly effective with your clusters/friends/etc.! (continued on next page)

On the cover: KFTC members Ben Baker, Katie Meyer, and Sean McDonald staff the KFTC table at the Browngrass Festival in Rabbit Hash. Featured in this photo is the Music for the Mountains CD, made to help benefit Ohio Citizen Action and KFTC. Visit www.magnoliamountain.net/ to purchase the CD.

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a statewide grassroots social justice orga­­ni­ zation working for a new balance of power and a just society. KFTC uses direct-action organizing to accomplish the following goals: • foster democratic values • change unjust institutions • empower individuals • overcome racism and other discrimination • communicate a message of what is possible • build the organization • help people participate • win issues that affect the common welfare • have fun KFTC membership dues are $15 to $50 per year, based on ability to pay. No one is denied membership because of inability to pay.

Membership is open to anyone who is committed to equality, democracy and nonviolent change.

KFTC Steering Committee Steve Boyce, Chairperson Sue Tallichet, Vice-Chairperson Dana Beasley Brown, Secretary-Treasurer K.A. Owens, Immediate Past Chair Rick Handshoe, At-Large Member

Chapter Representatives Rosanne Fitts Klarer, Scott County Erika Skaggs, Central Kentucky Ted Withrow, Rowan County Scott Goebel, Northern Kentucky Mary Love, Jefferson County Meredith Wadlington, Bowling Green & Friends Carl Shoupe, Harlan County Truman Hurt, Perry County Megan Naseman, Madison County Patty Amburgey, Letcher County Beverly May, Floyd County Alternates: Matt Doolin, Matt Heil, Lisa Bryant, Antonio Mazzaro, Martha Flack, Sandi Joiner, Stanley Sturgill, McKinley Sumner, Steve Wilkins, Jeff Chapman-Crane.

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth P.O. Box 1450 London, Kentucky 40743-1450 606-878-2161 Fax: 606-878-5714 info@kftc.org www.kftc.org balancing the scales is published by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and mailed third class from Lexington, Kentucky.

Reader contri­butions and letters to the editor should be sent to 250 Southland Drive Suite #4, Lexington, KY. 40503 or tim@kftc.org.

Subscriptions are $20 per year.

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

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Table of Contents

KFTC Offices and Staff MAIN OFFICE

New Power Leader Profile: Shekinah Lavalle

page 2

Letter to the Editor Ky. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife a “friend of coal,” not healthy communities Citizens must monitor Kenton County Hills project

page 3 page 4

Member Commentary Putting damaged land to good use

page 5

Local Updates Solar-powered potluck: New Power in action and practice Berea Solar Partners: a personal investment in clean energy Members “take to the tables” during the festival season Jefferson County residents fight persistent coal ash permits Georgetown members building curbside recycling campaign

page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 12

Voting Rights Update Former Felon Voices: Kristi Kendall, Floyd County Former felons looking to Governor Beshear to restore voting rights More Kentucky homeless people are voting, some don’t like that

page 10 page 10 page 12

Canary Project Update “Enforcement” action has not deterred coal companies Birth defects higher in mountaintop removal mining communities

page 13 page 14

Economic Justice Update KFTC members speak out about injustice; lend your voice

page 15

Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance Update Interested in sustainable energy? Join KySEA

page 15

Willa Johnson and Tanya Turner, P.O. Box 463 Whitesburg, Ky 41858 606-632-0051

Renew East Kentucky Update Collaborative efforts shed practical light on demand-side management

page 16

Berea

page 17 page 19 page 11

Lisa Abbott, Amy Hogg, Carissa Lenfert, Sara Pennington and Kevin Pentz 140 Mini Mall Drive Berea, KY 40403 859-986-1277

KFTC News Steering Committee members consider where they want KFTC to be and Kentucky to be in five years Nominations for officers and committees Officer nominations, platform review start annual process

Letter to the Editor

Ky. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife a “friend of coal,” not healthy communities

Dear editor,

According to the EPA, at least one out of every 12 American women has high enough levels of mercury in her body to cause a lower IQ for her baby. 300,000 babies are born every year at risk of mercury poisoning.

In Kentucky, the largest source of mercury is from coal-burning power plants. Mercury from power plants falls in the rain and then accumulates in the fish.

In Kentucky we have a fish consumption advisory, but it is not well known: there are no warning signs at boat ramps advising children and pregnant women not to eat fish. Why not?

The problem is the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. They are “Friends of Coal.”

The Fish and Wildlife Department’s 2012 Fishing and Boating guide waits until Page 22 to warn us about the fish consumption advisory – and then

only after cheerfully informing us that “Most fish are healthy to eat” and “organic mercury can occur naturally in the environment.”

And when you walk into the Frankfort offices of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, you will even find fliers promoting “Friends of Coal.”

I’d like to say this to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Jon Gassett: We’re poisoning our children and our grandchildren. We’ve gotta stop.

Dave Cooper Lexington, Kentucky

Friends of Mountains and Miners

Morgan Brown, Robin Daugherty & Burt Lauderdale P.O. Box 1450 London, Kentucky 40743 606-878-2161 Fax: 606-878-5714 info@kftc.org

FIELD OFFICES Louisville

Berea

Jessica George, Jerry Hardt, Colette Henderson and Nancy Reinhart 901 Franklin Street Louisville, Ky 40206 502-589-3188

Teri Blanton 118 Baugh Street Berea, Ky. 40403 859-986-1648

Whitesburg

Central Kentucky Tim Buckingham, Jessica Hays Lucas, Erik Hungerbuhler, Brittany Hunsaker, Heather Roe Mahoney, Dave Newton, John Malloy and Ondine Quinn 250 Plaza Drive Suite 4 Lexington, Ky 40503 859-276-0563 Northern Kentucky Joe Gallenstein 859-380-6103

e-mail any staff member at firstname@kftc.org except for Jessica Hays Lucas use jessicabreen@kftc.org and Brittany Hunsaker use brittanyh@kftc.org

Shekinah Lavalle …

(continued from previous page) What skills do you feel like you’ve developed, and what skills would you like to continue to develop?

Public speaking is a big one. I’ve always been willing to engage in critical one-on-one discussions about almost anything, but being a New Power Leader has impressed upon me the importance of building leadership in politics in Kentucky. If I expect my cluster members to be involved in building a better Kentucky, I have an obligation to model that behavior. I’ve always been terrified of speaking in front of people, but what we’re trying to accomplish is bigger than my nervousness. I’ve also been learning how to effectively network and build relationships around issues.

What do you think the impact could be of having 1,000 New Power Leaders in Kentucky?

If we had 1,000 New Power Leaders? Wow. Just think, if 1,000 of us could get 1 more person more invested in building a better Kentucky, and if that 1,000 in turn got 1 more person involved? That’s how we build movements, that’s how we effect change.

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

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Letter to the Editor

Citizens must monitor Kenton County Hills project Dear editor

Many people who join KFTC have done so due to the reckless and inadequate oversight of the land and resources in their communities, and northern Kentucky members are no different.

This area has a disturbing track record of commercial and residential structures that struggle with hillside slippage as a result of recent hill developments. These over-developments have created many additional problems as well, especially for communities in Covington, Newport and Bellevue, and include the destruction of vegetation, slippage on properties, and uncontrolled water runoff.

In Newport, a half-side of a large hill was flattened to build the Newport Pavilion where on top of the hill are million-dollar homes that look down a big retaining wall and the flat roofs of Kroger and Target, which sit where a historic neighborhood once was.

Four years ago, Kenton County officials requested that the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission (NKAPC) do a thorough study of the physical characteristics of Kenton County. The NKAPC contracted with the University of Kentucky Department of Landscape Architecture Advanced Studio Class to examine the geology, soils, the Kope formation (rich clay/shale), slopes and watersheds.

During this period of study, several public meetings were held to get input and suggestions from both citizens and prominent architects, engineers, academics, city officials, builders and developers from the area.

The physical inventory of the Kenton County terrain revealed that: 1) 25 percent of Kenton County landscape is prone to landslides; 2) soil content was not the best for development, but not impossible ; 3) slopes greater than 20 percent prevail in the Licking River region and north central Kenton County; and 4) according to the Kentucky Division of Water, many miles of waterways do not meet designated standards for water quality; watersheds are cleaner in southern Kenton County have higher water quality than in the northern part of the county.

Additionally, the study concluded that if development were to continue under current trends and regulations, hillsides will become high-density and low-density areas with the possible loss of trees and vegetation, poor drainage and an increased likelihood of landslides.

NKAPC did a scientifically designed telephone survey of 300 residents in late 2010 to ascertain the thinking of the public about development and preservation of hillsides. The results of the survey demonstrated that residents place a high value on hillside preservation, though some would like to see a mix of sustainable development and preservation.

Final recommendations for the study were to be presented earlier this year, but are presently on hold.

The Home Builders’ Association (HBA) and several Tea Party groups are not only working against the adoption of the Hills Project, but are challenging the very existence of NKAPC.

Fifty years ago, this organization was formed to coordinate and consolidate the planning work of

three northern Kentucky counties – Boone, Kenton and Campbell. Unfortunately, Boone never joined, Campbell dropped out in the early 1980s, and Kenton is the only county that remained with the NKAPC. The local Tea Party groups believe that the proposed Hills Project violates private property rights, and the HBA argues that development would be hindered by a lot of regulations, and thus stymie the local economy.

The HBA has hired an outside group to gather signatures for a petition to be on the November ballot that would eliminate NKAPC. At this time over half of the needed signatures have been collected, and with big money behind the effort, it will undoubtedly get on the ballot.

The Northern Kentucky KFTC chapter adopted the Hills Project study because it provides a solid road map for the preservation and sustainable development of the northern Kentucky region over the next decades. It will also be incorporated with the ongoing Kenton County Comprehensive Plan.

Compared to other similar cities and counties, we have very little guidance for what is safe and healthy development. The Northern Kentucky chapter chose this issue not just because of the environmental impact of overdevelopment, but because of the strain these projects have put in older and lowincome communities, feeling that this issue touches economic, environmental and social justice work.

Ruth Bamberger Ludlow, Kentucky.

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

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Member Commentary

Putting damaged land to good use; old mining sites could provide a location for new sources of power for Kentucky

by Dan Hofmann.

I was reading an article recently about mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining and got to thinking, How many square miles have been cleared in Kentucky for MTR?

And, if we covered all that space with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, how much electricity in kilowatt-hours (kWh) would be produced?

Would it be enough to match the electricity consumed in Kentucky each year?

What about MTR in the U.S.?

If we covered all the square miles that have been cleared for MTR in the U.S. with PV solar panels, what percentage of the national annual kWh consumption could be provided?

I decided to crunch the numbers and what I discovered was quite intriguing...

According to the Appalachian Voices website [1], 574,000 acres (897 square miles) of land in Kentucky has been surface mined for coal and more than 293 mountains have been severely impacted or destroyed by MTR coal mining.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy website[2], the total electricity consumption in Kentucky (residential, commercial, and industrial) in 2005 was 89,351,000,000 kWh.

The following projection is based on experience from PV solar installations already in place here in Kentucky and from the fact that we get four and a half hours of sunlight per day on average, accounting for clouds. To produce that much electricity in one year from PV solar panels in this region, around 190 square miles of land would need to be covered by a 69.1 GW (gigawatt) solar array. And, 897 square miles of land has been has been flattened by MTR. Therefore, if we merely put PV solar panels on 1/5th of our already cleared land, we would supply ALL of the electricity needs for the entire commonwealth of Kentucky!

If we covered the entire 897 square miles of cleared MTR space in Kentucky, we could supply nearly 10 percent of the electricity needs of the entire U.S.!

Additionally, according to Appalachian Voices website, a total of 1,160,000 acres (1,813 square miles) of land has been surface mined for coal in the central and southern Appalachian region.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency website[3], the United States consumed a total of 3.873 trillion kWh of electricity in 2008.

To produce that much electricity in one year from PV solar panels in this region, 8,225 square miles of land would need to be covered. Accordingly, roughly 22 percent of the electricity consumed in America could be provided by PV solar panels if the 1,813 square miles of land cleared by MTR in Appalachia were covered.

At this point, you’re probably asking yourself: that’s great, but how much would it cost? And, what about energy storage so we can use that electricity at night?

I’ll admit that projecting the costs for a solar array of this size if pure conjecture, but I’ll do my best.

Currently, large-scale, megawatt PV solar panel arrays cost around $3 per watt to install without tax subsidies. A GW-scale solar array might be closer to $2 per watt installed. Using this metric, it would cost about $138 billion to install the 69.1 GW solar array required to produce 100 percent of the electricity consumed in Kentucky per year.

If the solar panels have the industry standard 25-year warranty, the cost of electricity comes to 6.2 cents per kWh. That’s cheaper than what consumers in Kentucky pay for electricity right now (e.g. LG&E residential customers pay 7.9 cents/kWh).

There are many options available now for grid-level energy storage, including, but not limited to: pumped hydro, compressed air energy storage (CAES), sodium-sulfur batteries, lead acid batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, flywheels, and lithium ion batteries.

Empty, abandoned coal mines in Germany are being looked at for pumped hydro energy storage for renewable energy systems[5]. Something I would assume we have plenty of in Kentucky.

A solar panel array, solar hot water collectors and a wind turbine were recently installed on the roof of the education center located on the grounds of the Kentucky state capitol in Frankfort. The building is highly energy efficient as well.

The renewable energy systems are visible from the governor’s office. The solar panels are expected to produce more than 8,000 kilowatt-hours of sustainable electricity each year. Solar Energy Solutions (www.solar-energy-solutions.com), a KFTC ally through the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, completed the solar installations.

Adding energy storage could cost around $1 per watt to the solar array[6].

This would increase the cost of the array for Kentucky to $207 billion with an electricity cost of around 9.3 cents per kWh. That price per kWh is a little above what LG&E customers are paying right now, but will soon be on par with current rates as LG&E recently requested the Kentucky Public Service Commission to allow rates to increase by 19 percent over the next five years.

Again, the cost projection is all conjecture and does not include grid transmission and maintenance. But it’s a start.

This sounds like a lot of money until you consider that, according to a study by the Environmental Law Institute[4], the fossil fuel industry in the U.S. received $72 billion in subsidies from 2002 to 2008. Imagine using that money to

fund a GW solar project in Kentucky!

Look for part 2 of this article in the next issue of balancing the scales. Dan Hofmann is president of RegenEn Solar LLC (www. regenensolar.com), a solar panel installation company located in Louisville and a Jefferson County KFTC member.

SOURCES:

[1] http://appvoices.org/end-mountaintop-removal/mtr101/ [2] http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/states/ electricity.cfm/state=KY [3] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2042.html [4] http://www.elistore.org/Data/products/d19_07.pdf [5] http://cleantechnica.com/2011/06/20/ germany-to-store-wind-power-in-mountains/ [6] http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/what-is-the-cheapest-energystorage-of-them-all/

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Local Updates

Solar-powered potluck: New Power in action and practice

Before moving to Kentucky from Wisconsin, Justin Mog and Amanda Fuller had already heard about KFTC. It was the first local organization they joined when they arrived in the bluegrass state.

It’s no coincidence that this couple’s life embodies the mission and vision of KFTC. They live simply, and with great intentionality, deriving great pleasure from doing things that feel right.

They are car-free and use their bike and public transportation. Both work jobs that enhance urban sustainability, participate in the local social justice movement, and outfitted their home with enough solar panels to provide all the electricity and hot water they need.

Fuller says they were able to afford an investment in solar power through carefully prioritized consumer decisions.

“We bought a lower-priced house so we could have a little extra in order to install a solar energy system. We also don’t have a car, which saves us $9,000 a year. We have no cable bill and our grocery bills are small since we grow much of what we eat.”

To demonstrate their efficiency measures and solar power systems to friends and neighbors, while promoting KFTC’s work on sustainable energy policy, Mog and Fuller hosted a “solar-powered potluck” party on June 26.

Mog and Fuller have a four-kilowatt system on their home comprised of 18 solar PV panels situated atop their roof, which provides solar electricity to the grid, offsetting their home electricity use. Additionally, they have a solar hot water heater. Everything was installed

by Jeremy Coxon of SunWind power, based in southern Indiana.

Their system feeds as much electricity into the grid as they expect to use in one year. Since it was installed in September 2010, the solar panels have produced 2154 kW hours averaging about 215 kW hours per month through the winter and spring. They are expecting to produce even more power during Kentucky’s sunny summer months.

After giving tours of the house, Mog and Fuller talked to the crowd of 40 about why they support KFTC. Having studied and worked in sustainability for many years, Mog said he appreciated KFTC’s understanding of the topic.

“Sustainability isn’t just about being totally focused on environmental concerns – it’s about so much more than that. It’s a matter of balancing social and

Mog and Fuller share their solar-powered hot water with those who attended their potluck to highlight the work of KFTC members.

economic concerns with environmental responsibility. That is why I like KFTC – it gets that balance just right,” said Mog. “If we want to work on a better tomorrow we can’t be single-issue focused. We have to promote sustainability in all its messy complexity.”

Inspired by the comments, KFTC member Barry Zalph jumped up from the crowd to add why he thinks people should become KFTC members.

“What I love about KFTC is that they are one of the best organizations in the state at training and involving people in citizen lobbying – speaking to their legislators. They are effective at getting things done in Frankfort. If you ever had any inclination to lobby legislators or even curiosity about how to lobby, get involved with KFTC.”

Several out-of-state visitors joined the party, including Shauna Kadel from northern California. She was inspired by the description of KFTC’s work, saying, “Being here made me want to ask whether we have a organization like KFTC where I live.”

Kadel was also surprised at how little Kentucky has done to promote the use of efficiency and renewables through state energy policy. “We have state policies in place that encourage people to use renewable energy in their homes. You see renewable energy everywhere as a result.”

Fuller noted that KFTC’s efforts through the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA) to pass sustainable energy policy at the state level is one of the main things Kentucky needs in order to see home-based renewable energy systems become both more affordable and more common.

“It’s really important that we do things in our own homes and work on passing better policies, like the one KySEA supports. Having state energy policy in place that promotes renewable energy is one way to make systems like these more affordable for homeowners across Kentucky.”

In addition to joining KFTC, Mog and Fuller described more actions people can take to promote sustainable energy in Louisville, including getting a home energy audit from LG&E (Lou-

Expected System Payback Times (After 30 percent federal rebate): Solar Hot Water System: 5-7 years 18 Solar PV Panels: 13 years After just a little over a decade, the power generated will have covered the costs of the installation and Amanda and Justin will have free electricity and hot water in their home for decades to come!

Louisville Gas & Electric Offerings: LG&E offers an energy audit that includes a blower door test to gauge a home’s overall efficiency for $25. LG&E customers can also purchase green energy credits for $5 a block.

Sign up for LG&E’s efficiency or green energy programs at www.lge-ku.com/green isville gas & Electric), doing efficiency upgrades in the home such as insulating wall and ceilings, supporting public transportation, and enrolling in LG&E’s green energy program.

With 16 new KFTC members raised through their solar-powered potluck, Mog and Fuller were thrilled with the outcome.

“We were overjoyed with the turnout and the enthusiasm people expressed for working collectively with KFTC members throughout Kentucky to create a better tomorrow for all of us.

Friend-raisers are awesome!”

Sustainable Energy – www.KySEA.org

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Local Update

Berea Solar Partners: a personal investment in clean energy

by Steve Boyce

Customers of Berea Municipal Utilities who want to invest in solar photovoltaic (PV) panels will soon have an opportunity to do so by choosing to participate in a program called Berea Solar Partners.

The city is establishing the Berea Solar Farm, arrays of PV panels to generate electricity.

Customers will be invited to become

Berea Solar Farm Details • 25-year lease contract • One $700 investment per 235 watt panel • Panels are located on BMU property with ideal orientation to the sun and no shading. Participants receive a credit on their electric bill for the energy generated by their panel(s) The farm’s production can be monitored at anytime from home

Benefits of the Berea Solar Partners Solar Farm

• Allows more people at all income levels to participate in solar energy options, regardless of site issues such as shade or directional orientation.

• The program is self-sustaining and supported financially by only those customers who choose to become Berea Solar Partners.

• Participants get peace of mind for supporting renewable energy and receive credit for the energy their panels generate.

• The cost of participating is less than $3 per installed watt, less than the typical cost of installing home solar systems after state and federal incentives.

• For BMU to generate some of its own electricity means less money leaving Berea to pay wholesale electric bills to our multinational corporate wholesale supplier.

Berea Solar Partners by leasing up to two 235-watt solar panels from an initial array of 60 panels. The one-time lease fee of approximately $700 will cover a 25-year period. In return, customers will receive credit every billing period for the electricity generated by their panels.

The Solar Farm is one of three projects supported by a $125,000 Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant to the City of Berea. The purpose of the grant is to enable Berea to take small but critical first steps in a decades-long movement toward a better energy future.

One of the other two projects funded by the grant will model improved energy practice in city operations by upgrading lighting in five municipal buildings.

The third project involves starting several energy efficiency programs at Berea Municipal Utilities (BMU) in hopes of making clear how such programs can return important value to the community.

With no history of energy efficiency programs in Berea, getting started in a way that demonstrates their potential value – to the city and its people – is as challenging as it is important.

One of the major advantages of the Berea Solar Farm program is that the utility will site, install and maintain the solar panels.

Participating customers will gain access to solar generation at less than $3 per watt, less than the typical installed cost of a home PV system after state and federal tax credits. It is estimated that at current rates, one 235-watt panel will produce a little over $17 worth of electricity per year. Assuming that Berea’s electricity rates increase 5 percent per year on average, the panels have estimated payback in the neighborhood of 23 years.

Steve Wilkins, a Berea KFTC member who plans to lease panels, said, “The opportunity appeals to me in part because I’d like to reduce our carbon footprint through some solar PV generation, but we have a lot of shade all around our house. So installing panels at home is not a possibility. I also expect the price of coal-fired electricity to continue to skyrocket, so I’m attracted to locking in 25 years worth of PV-generated electricity at today’s cost. And I just like the idea of supporting Berea’s effort to make this kind of option available to its utility customers.”

The program is ideal for customers who want local opportunities to invest in clean energy but have homes, apartments or businesses – owned or rented – not well suited for solar installations due to directional orientation or shade.

It also provides an opportunity for those who would like to invest in solar energy but can’t afford the relatively large cost of installing an entire system on their property.

One of the exciting features of this Berea Solar Farm approach is the extent to which it is scalable, both for the city and for individual customers. For the city, adding additional arrays to the 60panel beginning can be done in small steps over time in response to customer interest.

The “pay as you go” model means that any future growth will be funded by customer participation. Customers who choose not to participate will not be asked to subsidize those who do.

For some customers, the scalability could take the form of budgeting over time to offset some percentage – possibly all – of their electricity use by periodically adding one or more solar panels.

To enable broad participation, customers are limited to leasing no more than two panels among the first 60. But beyond that, if additional arrays are added, customers will be free to lease as many as they wish.

Another major benefit of this panelby-panel leasing approach is the ease of transferring credit for the electricity generated by leased panels.

30 Years

Since the panels are maintained in a central location, the electricity they generate need not be tied to a specific address. In the event a participating homeowner or renter moves within BMU’s service territory, the electricity credits can simply be transferred to the new location.

If the move is to a location outside the BMU service territory, the lessee would need to sell or donate the energy generated by the panels to a BMU customer. If such a move involves selling a house, the house value could be enhanced to the extent that the panels serve increasingly to lower utility bills as coal-generated rates increase over time.

Some may find it attractive to support a local non-profit – a school or church, for example – by leasing one or more panels and assigning the billing credit to that organization.

Another aspect of this approach to solar generation that seems exciting is the extent to which it lends itself to local effort. KFTC members are hoping, for example, that many people in Berea will share Steve Wilkins interest in community members coming together to take greater responsibility for their own energy future.

If this seems to go well in Berea, there may be other small towns around Kentucky attracted to establishing similar community-based efforts to move gradually toward greater reliance on clean, renewable sources of electrical energy.

Of Action For Justice KFTC is turning 30 this year and we’re planning a big fun birthday party and you and your friends, family and chapter members should plan to be there!

Saturday, August 27 Cathedral Domain in Irvine, Kentucky

Bev May shar ed a sample of her wate r with Govern or Beshear, 2011

We’ll have lots of fun-filled activities from 12 noon through 10 p.m. There will be hiking, story circles, games, displays, quilt making, children’s crafts, a formal program, the premiere of our 30th Anniversary video, a great meal, good music, and a square dance!

Happy 30th Birthday, KFTC

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Local Updates

Members “take to the tables” during the festival season

Northern Kentucky Chapter Update

Central Kentucky Chapter Update

On July 16, members of the Northern Kentucky chapter helped support public radio by attending WNKU’s 2nd Annual Browngrass Festival in Rabbit Hash. Members took the opportunity to talk about KFTC, mountaintop removal coal mining, voting rights and the local work the chapter is doing on hillside development and payday lending.

Several members took the opportunity to shake hands with the mayor, or at least have a nice game of fetch (FYI, the mayor of Rabbit Hash is a dog).

From July 18 through July 22, chapter KFTC members showed support for ally group People Advocating Recovery by tabling alongside PAR in support of restoring voting rights for former felons at the Kentucky School for Alcohol and Other Drug Studies.

The Kentucky School was held at Northern Kentucky University, and gave chapter members a chance to work with different allies on KFTC’s voting rights work, and to help spread the word about their upcoming Singing for Democracy on September 17.

The chapter has had a busy summer and plans to keep up the good work leading into KFTC’s 30th Anniversary party on August 27.

In addition to house parties and local campaigns, the Central Kentucky chapter has been busy tabling at various Lexington festivals.

On June 25, members of the chapter’s fairness committee canvassed at the Lexington Pride Festival collecting signatures for their safer restrooms petition. This was the fourth year for Lexington Pride and there were easily more than 10,000 folks in attendance.

Chapter members had the opportunity to have some really great conversation about KFTC’s work and in just two hours were able to collect 216 signatures.

Just a week later chapter members were at it again at Lexington’s huge Fourth of July celebration. From 9 a.m.

– 6 p.m. folks stopped by the chapter table to talk about KFTC’s work and to sign the restoration of voting rights petition and the petition to end mountaintop removal coal mining.

The next big festival that members will be present at will be Lexington’s Annual Roots and Heritage Festival on Saturday, September 10.

Tabling/canvassing can be a really great way to get one’s feet wet and learn about KFTC. Anyone interested in volunteering with other chapter members at the Roots and Heritage may contact Ondine Quinn, the local organizer, at ondine@kftc.org or 859-276-0563.

Paul Michael Brown and Enku Ide worked to educate festival-goers at the Lexington Pride Festival about the Central Kentucky chapter’s Safer Restroom Campaign.

Scott County Chapter Update

Scott County members had a productive chapter meeting in July. Usually, meeting attendance drops off a bit in the summer, but there was a strong turnout, several new people, and members got a surprising amount of work done on a number of key issues.

Voting Rights - members proposed the next statewide Voting Rights Campaign meeting in Scott County for Sunday, August 28 starting at 3 p.m. The plan is to have several hours of actionfocused statewide planning followed by some field work in Scott County spearheaded by the local NAACP and KFTC chapters.

Membership Recruitment and Fundraising – in addition to Rosanne Fitts Klarer and Tim Klarer’s house party scheduled for later this year, members

are scheduling a house party/ ice cream social on the afternoon of Saturday, August 20 called “I-Scream for Social Justice.” It’s a joint house party hosted

by Homer White, Marylou White, Mat Doolin, Heather Drake and Filly Tierney. Several members also made solid pledges to try to recruit one or two new KFTC members between now and the next chapter meeting.

New Power Leaders - members scheduled a series of one-on-one meetings with their new power leaders to talk strategy and develop list for our innovative two-way communication model.

Curbside Recycling - perhaps most exciting of all, members had a few breakthroughs in their curbside recycling organizing, deciding to circulate a petition at community events and at the recycling drop-off center. Members scheduled their first shifts at the recycling center and other outreach.

Members are also coming out to upcoming statewide events like Fancy Farm on August 6 and KFTC’s 30th Anniversary celebration on August 27.

Perry County Chapter Update

People living around Leeco’s proposed mountaintop removal coal mining permit including 849 acres, six valley fills and over 4 miles of streams along the Perry/ Knott County line had reason to celebrate this month!

Early in July, the community found out that after countless letters, calls, meetings, emails, and steady pressure on the EPA, Leeco has been forced to make serious revisions to the Stacy Branch project.

To say the least, members had quite an impact on the EPA and their decision on this permit. So much impact that the revised proposal has emerged with only 1 valley fill (instead of 6) and 100 less acres to be mined.

This isn’t the Environmental Justice tour members have been asking for, or a denial of the permit, but it is a great start and could even be seen as something of a victory. However you see it, a community of friends, neighbors, and far away allies came together to make it happen!

Members of the Perry County chapter got together recently to celebrate both this exciting news as well as KFTC’s 30th birthday (as many chapters

Rosanne Fitts Klarer and Scott County members are working to build support for curbside recycling in the community. are doing across the state!). Longtime member, Pam Maggard hosted the party at her house in Sassafras for “cake, coffee, and conversation” and to “make a wish for the next 30 years!”

After eating lots of delicious cake, members made a list of things they would like to see in Perry County and across the state in the next 30 years.

They then used that list to draft letters to Gov. Beshear, Rep. Hal Rogers, and Lisa Garcia (EPA Environmental Justice in D.C.)

Perry County members Truman Hurt and Russel Oliver wrote letters at a recent house party at member Pam Maggard’s home. Members gathered to celebrate KFTC’s 30th Birthday and recent local victories in their community.

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

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Local Updates

Jefferson County residents fight dangerous coal ash dumps

by Mary Love

Early in 2010, members of the Jefferson County chapter became aware that Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) had applied for a permit through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to add a 60-acre coal combustion waste (CCW) landfill adjacent to its Cane Run Power Station on the Ohio River in southwest Louisville.

Immediately the chapter formed a coal ash work group that quickly morphed into the Coal Ash Strategy Team, which began building a local campaign around coal ash issues at the Cane Run Plant.

Coal Combustion Waste (CCW) is the byproduct of the burning of coal in power plants. It contains heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury and selenium, which can work its way up the aquatic food chain until fish populations are wiped out.

Coal ash is composed of bottom ash, which is pumped into liquid sludge ponds and settles to the bottom, and fly ash, which is stored in sludge ponds or landfills.

At the Cane Run plant, the fly ash is stored in a huge landfill that stands 40 feet tall. It is mixed with additives and then moves on a conveyor belt from the power plant to the landfill where it is dumped. It takes the fly ash about 30 days to harden, and during that time, it is loose enough to be caught on the wind and be carried for miles over the entire Metro Louisville area and adjacent counties.

The areas most affected, however, are those that are immediately adjacent to the plant. Some of these communities are only hundreds of yards from the landfill.

The current landfill covers approximately 50 acres. It is unlined and has been in operation for almost 60 years. Its water and operating permits expired in 2007, but the plant has been given permission to continue using it while the permit renewal is under review.

LG&E reports that the permit renewals have been delayed by Louisville’s Air Pollution Control District and the state Department of Waste Management (DWM). According to the DWM offiicals, LG&E and the agency are in negotiations regarding improvements to the

proposal that the state had requested.

The proposed permit –which has not yet been granted – would:

• Allow 5.7 million cubic yards of CCW, which contains toxins known to be hazardous to human health, to be dumped on site. The U.S. EPA states that 1 in 50 adults and 1 in 100 children who live near CCW storage sites are at risk of developing cancer; • Allow more than 3,000 feet of ephemeral and intermittent streams and 8 wetland areas to be filled; • Allow use of an inferior clay containment liner that deteriorates over time, likely resulting in toxic chemicals leaching into groundwater; • Ignore restoration requirements for five of the wetlands and require only minimal restoration for the other three; • Allow this waste to be dumped on land located at the end of the Ohio River floodwall – clearly in the river’s flood plain – putting residents downstream at risk.

LG&E has come to an agreement with communities surrounding Cane Run as a result of litigation unrelated to the current permit request (according to Kathy Little, community and KFTC member). As a part of that agreement, LG&E has reportedly pledged that it will not infill the proposed or existing landfills with coal ash from other plants.

The plant also operates a coal ash pond, which is within the Ohio River floodwall and just across the street from a neighborhood. It has been classified by the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection as “high hazard,” meaning the failure of the dam may cause loss of human life or major damage to dwellings, buildings, railroads or important utilities.

It is right next to a railroad and the closest house is 150 feet from the dam confining the pond.

An April 2010 evaluation by an independent engineering firm found weak places in the dam. (Note: in the 2011 legislative session in Frankfort, representative Joni Jenkins of Louisville’s Cane Run district championed a bill in the 2011 Kentucky General Assembly that would have required utility companies, with the consult of citizens, to write and implement emergency action plans

for coal ash ponds and landfills.)

In August 2010, the Jefferson County chapter partnered with a local faithbased initiative that held an informational meeting in the Shively area of southwest Louisville. Approximately 50 people attended this event and learned about coal ash pollution dangers and LG&E’s expansion plans.

The event also highlighted the need for volunteers to testify at the EPA Coal Ash hearing held in Louisville the end of September 2010. The hearing was to gather public comments on the EPA’s plans to regulate coal ash as a toxic waste.

KFTC members joined with Sierra Club and other allies on the day of the hearings to hold a press conference, rally, and march to LG&E’s corporate office.

More than 200 people attended the rally and march and then returned to the site of the hearings to quietly sit through the remaining hours of testimony.

In March 2011, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told a House appropriations subcommittee that the agency will not issue a final rule on coal ash in 2011 as previously announced. The rule will not be ready this calendar year because the agency has to sift through more than 450,000 public comments on the proposal.

“It will take quite a bit of time to sort through [the comments],” Jackson said.

The “final decision would be based on comment, science, and law.”

In the past year, the Coal Ash Strategy Team has met with leaders in the immediately affected community and worked with allies seeking to give voice to these issues. Some KFTC members contributed to a project of local public radio station (WFPL) to fund a local story on the Cane Run Plant coal ash issue. It ran in three parts late in July.

More recently, the team has become more focused and adopted a work plan.

Learning from the successful Stop Smith Campaign, members decided to focus on three key points to guide their next steps: • Improve messaging to make it simpler, including some snappy tag lines; • Do good outreach, focusing on one-onones and leadership development in the affected community; • Cultivate connections in the media in order to bring this issue to the forefront.

Community cemetery located yards from the current Cane Run Processing Facility. The black mound in the background is coal ash.

Other communities in Kentucky are facing this issue as well. East Kentucky Power Company (EKPC) has applied for a permit that would allow it to dredge and fill more than 1,700 linear feet of tributaries of the Cumberland River, just upstream from Lake Cumberland, in order to expand its storage space for coal ash at the Cooper coal-burning power plant in Pulaski County.

The permit area includes several karst features, including several sinkholes. This is the most porous part of the state and there are concerns that the ash will contaminate the sinkholes and end up in ground water and/or Lake Cumberland.

Miranda Brown of the Co-op Reform Strategy Committee has written to the Corps of Engineers requesting a public hearing on this permit.

UPDATE: At 7 p.m. on July 30,

there was a malfunction at the sludge processing plant at the Cane Run Processing Facility resulting in a large coal ash cloud that traveled into surrounding communities. This was the second malfunction at this plant in July.

LG&E has shut down the processing equipment indefinitely.

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Voting Rights Update

Former Felon Voices: Kristi Kendall, Floyd County To share more of the stories from former felons across the commonwealth, this is one part of a series of short interviews that will run in balancing the scales.

Kristi Kendall was born in Texas along the gulf coast, and moved to Kentucky many years ago. She currently lives in Floyd County in eastern Kentucky.

Somewhere in between, she found herself in prison at Otter Creek.

“When people are in prison, they dream of being free, and how wonderful the outside world is. Even the colors out there seem brighter,” Kendall said. “But when you get out, there’s just so much discrimination and you always feel like you’re kind of a second class citizen.

You’re not really free out there either.

“Getting a job is the toughest part for most former felons, I think. I really feel like one of the lucky ones.

“I work in a law office as a paralegal.

I’m pretty good at it, but because I’m a former felon there are some basic things that I can’t do, like notarize documents.

“I feel like employers can sometimes exploit former felons. It’s hard to get a job, but when you do, some employers I’ve seen give lower wages than they advertise, even though a person is wellqualified.

“I filled out the voting rights forms and sent them in, waited six months and never heard anything, then sent in another one. Six months later, I sent a third and maybe nine months after that, I sent a fourth letter along with a set of letters of recommendation from people here in the community. I still haven’t heard back from the governor’s office and I still don’t have my right to vote.

“Some legislators like Senator Damon Thayer say there’s an existing process that works fine, and clearly some

people are getting their rights back. But it’s a hard and arbitrary process.

“The opposition to voting rights legislation is so unwarranted. It’s a political ball game and it kind of makes me sick.

“How can they expect you to join the community as a respectfully, productive, fully rehabilitated member of the community if they won’t let you?

“I was so involved in organizing in the prison, trying to make things better, trying to get the guards to adhere to the law and make it a more humane place.

“Making things better and belonging to a community is important to me, which is maybe one of the main reasons I started to reach out to KFTC and get involved.

“I’m excited to see a lot more work around this issue in Eastern Kentucky when I live in the future. There’s certainly a lot of potential.”

KFTC’s campaign to restore voting rights to former felons is focused primarily on passing a state constitutional amendment (House Bill 70) to automatically restore voting rights to most former felons once they have served their prison time, probation and parole.

But there are a host of other strategies that have been used, from helping people work individually through the

existing pardon process, to working to pass federal legislation.

One alternative strategy that KFTC members are especially interested in pursuing for the rest of 2011 is putting pressure on Governor Steve Beshear to use his executive powers to issue a blanket partial pardon, immediately restoring the right to vote to the more than 120,000 former felons in Kentucky who

have already served their time.

This would be a huge victory, but the downside to this strategy is that it would only apply to former felons who have already served their time at the time it was issued. It wouldn’t help people in the future. So it would still be important and necessary to pass the constitutional amendment.

Now is a key time to do this, because whether the governor wins or loses his re-election November, it will be the last time he runs for governor and he might feel more politically comfortable in making a move like this.

It should be noted that Beshear has already made positive changes in the way that former felons can request restoration of voting rights from his office, eliminating many barriers like a processing fee and the need to submit a written essay.

KFTC members should thank him from streamlining the process, but it’s critically important to Kentucky’s democracy that he take this larger step forward.

Kristi Kendall of Floyd County shared her story of being a former felon and her fight to receive her voting rights back.

Former felons looking to Governor Beshear to restore voting rights

KFTC and Stepping to a New Beat members collected Voting Rights postcards that will be sent to Senator David Williams and Governor Steve Beshear. Many of the volunteers were former felons. In addition to coming home with more than 100 postcards, members had key conversations with former felons, folks at Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority (who have been actively working to support voting rights), and others. Additionally, members helped more than a dozen people start the process to request their voting rights back from the governor.

ACTION: Call or write Governor Steve Beshear MESSAGE: Please issue a blanket restoration of voting rights for former felons who have served their time.

Mailing Address 700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100 Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 Main Line: (502) 564-2611 Fax: (502) 564-2517 TDD: (502) 564-9551 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) Online message form www.governor.ky.gov/contact

Important Voter Dates: Voter registration deadline: Oct. 11 General Election: Tuesday, Nov. 8.

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Officer nominations, platform review start annual process

KFTC’s annual process for setting its platform for the coming year and selecting local and statewide officers gets into full swing in August.

KFTC chapters hold their annual meetings in August. At these meetings, chapter members decide if they wish to continue as a chapter and, if so, select officers, provide input to the KFTC platform and set local priorities and goals.

Chapters are expected to select a Steering Committee representative and alternate, and chapter coordinators for membership, fundraising and publicity.

They agree to raise at least $500 for the statewide organization.

In return, chapters get a seat on the Steering Committee and receive staff time and organizational resources to assist in their work.

Nominations for statewide officers and committee members are submitted to the Leadership Development Committee, which will recommend a slate of officers to the Steering Committee at its Septem-

ber 10 meeting.

In September, the committee also will review input from chapters and at-large members and develop a draft platform.

The platform serves as a guideline for focusing KFTC’s resources and staff. It also serves as a public statement of KFTC’s values, goals and priority issues.

This activity all leads up to the Annual Membership Meeting, October 14-16, at the Kentucky Leadership Center. During the business portion of the meeting, members will consider the proposed platform, elect statewide officers and accept new or renewing chapters for the coming year.

Members who are not part of a chapter or who are unable to attend their chapter meeting are encouraged to send their ideas for the platform to KFTC Chairperson Steve Boyce at KFTC, P.O. Box 1450, London, Ky. 40743.

Members may use the nomination form (page 19) to nominate themselves or others for a statewide officer. A person must be a member in good standing (dues

paid up-to-date) to make a nomination or be considered.

Current officers are: Steve Boyce, chairperson; Sue Tallichet, vice-chairperson; Dana Beasley-Brown, secretarytreasurer; and Rick Handshoe, at-large.

All are serving their first term in their respective positions and are eligible to be renominated to the same position.

“This annual process is very important to the kind of organization we want KFTC to be,” said Teri Blanton, a past chairperson. “We go out of our way to make sure every member has an opportunity to have some say in the issues we work on and who our leaders will be.

“That’s why we want every member to participate in their chapter meeting and/or come to the statewide membership meeting in October. The involvement of our members is what makes KFTC strong.”

Chapter members should expect to receive a mailing giving the time and place of their August annual meeting.

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Are you a member of a KFTC chapter? If so, please consider accepting a position as a chapter officer for the coming year, starting this fall.

Chapter officers are: Steering Committee rep Steering Committee alternate Fundraising coordinator Membership coordinator Publicity coordinator All are important roles for which you will receive training and support.

The responsibilities can be shared with others. If interested, please contact your chapter organizer for more information.

KFTC Annual Meeting October 1 -1 , 011 Kentucky Leadership Center in Jabez Family friendly atmosphere!

Relax, meet new people, visit old friends, learn about KFTC, share stories, dance, listen to music, attend workshops, and have fun!

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Voting Rights Update

More Kentucky homeless people are voting, some don’t like that

In early July, a number of media outlets reported an increase in the voter registration of homeless people in Kentucky.

KFTC members have been a part of that increase by actively registering people in low-income communities (including homeless people) across the state.

One might imagine that increased voter participation by some of Kentucky’s otherwise least empowered citi-

zens would be a good thing. But Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown and Secretary of State candidate Bill Johnson (and a handful of others) argue that it’s troubling because of potential voter fraud, even though there is no evidence that such fraud has ever been attempted.

State Board of Elections Executive Director Sarah Ball Johnson and Secretary of State Elaine Walker both defended the longstanding practice of allowing

homeless people to vote in Kentucky.

KFTC members thanked them.

Members are responding by raising some awareness of this issue through KFTC’s website and other outlets, and six members pitched in to write letters to the editor.

True democracy should be accessible to all citizens, KFTC members believe, and will continue to register and educate voters.

Local Updates

Georgetown members building curbside recycling campaign

Scott County KFTC members have been quietly organizing for a few months on a local campaign to start a curbside recycling service in Georgetown.

Right now there is some local recycling going on, but it completely relies on very dedicated people to bring their recyclables to a central location.

Georgetown KFTC members think that curbside recycling could vastly increase the degree to which folks in Georgetown recycle.

Members have met with city officials including the mayor and a few city council members and others and are exploring a few different options.

To their credit, everyone has been very open to the idea and it’s just a matter of building a solid plan with broad public support.

So now members are starting to take their message to the people of Georgetown much more broadly, circulating a petition, visiting organizations, and generally getting out and talking to people of Georgetown.

Benefits of Curbside Recycling • Less waste in the landfills means a cleaner environment and less need to pay for more landfills.

• Recycled materials saves energy that would have been used to refine new materials for products like cans or paper.

• Recycled materials conserve resources, meaning less logging and mining to get the same benefits.

• Added convenience for people who already recycle in Georgetown, saving the time it takes to visit the recycling center.

On top of all of that, an expanded

recycling program in Georgetown could be expected to pay for itself or even make a profit.

Things You Can Do to Make an Impact • Sign the petition so that we can let the mayor and city council know you support curbside recycling. You can also help us circulate the petition among friends and neighbors.

• Write a letter to the editor to the Georgetown News-Graphic in support of curbside recycling. Even a small, simple letter can reach thousands of people and the entire city council. Georgetown News-Graphic 1481 Cherry Blossom Way Georgetown, Kentucky 40324 • Join us at the next Scott County KFTC Meeting – on the third Thursday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Scott County Public Library, 104 S. Bradford Lane, Georgetown.

• Contact the mayor and city council

members to let them know you support curbside recycling. A quick, polite phone conversation, email, or letter could show public support for recycling. Mayor Everette Varney 502-863-9800. You can get a full set of contact information for Georgetown City Council members on KFTC’s website at www.KFTC.org

You can also visit City Council meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 6 p.m., or write a letter to the mayor and/or any city council member at 100 N Court St., Georgetown, KY 40324.

Members have visited the recycling center a few times now to gather petitions on weekends and plan on continuing that and other field work throughout the summer and fall.

If you live in Georgetown or are connected to people in Georgetown, please lend a hand!

New Candidate Training November 11-13 Along with KFTC’s allies at Wellstone Action and the Pushback Network, KFTC is hosting a powerful training for people who will be running for public office or playing a major role in a candidate’s campaign.

If you have considered running for the state legislature or any one of the offices that will be up for election in 2012, now is the time to put some serious thought into your strategy.

This is a world-class, threeday training to be held in Louisville Friday, November 11 – Sunday, November 13.

Elements of the training will include messaging, electoral base-building, targeting, direct voter contact, running an effective phone and door program, stump speeches, interactive scripts, got-out-the-vote, media work, fundraising and more.

Anyone interested in attending is asked to contact KFTC’s Deputy Organizing Director of Voter Empowerment, Dave Newton at Dave@ kftc.org or 859-420-8919.

Photo left: Berea members continue to support the local “Bereans For Fairness” campaign that has swept through town. The city council finally took “some” action and passed a Human Rights ordinance but failed to protect sexual orientation and gender identity. Although a good start, members want an actual fairness ordinance that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Page 13

Canary Project Update

State’s “enforcement” action, challenged by citizens, has not deterred coal companies from poisoning waters

Two coal companies operating in eastern Kentucky, already guilty of thousands of violations of the Clean Water Act in recent years, have continued to routinely and illegally discharge toxic pollutants into local streams in 2011.

“The sheer number of very serious pollution violations we found in the first three months of 2011 is astounding,” said Donna Lisenby, the director of Water Programs for Appalachian Voices, which compiled public records to document the pollution. “It shows a systemic and pervasive pattern of ongoing water pollution problems with no meaningful enforcement by Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet officials, who continue to sit idly by and let coal companies get away with thousands of violations.”

The companies self-reported the violations to cabinet officials in compliance with the self-monitoring requirements

Kentucky lawmakers protect polluters, work to allow continued poisoning of Kentucky’s air

Despite the poisoning of Kentucky air by the coal and utility industries, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of lost work days every year, Rep. Ed Whitfield was successful in winning U.S. House committee approval for his legislation to block, for at least six months, the court-ordered Mercury and Air Toxics standards proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The new standards were mandated by a February 2008 court decision that threw out a program proposed by the Bush administration. The standards would fulfill requirements in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.

EPA has projected that by 2016, the proposed standards every year would avoid up to 17,000 premature deaths, 11,000 non-fatal heart attacks, 120,000 asthma attacks, and 850,000 days when people must miss work.

Kentucky Reps. Hal Rogers and Brett Guthrie are cosponsors of this legislation.

of their pollution discharge permits.

In past years, the companies submitted false data that – perhaps – covered up actual violations of pollutant discharge limits. But citizen action exposed this fraudulent reporting, so the companies now appear to be submitting actual water test results instead of fake ones.

“These violations represent a toxic soup being poured into our drinking water and streams,” said Ted Withrow, the retired Big Sandy Basin Management Coordinator for the Kentucky Division of Water and a KFTC member.

Documentation of the ongoing violations was released in late June as part of a new enforcement initiative by Appalachian Voices, Kentucky Riverkeeper, Waterkeeper Alliance and KFTC. The four groups plus several individuals sent a 60-day Notices of Intent to Sue to the two companies.

They listed more than 1,400 pollution limit violations by ICG, and more than 2,800 violations by Frasure Creek Mining at their operations in eastern Kentucky in the first three months of 2011

The violations included average monthly total suspended solids (TSS) levels that were up to 15 times higher than allowed by the permit, average monthly manganese and iron levels that were than 3-10 times higher than allowed, the daily maximum for iron up to 13 times higher than allowed, as well as numerous pH, alkalinity and acidity violations.

This is similar to action the groups took last October when they threatened to sue ICG and Frasure Creek for 20,000 Clean Water Act violations – mostly for false reporting.

That prompted cabinet officials to take industry-friendly actions to shortcircuit the potential citizen lawsuits.

With a light slap on the wrist, the officials proposed a settlement with the two companies, citing only 2,765 violations of the Clean Water Act and proposing fines of just $660,000.

One of the arguments they used to justify the small number of violations and low penalties was that many of the violations were merely “transcription errors,” not violations of pollution lim-

its, and therefore did not warrant higher fines. At the end of the negotiation process, the cabinet officials proclaimed that the proposed settlement would remedy the ongoing problems with these two companies.

“These new violations show two things,” said Scott Edwards, director of Advocacy for Waterkeeper Alliance.

“First, it exposes the cabinet’s deal with the coal companies for the ineffective, choreographed sham we always knew it was, and second, it shows that it is almost certain that all those ‘transcription errors’ the cabinet relied on to soft-pedal its settlement approach were really pollution discharge violations disguised as reporting errors.”

“These are serious ongoing violations of the law,” added Withrow. “Cabinet should not step again to shield these companies it would be waste of taxpay-

ers’ money, and money the cabinet does not have to spare. These coal companies do not require taxpayer protection.”

The four groups challenged the settlements with ICG and Frasure Creek in a case that is still being litigated in Franklin Circuit Court.

Under the Clean Water Act, the companies have 60 days to respond to the allegations made in the notice letters. If, at the end of that period, all violations have not been corrected, the groups and individuals will pursue citizen enforcement, which can include filing a complaint in federal court.

The plaintiffs are being represented

by Mary Cromer with the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Lauren Waterworth of Boone, North Carolina, Burke Christensen of Richmond, Kentucky and the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic in White Plains, New York.

Deep Down has been nominated for an Emmy Award! The documentary about Floyd County residents also included a virtual mine site to help educate people about coal mining and the impact it has on the community. The virtual mine project has been nominated for an Emmy in the category of New Approaches to News and Documentary Programming: Documentaries. The awards ceremony will take place September 26th in New York City.

KFTC members and Deep Down filmmakers Sally Rubin and Jen Gilomen posed outside of the Independent Lens office in late 2010 before Deep Down aired nationwide on PBS.

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Canary Project Update

Birth defects higher in mountaintop removal mining communities

If you live close to mountaintop removal mining, the odds are against you.

Two recent studies show that in these areas, birth defects are 26 percent higher, poverty is more prevalent, and you’re likely to die younger.

“This is the most disturbing research that I’ve yet seen on the effects of mountaintop removal. It means that our mountain children are affected by the poisoned streams and polluted air even before they are born,” said KFTC member Beverly May, a nurse practitioner serving in eastern Kentucky, reacting to the birth defects study published in June. “Our children deserve a better chance at life.”

Conducted by Dr. Melissa Ahern at Washington State University and others in the region, that study was based on analysis of over 1.8 million birth records between 1996 and 2003 in central Appalachia. Birth defect rates were higher in mountaintop mining areas compared to non-mining areas for circulatory/respiratory, central nervous system, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, urogenital,

Canary Briefs Rep. Hal Rogers elevates his assault on the health of his own constituents U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers is waging a campaign against EPA’s enforcement of laws to protect land, air, water, public health and endangered species.

Rogers is chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Using this position, he added 40 anti-environment riders to the appropriations bill for the Department of the Interior, environmental and related agencies that would: • Prohibit implementing or enforcing an EPA/Army Corps of Engineers/Office of Surface Mining Memorandum of Understanding and EPA guidance on the Clean Water Act which have helped slow the most serious impacts of mountaintop removal; • Stop a proposal to provide clar-

and ‘other’ types of defects.

“I’ve suspected for years that MTR is the cause of higher rates of cancer, heart disease and lung conditions like asthma among those living here,” Perry

truth comes as second nature.

“(W)hat truly enrages me most is the knowledge that every coal operator in this state is completely aware of the pollution they are dumping into the

“Governor Beshear has the power to stop, right now, these practices that are poisoning us. I am very anxious to see if he’ll do the right thing by our children.”

Bev May, Floyd County KFTC Member

County KFTC member Ivy Brashear wrote in an op-ed about the birth defects study published in the Lexington Herald-Leader. “So this new study, which clearly outlines the ongoing assault on the health of Appalachians, is nothing to be shocked about.

“I’m not even shocked at the complacency with which this study was received by the coal industry and state officials, mainly because when you’re in the business of pollution, deflecting the

air and water,” Brashear added. “They are also aware of the effects on human health those pollutants cause. I will never be convinced otherwise.”

Brashear pointed out that several coal companies operating in eastern Kentucky have admitted to thousands of violations of the Clean Water Act. Even after they admitted past violations they have continued to break the law, dumping excessive amounts of toxins into streams, including ones that are

ity around which water bodies are covered by the Clean Water Act, an action that would, if implemented, protect more streams from mountaintop removal and valley fills; • Prevent the Office of Surface Mining from developing or implementing the stream buffer zone rule; • Block EPA from implementing its rule to control mercury and other toxic air emissions; • Block EPA’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions from vehicles and large stationary sources; • Eliminate efforts to increase the frequency of environmental compliance inspections at oil facilities; prevent EPA from proposing or finalizing new regulations to control GHG emissions from power plants and petroleum refineries; • State that the Clean Air Act’s requirement to obtain a permit has no legal effect for very large emitters of greenhouse gases and that no lawsuits may be brought against a

facility due to uncontrolled greenhouse gas emissions; • Undermine increased vehicle fuel efficiency programs; • Prevent implementation of key provisions of the Endangered Species Act. The legislation was expected to be considered by the full House during the last week of July. The White House has promised a veto

by President Obama if the legislation also receives Senate approval.

EPA decides on water conductivity standards, residents want more The U.S. EPA issued on July 21 its final guidance for conductivity standards in Appalachian streams – one of the environmental enforcement actions Rep. Hal Rogers is attempting to block.

KFTC and allies support EPA’s action but note that the Obama administration needs to do more and adopt the standards as enforceable

sources for public drinking water.

The study, titled The Association between Mountaintop Mining and Birth Defects among Live Births in Central Appalachia, 1996-2003, was published online in the journal Environmental Research.

Broader health impacts and the higher occurrence of poverty were documented in a second study released in July by Dr. Michael Hendryx, a researcher at the West Virginia University Department of Community Medicine,

“Mountaintop mining areas had significantly higher mortality rates, total poverty rates and child poverty rates … in every year 2000-2007 compared to other areas,” wrote Hendryx, who also is a co-author of the birth defects study.

Hendryx did not say that mining causes poverty (although other researchers have drawn that conclusion), but pointed out a number of socio-economic and environmental factors prevalent in mining areas that contribute to health problems and early death.

This latest study was published in the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice.

rules and not merely “guidance.”

EPA stated it would use the guidance in evaluating valley fill permits. But Gov. Beshear has joined a coal industry lawsuit trying to block the application of the standards.

“This guidance leaves the interpretation and enforcement of the conductivity standards to the discretion and interpretation of the states. In Kentucky we have seen time and time again that the state Energy and Environmental Cabinet and Department of Environmental Protection aren’t interested in protecting the health and welfare of families in Kentucky,” said KFTC member Doug Doerrfeld. “While the finalization of this conductivity guidance is a small step in the right direction, a legally enforceable rule is the only thing that is going to help protect Kentuckians. We call on the Obama Administration to authorize the EPA to begin this rulemaking process.”

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Page 15

Economic Justice Update

KFTC members speak out about injustice; lend your voice

Members from Warren County to Whitesburg have been writing their local papers throughout this last month of intense deliberations about state and federal economic policies. Here’s is what has spurred them on: • The richest 1 percent of U.S. residents claim almost 24 percent of income.

• The Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers contributed most to the U.S. spending deficits and increased debts. In 2000, the federal government had a budget surplus; the Congressional Budget Office projected that the federal government would be debt free by 2009.

Instead, the Bush tax cuts cost about two and a half trillion dollars between 2001 and 2010. If these Bush-era tax cuts are extended, they’ll cost twice that over the next 10 years, according to Citizens for Tax Justice.

• The racial wealth gap is twice what it was before the recession, according to the Pew Research Center • Kentucky just cut funding for an agency that works with blind and nearly blind babies and children across Kentucky, helping them learn about the world, and helping their families to figure out how to support their growth and independence.

Because of the lack of funding, this agency’s budget has dwindled to the fray of a shoestring.

• Meanwhile, two of the gubernatorial candidates had their first debate, and when the topic of revenue and tax reform came up, both of their responses were entirely unsatisfactory.

Members have written in to say, as Jefferson County’s Shekinah Lavalle did, “These candidates owe us an open and honest discussion about Kentucky's economic state, and neither of them are doing us justice.

C'mon, Kentucky, we deserve better!

Let's demand something better from our candidates.”

• Members have offered a similar message toward Congress’ debt ceiling negotiations, which offered an opportunity to lift the profile of widespread support for needed federal tax reforms that raise taxes on the wealthy. Angela Lee, a member in Casey County, has been working to lift up the harmful impact of Grover Norquist and his anti-tax pledge: Lawmakers “are supposed to pledge

allegiance to the United States and represent the best interests of their constituents – not sign some document proffered by an individual and whose content could very well be to the detriment of the constituents and the country.”

• And, members have spoken out against the policies put forth by Congressperson Hal Rogers as the new chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Members have decried his proposed cutting of the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) nutritional program, energy efficiency programs, and safeguards to our water, air and health. As David Miller, a KFTC member in Barbourville, put it, “Rogers has betrayed his constituents, finding yet another way to extract resources from the poor for the benefit of the rich.”

It’s been a challenging month, but members have used it as an opportunity to lift up solutions and good ways forward. And there’s still time for your letter, too.

An understanding of the role of the government to protect and serve, creating jobs in Kentucky by investing in a better quality of life, and working together as citizens and Kentuckians through our government – these are

issues that members will be bringing to the forefront of elections, races, and negotiations for months.

Here are three tips to writing letters to the editor:

• Be timely and quick. A letter submitted in response to something in the news is better than Pulitzer-worthy writing two weeks later. One member responded to Congress’ debt ceiling deal with this, “The folks in D.C. are like a college kid who has known about a 10-page term paper since the beginning of the semester … the day before the due date they ask for an extension (denied) and then write a 7-page paper, bump the font to 14 pt., increase the margins, and count the cover page … then turn it in right before class and wants extra credit since it was turned in early.” Short, but it got people thinking!

• Think local. The letters in local papers, and even the threads in local online forums, are likely to get lots of readers because people want to know what their neighbors are thinking. And localizing state and federal tax and budget issues reminds readers how we’re impacted by what happens in Frankfort and Washington. Encourage people to think about the impacts in

David Miller, a KFTC member in Barbourville, said, “[Rep. Hal] Rogers has betrayed his constituents, finding yet another way to extract resources from the poor for the benefit of the rich.” your community.

• Keep it short and focused. Letters that are one or two sentences can be just as effective as letters that push the word limit.

People don’t have to be policy experts to know that Kentucky deserves better, or that slashing funding for education, health, and environmental safeguards that keep our water clean are not solutions. Speak what you know, and write a letter to make your voice heard.

Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance Update

Interested in sustainable energy?; Join KySEA

Do you want to get involved in KFTC’s work on KySEA and don’t know how? Many KFTC members have an interest in sustainable energy and have specialized skills in these areas, and your input would be welcome! Read about KySEA committees below and then contact Nancy Reinhart at 502-5893188 or nancy@kftc.org to join one.

Policy Committee Creates legislation that achieves the policy goals outlined by the alliance.

Legislative Strategy Committee Crafts legislative goals and action plan to achieve legislative aims outlined in the KySEA annual strategy, which includes building relationships with legislators and engaging in conversation with utilities and industrial

businesses.

Communications Committee Improves KySEA’s internal communications as well as creating, overseeing and updating KySEA communication materials.

Outreach Committee Engages in alliance building activities, such as outreach to businesses and organizations.

Caucus Groups Caucuses are formed of KySEA member groups that want to discuss issues and outreach efforts specifically related to their sector of work. Here are three KySEA caucuses in the works: • Economic Justice Caucus (existing) • Agriculture and Forestry Caucus (proposed) • Business Caucus (proposed)

Kentucky’s Clean Energy Economy is Growing

Between 2003-2010, nearly 5,000 clean energy jobs were created in Kentucky says a new report by the Brookings Institution, with the largest job growth coming in appliance manufacturing. And, with a median salary of $35,585 per year, clean energy jobs pay Kentucky workers $2,500 more annually than average wages for all other jobs in the state.

In terms of overall size, Kentucky’s clean energy economy ranks 26th in the nation. Ranking particularly high are neighbors Illinois (5th), Ohio (6th), and North Carolina (11th).

To learn more about the impacts of clean energy standards on Kentucky, visit www.kysea.org.

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Renew East Kentucky Update

Collaborative efforts shed practical light on demand-side management

As part of the settlement agreement that KFTC and allies entered into with East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) last fall to cancel the proposed coalburning Smith Plant, a collaborative working group was established.

The agreement calls this the Demand-Side Management (DSM)/ Renewable Energy Collaborative, or the Clean Energy Collaborative for short. Members include EKPC, KFTC and our allies, representatives of EKPC’s 16 distribution co-ops, and the Attorney General’s office.

In the first meeting of the collaborative on March 29, members divided into committees to consider issues of demand-side management and renewable energy programs. These working committees have been meeting since March to inform themselves and begin evaluating options related to DSM and renewable energy.

The full Clean Energy Collaborative met for a second time on July 19 to hear presentations from each of the working committees. At the request of the renewable energy subcommittee, the July meeting began with a presentation from David Brown Kinloch of Soft Energy Associates on the basics of renewable energy.

His presentation focused on the types of renewable energy available, their cost compared to traditional energy, and the feasibility of renewable energy in Kentucky. The overall message of his presentation was that renewables are a real possibility for Kentucky and that utilities should begin utilizing them.

This Renewable Energy 101 presentation was followed by a brief oral presentation on other outcomes of the renewable energy subcommittee. This committee realized that the group had some fundamental questions about renewable energy that must be answered before moving forward. Leading up to the next collaborative meeting, the subcommittee will work on answering a list of questions by reaching out to other utilities using renewables and other information sources.

The demand-side management subcommittee has already begun doing some of that fact-finding work and presented some of their findings from conversations with electric cooperatives in South Carolina and Vermont.

This presentation led to a better understanding of primary barriers to participation in DSM programs, as well as potential solutions to address these barriers.

One important takeaway was the need for strategic marketing to increase participation in these programs. Members of the collaborative discussed ways that EKPC is already well-suited for a strategic marketing plan.

Lastly, the Public Service Commission (PSC) gave a presentation on the regulatory process in Kentucky governing rates and energy resources. Through this presentation, members of the collaborative learned more about the PSC’s role in regulating the use of DSM and renewable energy programs, including its

stance on programs in the past.

Presenters explained that Kentucky law requires that rates be “fair, just, and reasonable,” which has typically been interpreted as least-cost. In the past, this has led the commission to reject certain renewable energy projects, because traditional energies were cheaper. Presenters discussed a two-one vote on a proposed wind project, which suggests that at least one commissioner is beginning to interpret the “fair, just, and reasonable” dictate more broadly.

The collaborative meeting ended with a short discussion of the day’s presentations, and funneled unanswered questions into the working subcommittees, and an opportunity for public comment.

Public comments were extremely positive, with all commenters thanking the collaborative for the energy they’re devoting to this work.

Tona Barkley, KFTC member and the collaborative vice-chair, summed up the meeting: “It has been fascinating. We heard a lot of information. The tone and cooperative spirit is growing, and it’s clear we have a lot more work to do!”

KFTC members Justin Mog and Amanda Fuller recently shared their solar installation experience with guests at a special “Solar-Powered Potluck.”

Announcing a beautiful new book …

Saving Kentucky is about preserving not only

land and historic property, but also a way of life. It tells the stories of an eclectic group of Kentuckians – including KFTC member Daymon Morgan – both in their own words and through the extraordinary photographs of Thomas Hart Shelby. From tenant farmers to urban revivalists, they have one thing in common: a deep connection to their heritage and a fierce determination to preserve it for future generations.

In these pages you will meet families who see,

with uncommon clarity, the human value of the land. You will meet leaders, innovators and visionaries—people who are thinking about Daymon Morgan forever, not just tomorrow.

Sally Van Winkle Campbell has traveled Kentucky, driving the roads of the Bluegrass, seeing firsthand the majesty, as well as the heartbreak of the eastern Appalachian Mountains, and witnessing the renewal of the commonwealth’s urban centers.

More than a warning, it is an invitation – a call to each of us to embrace the future with hope and, most of all, imagination, even as we hold tight to the past.

Pick up a copy at a local independent bookstore or order online at: www.savingkentucky.com A portion of the proceeds from this book will support the work of KFTC to save the mountains and heritage of Eastern Kentucky from mountaintop removal and valley fills.

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Steering Committee members consider where they want KFTC to be and Kentucky to be in five years

The KFTC Steering Committee opened its July retreat in Benham with an icebreaker that had folks recalling lessons learned from their grandparents. It was a great round of storytelling and there were some common themes among the group – endurance, faith, the value of hard work, creativity, frugality, core values, harmony, and how to avoid splinters.

These rich lessons weren’t recalled just for fun. They set the stage for the conversation the Steering Committee focused on at its retreat. The purpose of the retreat was to reflect on where Kentucky is and where we want it to be in the next five or 10 years and then, drawing out from that, where KFTC is as an organization and where we want it to be.

Committee members noted that those lessons from their grandparents will certainly come in handy as they map out and move toward the future they want for Kentucky and KFTC.

Committee members affirmed that the Kentucky and world they want is well-articulated in the KFTC vision statement.

We have a vision. We are working for a day when Kentuckians – and all people – enjoy a better quality of life. When the lives of people and communities matter before profits.

When our communities have good jobs that support our families without doing damage to the water, air, and land. When companies and the wealthy pay their share of taxes and can’t buy elections. When all people have health care, shelter, food, education, and other basic needs. When children are listened to and valued.

When discrimination is wiped out of our laws, habits, and hearts. And when the voices of ordinary people are heard and respected in our democracy.

But folks noted there’s a gap between the Kentucky reflected in this vision and the current state of affairs in Kentucky.

“It’s not all bad, but it’s mostly bad,” noted K.A. Owens of Jefferson County.

The committee reviewed a broad set of data that examined Kentucky’s demographics, educational progress, economy, environmental, health and voting trends. From out migration of mountain

youth to an 18 percent poverty rate that is higher than the national average, to ranking 49th in high school graduation rates and in overall well-being, to low voter turnout, there is much to improve about Kentucky. We have work to do.

Yet committee members remained hopeful, noting that these grim facts don’t reflect the aspirations of Kentucky’s people and communities.

“The work happening in KFTC is raising the voices of Kentuckians,” said Megan Naseman of Madison County.

“The statistics show how important it is that we dedicate ourselves long-term to this work.”

The committee was clear about some key areas that need attention.

“It’s sad. Our kids have to leave to find work. We need some new energy jobs. We need local jobs that benefit the local communities,” said Carl Shoupe of Harlan County.

“What I’d like to see is some economic change,” noted Truman Hurt of Perry County. “To start with, we need to lower electric bills because lots of people are hurting.”

Steve Boyce of Madison County added, “We need energy efficiency and a transition to a greater reliance on renewable energies. There’s a lot of promise for that kind of change.”

In order to move in that direction, members believe that public conversations and the political climate have to change.

“We have to reframe the conversation,” explained Bev May of Floyd County. “All the propaganda out there now really supports the boss men in the coal industry. It’s not about really supporting the workers, the miners and it needs to be.”

“The political climate is reactionary,” said Jeff Chapman Crane of Letcher County. “We can’t work toward significant progress because we have to put out fires. We have to change that.”

The committee also noted that citizens have to change the hearts and minds of politicians or vote them out.

They want to pass good legislation, increase voter turnout, strengthen educational systems, change attitudes about the poor and increase happiness.

Committee members believe that KFTC is positioned to have an impact on these important issues.

“How amazing would it be if lessons we learn here in Kentucky can help

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Steering Committee members arrived in Benham a day early to visit the Portal 31 Underground Coal Mine Exhibit as a way to preface their discussion of the opportunities that lie ahead for KFTC and Kentucky. folks in other places,” said Erika Skaggs of Central Kentucky. “We can be a resource for other communities.”

The Steering Committee then looked at a time line of KFTC’s 30-year history and the ways in which the organization has grown in size and issues and impacted the political landscape in those years. One important moment was the huge victory KFTC won in 1988 with the statewide passage of the broad form deed constitutional amendment by a huge margin. That victory still has lessons for KFTC today.

“We learned that people do care about issues even when the issue may not directly affect them. It’s our role to help educate them,” explained Chapman Crane. “We learned that we can defeat very powerful interests. And we learned that you simply cannot defend an injustice. You can lie about it or put a spin on it, but you can’t defend it.”

“Looking back across our 30 years shows how KFTC adapts and changes to respond to different times and different needs,” said Rosanne Fitts Klarer of Scott County.

After the time line, the committee spent some time thinking about how KFTC should evolve over the next five years. They affirmed a commitment to some core strategies like leadership development, grassroots fundraising and membership recruitment, communications, voter empowerment, chapter development, and alliance building. They also agreed that KFTC should pursue the momentum built around current issue campaigns.

At its September meeting, the com-

mittee will continue this conversation.

They will look more specifically at how to grow over the next five years.

Reflecting on the day, Mary Love of Jefferson County noted, “As a relatively new member, the history review made me even more proud of what we’ve done over the years. It gave me renewed energy to keep working to make sure that our next 30 years are even more productive than our last 30 years have been!”

Knowing that this strategic conversation will continue over the next few months, Boyce stated, “We’ll learn a good bit over the next year and will be better positioned to look five years out and think about where we wan to go.”

In other business, the Steering Committee: - accepted the financial report and 2010 audit report; - tentatively blended the current Rural Electric Co-Op Strategy Team and the High Road Team into one New Energy & Transition Team that will have three workgroups focused on Renew East Kentucky, Sustainable Energy, and Appalachian Transition. This reorganization is pending further input from the current members of these committees; - expressed interest in working with the Alliance for Appalachia and Appalachian Voices to create a water testing program for eastern Kentucky; - heard a report from the new Chapter Development Task Force which is exploring strategies for strengthening chapters.

The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for September 10.

30 KFTC

Page 18

th

Anniversary

KFTC turns 30 years old this month! To help us remember and celebrate this occasion we’re recalling some of the important first steps in 1981. In previous issues of balancing the scales we looked at some of the “pre-history” that set the stage for KFTC’s formation and, in the last issue, at the first meetings with the original founders of KFTC as they explored the need for a group to address the injustices experienced by many individuals and communities in eastern Kentucky.

The 10 participants at the June 25 meeting helped give their unnamed coalition their initial focus around tax and community services issues. They had learned from the Appalachian Land Ownership Study and their own community involvement that tax inequities meant the lack of even basic services in many areas in eastern Kentucky where coal dominated the economy and politics.

Some of the changes would have to come from the 1982 General Assembly – the very folks who were responsible for the property tax exemption for unmined coal and other limitations that meant inadequate revenue to support community needs.

But first the coalition needed to broaden its membership and get organized.

A July 20 meeting in Hazard brought members of the Concerned Citizens of Martin County (CCMC) and the Cloverfork Organization to Protect the Environment (COPE) in Harlan County together for the first time. Members of a Floyd County group, Parents for Better Schools, also attended.

CCMC was already challenging some corporate assessments on property that was grossly undervalued. They were using “third-party appeals” – challenging not their own property assessment but that of other property owners. CCMC was led by Gladys Maynard, Lorraine Slone, Mary Jane Blevins and others.

In Harlan County, COPE members were addressing flooding, water pollution, damage to homes and wells and loss of property values all due to strip mining. They initially hoped the new federal surface mining law would allow them to protect their homes by declaring their entire watershed “unsuitable for mining.” Hazel King, Dr. J.D. Miller and Hobart Grills, joined by Rebecca Simpson and others with similar goals in the Cranks Creek watershed.

Joyce Everly and Kathy Hatfield were among the leaders of the Floyd County parents group. They wanted radical changes in the education their children received – like the opportunity to attend school in buildings that had not been condemned.

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Though each “I suppose none of us imagined that one day we’d be group brought celebrating the 20th anniversary of a successful statewide different situaorganization. We just knew that tions and issues, it made sense to work together it was clear that across county lines because the there were comproblems we faced were similar mon structural and needed to be addressed on injustices underthe state or national level.” lying each. And in sharing their local Gladys Maynard, stories members who died in 2003, began to realize in a 2001 letter that strong local organizing would “People, especially in eastern Kenhave to be a basic tucky, were getting to know each component of an other. All around the region there effective statewide was this loose network of people organization. who had worked with each other

An steering in various ways. What we didn’t committee was have in those days was a strucappointed to tured connection between us … develop a stateuntil KFTC. ment of purpose Herb E. Smith, from Making History and coordinate a larger gathering on August 17 in Hazard. The steering committee met on August 10 at Doss Holler (Miller’s home) in Harlan County to finalize preparations.

Twenty-six people attended the August 17 meeting, including citizens from Letcher, Perry and 10 other counties. The quality of community services, including education, and surface owners rights (related more to fair taxation than mining issues at that point) were affirmed are initial priorities.

John Rosenberg suggested “Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition,” and the name was adopted. The following statement of purpose was approved: “The Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition is a group of community-based organizations and individuals promoting more fair and efficient community services through a fair and equitable taxation system, throughout the state of Kentucky, with a particular interest in the coal counties.”

Gladys Maynard of Martin County was selected as the new group’s first chairperson. A planning group to develop a “tax reform” workshop was appointed. The hat was passed and $38 was collected. KFTC had its start.

Looking Back …

25 Years Ago …

15 Years Ago …

• KFTC members document a history of mismanagement of toxic waste

by PyroChem officials who want to build a hazardous waste incinerator in Lawrence County.

• A new federal law changing welfare programs prompts a commitment to long-term organizing around welfare rights, access to education, living wages and economic development.

• Members from eastern and western counties where coal is mined participate in a workshop to learn how to research coal mine permits, with a particular emphasis on protecting their homes form damage from blasting.

20 Years Ago …

• KFTC members lobby members of Congress in Washington to support the Coal Field Water Protection and Enforcement Act, which would require restoration or replacement of all water resources damaged by mining.

• Members also begin fighting a revived proposal by the Bush administration to do away with protective buffer zones around homes, churches, schools and cemeteries.

• KFTC begins a Barriers and Bridges program, aimed at helping create effective multi-racial and multi-cultural community organizations.

10 Years Ago …

• The Steering Committee selects passing a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit as a new focus campaign.

Members are part of a related Living Wage Campaign in Lexington.

• A KFTC federal lawsuit asks that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers be prohibited from issuing permits allowing Kentucky streams to be buried with mine wastes.

5 Years Ago …

• After a tour with KFTC, Bob Edwards of XM Satellite Radio produces Exploding Heritage, an award-winning radio documentary about mountaintop removal.

• KFTC members use fun summer events to recruit new members and educate about issues: the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Annual Earth Rock at the Kentucky Horse Park, Fourth of July Parade in Lexington, Run for the Mountains in Rowan County and a KFTC booth at the Kentucky State Fair.

balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Nominations for officers and committees

KFTC is accepting nominations for statewide officers and members of its governance and issue committees (descriptions below).

Any member who is current in membership dues may nominate him or her self or another member to serve in one of these positions. The form to the right may be used.

All nominations will be considered by the Leadership Development Committee. Officers are elected at the annual meeting in October. New committee assignments will be finalized in November by the Steering Committee.

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Call for Nominations

for KFTC Statewide Officers and Committee Members

It’s time again to start thinking about how you would like to be involved in KFTC’s leadership structure, or who else you would like to see involved. Every year, all chapters and the statewide organization select leaders for the coming organizational year. Chapters are selecting their officers at annual chapter meetings this month. Statewide officers are chosen at the annual meeting in October. The Steering Committee appoints members of other governance and issue committees at its leadership retreat in November based on recommendations from the Leadership Development Committee.

KFTC members whose dues are current may nominate themselves or any other member to be considered as a KFTC officer or committee member, as listed below. For each statewide officer nomination, please list the name of the nominee, the office to which that person is being nominated and a brief statement saying why the nominee is qualified. Use a separate sheet of paper if more space is needed. Current officers have each served one year in their current position and are eligible for renomination to the same or another statewide officer position.

The Leadership Development Committee will recommend a slate of candidates for the four statewide officer positions to the Steering Committee for its approval. The candidates will be listed in the September issue of balancing the scales, and presented at the October Annual Business Meeting for election. Nominations also will be accepted from the floor at the October meeting. Officers serve one-year terms, and are limited to two successive terms.

Take a moment to nominate yourself or any other member for KFTC’s Executive Committee and other statewide committees.

This form must be returned by the last day of August.

Personnel Committee — Members may participate in hiring decisions and review annual staff performance evaluations. This committee provides guidance and makes recommendations about personnel policies and issues. Meets as needed.

Person making the nomination:

Finance Committee — Reviews and recommends budget and quarterly financial statements. Reviews and recommends financial policies and practices. Meets periodically in person and by conference call.

You may nominate as many people as you like for any of the following positions: 1) Chairperson 2) Vice-Chairperson 3) Secretary-Treasurer 4) At-large Representative

Leadership Development Committee — Develops, evaluates and helps implement KFTC’s leadership programs.

Nominates and reviews nominations of people to serve on statewide committees and offices. Meets several times a year as needed.

Nominee:

Land Reform Committee — Coordinates KFTC’s statewide campaigns on issues connected to natural resources.

Meets 3-6 times a year, as needed.

Economic Justice Committee — Develops and coordinates campaigns on economic issues, including tax justice.

Meets 3-6 times a year as needed, often by conference call.

New Energy and Transition (NET) Committee: Develops strategy and priorities for three related KFTC campaigns: Rural Electric Co-op Reform, Sustainable Energy, and Appalachian Transition.

Voter Empowerment Committee: Develops and evaluates KFTC’s strategies for registering, informing and motivating voters, including our restoration of voting rights campaign.

Phone:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS Nominees for the Executive will be considered by the Leadership Development Committee, which will recommend a slate of candidates to the Steering Committee. Candidates will be described in the September issue of balancing the scales. A final vote will be held at the October Annual Meeting.

Nominee:

Office nominated for:

Why? Office nominated for:

Why? KENTUCKY COALITION BOARD NOMINATIONS Kentucky Coalition is the tax-exempt sister organization of KFTC. There are three elected positions on the KC board. Nominees for the Kentucky Coalition board will be considered and voted on using the process described above for the Executive Committee. You may nominate as many people as you like for the Kentucky Coalition board.

Nominee: Why? Nominee: Why? COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP NOMINATIONS KFTC’s statewide committees include: Personnel; Finance; Leadership Development; Land Reform; and Economic Justice; High Road; and Restoration of Voting Rights. You may nominate yourself or anyone else in the organization for these roles.

Nominees for these positions will be reviewed by the Leadership Development Committee and appointed by the new Steering Committee in November.

Nominee: Nominee:

Committee nominated for:______ Committee nominated for:______

Nominations must be submitted in writing no later than the last day of August to: KFTC Leadership Development Committee, 140 Mini Mall Dr, Berea, KY 40403 or emailed to lisa@kftc.org.

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balancing the scales, August 4 , 2011

Calendar of Events Aug. 8

Jefferson County chapter meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 809 South 4th Street in Louisville

Aug. 8

Floyd County chapter meeting, 7 - 8:30 p.m., St. Martha’s Catholic Church in Prestonburg. For more information contact Lisa@kftc.org or call 859-986-1277.

Aug. 12

Northern Kentucky Chapter fundraiser at Iris Coffee Shop, 6 p.m. For more information contact Joe@KFTC.org or call 859-380-6103.

Aug. 16

Northern Kentucky chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at 25 W 7th Street in Covington. Contact Joe@kftc.org or call 859-380-6103.

Aug. 16

Perry County chapter meeting, 6 p.m. in Hazard; contact Tanya Turner for more information, Tanya@kftc.org or 606-632-0051.

Aug. 16

KFTC member gathering in Shelby County. 7 p.m., For more information and to RSVP contact Nancy@KFTC.org or call 502-589-3188.

Aug. 18

*NEW DATES* Kentucky Screening Aug. - Sept.1 Kentucky Theater 1 E. Main St. Lexington, Kentucky 85 - 1-7 FREE Parking After p.m.

In the City Annex garage next to the Fayette County Clerk’s office... visit www.kentuckyTheater.com for show times and tickets.

Central Kentucky chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at the Episcopal Diocese Mission House (on the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and 4th Street) in Lexington.

Aug. 18

Rowan County chapter meeting, 6 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church on 5th Street in Morehead.

Aug. 22

Madison County chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at Berea College Appalachian Center (205 N. Main St., Berea).

Aug. 23

Western Kentucky chapter meeting, 6:30- 8 p.m. Universal Unitarian Church, 2033 Nashville Road in Bowling Green

Aug 25

Central Kentucky New Power Leader Potluck, 7-9 p.m. For more information contact Ondine@kftc.org or call 859-276-0563.

Aug. 27

Happy 30th Birthday KFTC! We’re planning a big, fun birthday party for KFTC, and you and your friends, family and chapter members should plan to be there! Saturday, August 27, at Cathedral Domain in Irvine.

We’ll have lots of fun-filled activities from 12 noon through 10 p.m. There will be hiking, story circles, games, displays, quilt making, children’s crafts, a formal program, the premiere of our 30th Anniversary video, a great meal, good music, and a square dance! Please RSVP online at kftc. org/birthday if you wish to attend. Come when you can, and leave when you’re tired, but we sure hope to see you there!

Sept. 6

Letcher County chapter meeting. 6-7 p.m., Jenkins City Lake Picnic Shed, contact Willa@KFTC.org or 606-632-0051 for more information.

Sept. 8

Harlan County chapter meeting, 6 p.m. in Room 219 of Southeast Community College’s Appalachian Center in Cumberland. For more information contact Tanya@KFTC.org or call 606-632-0051.

Sept. 8

Scott County chapter meeting, 7 p.m., at the Georgetown Public Library.

Email Dave@KFTC.org or 859-420-8919 for more information or to volunteer.

Oct. 14 - KFTC Annual Membership Meeting, Jabez Kentucky. For more 16 information contact Carissa@KFTC.org or call 859-986-1277.