Environmental Watchdog

Spring-cleaning season has arrived, and for many Kentuckians that means burning unwanted debris. The Kentucky Division for Air Quality reminds residents to learn before you burn. Illegal burning could result in fines of as much as $25,000 per day per violation. Many people may not realize that burning trash is illegal in Kentucky. State law prohibits the burning of many materials including plastic, tires, cans, coated wire, carpeting and food waste. In addition, the burning of trailers, buildings, and construction and demolition debris such as shingles, drywall and insulation is prohibited.

A new study estimates that 65 percent of current coal-fired power plants won’t be economical to run in the near future. It’s been a common refrain when reporting on the coal industry: the fuel isn’t as competitive as it used to be because of low natural gas prices and increased environmental regulations. But the new study by researchers at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment quantifies the effects of natural gas and government regulations on the coal industry.

As several fires continue to burn in wooded areas across Pike County on Thursday, forestry officials said the fires are now under control. According to Tad Norris, the district forester for the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s Eastern District, three woodland fires were burning in Pike County Thursday in areas near Grapevine, Dorton and Elkhorn City. Norris said the fires have been brought under control and have been contained.

Thunderstorms are predicted this afternoon for southern Indiana. Those storms will slowly drift southward. In the meantime, a strong storm system in the Plains will move into the western Ohio Valley tonight. Rain, thunderstorms, with large hail and damaging winds, are likely tonight in Kentucky - particularly in areas west of Interstate 65, the National Weather Service office in Louisville said.

The Kentucky Administrative Regulation Review Committee has advanced new rules proposed by the state Energy and Environment Cabinet to regulate the levels of selenium in Kentucky waterways. The state says the new regulations are a necessary update, and will adequately protect the environment and aquatic species; but environmental groups have raised serious concerns and say the proposal doesn't comply with the federal Clean Water Act and is unenforceable.

Following a record warm March in 2012, a persistent pattern of wintry weather across Kentucky left March 2013 as one of the coldest on record. The statewide average temperature for March based on the Kentucky Mesonet, the Commonwealth’s official source of climatological observations, was 39.8 degrees while the statewide average temperature for March 2012 was 57.9 degrees, according to Stuart Foster, state climatologist and director of the Kentucky Mesonet.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to assess 23 commonly-used chemicals—including 20 flame retardants—for their potential effects on human health and the environment. The study will also include an analysis of how several of those flame retardants behave in the environment…like whether they bioaccumulate in humans or can be absorbed into the body with a certain type of exposure.

A new poll shows that Louisville residents are more concerned about air quality than those living in other areas of the state. In a poll conducted by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky in October, nearly three-quarters of the Louisville residents surveyed said they were either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about the local air quality. Those numbers were much lower—between 40.3 percent and 48.7 percent—for residents in other regions of the state.

Winter just isn't ready to let go yet, as Lexingtonians learned when they awoke Monday morning and found the city decorated in white. Snow with additional accumulation is expected to continue Tuesday morning, with low temperatures to go with it. That's quite a change from this time last year.

Most of Kentucky will see snow this evening but amounts will vary widely. A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 7 p.m. CDT today for Western Kentucky. Snow will generally accumulate about an inch, the National Weather Service Paducah office said. Major travel issues are not expected, the weather service said, but winds will be gusty at times.

A leading conservation scientist will speak at the University of Louisville tomorrow about the ways the environmental movement can better tackle subjects like climate change. M. Sanjayan is the Nature Conservancy’s lead scientist and a wildlife research professor. He says today, the relationship between people and nature is symbiotic. The planet isn’t pure and pristine anymore—instead, it’s been shaped by more than 20,000 years of human habitation. Sanjayan says it’s important to see humans as part of the solution to fixing the earth’s environmental problems.

Rain will change over to snow late today and continue into Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Accumulations of 1 to 2 inches are possible for Central Kentucky. Cities in the impacted area include Hawesville, Elizabethtown, Louisville, Bedford, Shelbyville, Frankfort, Georgetown, Lexington, Carlisle, Bardstown, Nicholasville and Winchester, according to the NWS office in Louisville.

Old Man Winter refuses to cut us any slack and is now threatening to throw more snow our way later this weekend. That will be associated with a big winter storm taking aim at the Ohio Valley Sunday and Monday. Guess what comes in behind that? If you said more cold and snow showers, you are a winner!

Kentucky’s utility rates are among the lowest in the nation. But even so, several public school districts have found that it still pays to build energy efficient schools. One such school in Warren County has taken efficiency even further, and is now generating more energy than the building uses.