SUMMER 2012

On March 13 and 14, KMUA conducted its annual D.C. Fly-In to meet with Kentucky’s Congressional Delegation and staff. Those attending the meeting were: Austin Carroll, KMUA President, Mark Iverson, KMUA Past President and Executive Committee Member, Stan Conn, General Manager of Owensboro Municipal Utility, Terry Naulty, Assistant Manager of Owensboro Municipal Utility, David Clark, General Manager Paducah Power System, Ray McLennan, Board Chair Paducah Power System, Jeff Pendergrass, PPS Board Member, Hardy Roberts, PPS Board Member, John Humphries, General Manager, Princeton Electric Plant Board, Herbbie Bannister, Acting General Manager, Frankfort Electric and Water Plant Board and Annette DuPont-Ewing, KMUA executive director.

Meetings were held in conjunction with the American Public Power Association’s Legislative Rally. Both events represented an opportunity for utility managers to “get the word out” regarding public power’s contribution to local and state economic development. Happily, KMUA members met directly with John Sparkman, Chief of Staff to Congressman Ed Whitfield and were treated to lunch at the exclusive, republican Capitol Club.

Another highlight of the trip was meeting one-on-one

with Senator Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate. KMUA members discussed the following five issues: Oversight of EPA Regulations, Wolf Creek Dam Reclassification, Telecommunications, Seven States Power Corporation and the Dodd-Frank Act’s implications for city-owned utilities.

EPAIn meetings with Senator McConnell or energy advisors to the Congressmen, KMUA thanked the delegation for their efforts and encouraged additional oversight of EPA and future regulations before they are put in place, so that public debate and input can take place.

TELECOMMUNICATIONSKMUA’s members asked that part of the D-Block of the wireless spectrum for Smart Grid and other utility critical infrastructure be set aside for municipal utility use. Regarding privacy, KMUA’s member utilities ask for the delegation’s help to ensure that any obligations imposed on them to protect customer data be uniform, predictable and easy-to-implement.

KMUA Met with Kentucky Congressional Delegation and Staff

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From left: Herbbie Bannister, Mark Iverson, Tery Naulty, Annette DuPont Ewing, Senator Mitch McConnell, KMUA President Austin Carroll, Ray McLennon & Hardy Roberts.

KMUA Celebrated National Drinking Water Week on May 6-12, 2012. Water is a crucial natural resource and covers 75 percent of our planet. While it may seem plentiful, 97% of that water is salty ocean water, which we cannot drink. Of the 3% that is fresh water, 2% is in frozen glaciers and only 1% is suitable for drinking. The Earth’s water supply is fixed, no new water is created and its constantly being recycled.

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In This IssueKMUA Met with KY Congressional Delegation and StaffKMUA Celebrates Water WeekTornados Scar KYUS Republican SuiteEco-Tourism in the African CongoPresident Carroll AppointedGov. Appoints Linda BreathittThe Main Line

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The March 2nd tornado hit very close to home as KMUA Executive Committee member and Minister of Hazel Patch Baptist church, Randy Bingham, had two beloved church members killed. A husband and wife, Wilburn and Virginia Pitman, were members of Randy’s church and lost their lives in the tornado. Ethel Pruitt who lost her life in the tornado is a sister to Edna Pruitt who is also a member of Randy’s church. Ethel’s daughter who was injured in the tornado later died. “It was a very sad time for the families and for the entire congregation. We are never ready to lose someone we know. God called them home and we have to accept his will” said Bingham. Randy has been the pastor at the church for 6 years. KMUA sends its sincerest condolences to the Pitman and Pruitt families, to all the families scarred by the tornadoes and to our own much respected and valued member, Randy Bingham.

A swarm of tornadoes that tore through the Midwest and Southeast in early March has earned the grim title of the nation’s first billion-dollar weather disaster of 2012.

From March 2 through the early hours of March 3, multiple tornadoes were reported across the state. One “supercell” thunderstorm with a history of producing tornadoes moved through Kentucky, for approximately 250 miles, over a course of four hours.

The tornadoes that ripped through Kentucky left a terrible scar in West Liberty and surrounding areas. The aftermath of the tornadoes was devastating, causing more than $1.5 billion in damage and killing 40 people. The storms killed four people in Ohio, 13 in Indiana, but they took their greatest toll in Kentucky, where 23 people died. West Liberty was one of the areas worst damaged in a series of deadly tornadoes that struck Kentucky and Indiana.

Source Accuweather.com, FEMA press release, March 20, Governor’s Press Release March 20 and March 28th

Tornadoes Scar Kentucky

God called them home and we have to accept his will.

Hale Retires Len Hale, manager of Paducah Water and Environment Authority has announced his retirement effective June 30, 2012.

www.kymua.org

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear flies over the tornado devastated town of West Liberty, in a Kentucky National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, on March 3, 2012. -yeeyan.org

Photo courtesy Reuters/Kentucky National Guard/Capt. Stephen Martin

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SEVEN STATES POWER CORPORATION Kentucky’s TVA distributors consider the Seven States Power Corporation a viable tool for giving the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) greater financial flexibility. KMUA requested that Kentucky’s TVA Congressional Delegation support the Seven States Power Corporation.

DODD-FRANK RULES The Commodities Future Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission continues its work to finalize definitions that have the potential to affect electric municipal utility operating costs. KMUA asked that Kentucky’s Congressional delegation support regulations that: 1) exempts municipal electric generators and municipal electric companies that purchase wholesale energy and fuel for electric generation from the definition of “swap dealers” and 2) such regulations do not impose position limitations or margining on municipal electric generators and municipal electric companies.

KMUA members were delighted to meet with Senator McConnell in his suite located on the principal floor of the U.S. Capitol in the oldest section of the building in the north wing. This wing was completed when the Federal Government moved from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. in November of 1800. Over the past 200 years, these rooms have been rebuilt and modified. Before its current use, the room was used by the U.S. Supreme Court as late as 1935. The room, 35x86 feet, was designated as the Howard H. Baker, Jr. room and is today the suite used by the Senate Republican Leader and his staff to conduct policy briefings,

work on legislation and meet with members, constituents and visiting heads of state. The ceiling is ornately decorated, by German artist Maxmilian Franz Friederang. The chandelier in the room is from Philadelphia and dates to 1847. The glided rococo revival mirrors date from the 19th century. The fireplace has a crack at the base as a result of the British burning the capitol during the revolution. The art work in the room contains historic oil paintings on canvas. Source: Highlights of Senator Mitch McConnell’s Republican Leader’s Suite and The U.S. Republican Leaders Suite, Published by the United States Senate.

Randy Bingham Announces Retirement Randy Bingham, long-time Superintendant of the London Utility Commission and KMUA Executive Committee member has announced his retirement on January 1, 2013. KMUA and its member wish him happiness in retirement. All will miss his leadership and sound decision-making skills.

The U.S. Senate Republican Leader’s Suite

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From left: Terry Naulty, Chief of Staff to Congressman Whitfield, John Sparkman, President Austin Carroll and Mark Iverson

Eco-Tourism in the African CongoTom Trauger and his wife, Jana Belsky, left the jungle of Washington DC this spring to visit the rain forests in the Republic of Congo and Central African Republic for two weeks. Their friend, Cynthia Moses, a former National Geographic Society wildlife documentary filmmaker, now spends about half the year in the capitals of the two Congos (Brazzaville and Kinshasa). In 2006 Cynthia founded the International Conservation and Education Fund (INCEF.org), a small,but highly effective non-profit to educate African villagers on wildlife conservation and health through locally produced videos. After 27 hours of travel, Tom and Jana arrived at her office and living quarters in Congo-Brazzaville.

The adventures really began when travelling with Cynthia and a mutual friend to the north of the Republic of Congo. A two-hour flight to Ouesso, a five-hour motorized canoe trip up the Sangha River, an hour’s ride on a dirt road through lush forest, and a five-mile hike, partly through a swamp, take you to the Nouabale-Ndoki gorilla research station. Michael

Stucker, an American from Chicago, is the Mondika site manager and a Wildlife Conservation Society researcher.

Assisted by 25 gorilla trackers, who are Ba’Aka tribesmen (formerly called Pygmies) from Central African Republic, Mike observes two groups of lowland gorillas that roam nearby. Each group is led by a silverback male – one named Buka, the other Kingo – and has about a dozen members.

Because the gorillas have been

habituated to people over a period of years by the trackers and researchers, it is possible to come within about twenty feet of the gorillas and, since you never know where they will move next, sometimes much closer, as you step out of their path in the dense forest. It is awe-inspiring to be so close and see them go about their daily activities: youngsters play fighting, juveniles climbing trees to harvest fruit and shimmying back down the trunk, and just meandering, foraging, and napping. The experience is dampened only by the heat and humidity (especially while struggling to follow the gorillas through the swamp), sweating beneath surgical masks required to protect the gorillas from human diseases, and swatting at persistent biting ants.

The other trip highlight was visiting Cynthia’s friend, Andrea Turkalo, at her remote research camp in the Dzanga-Sangha National Park in the Central African Republic. An hour’s walk (always accompanied by machete-wielding trackers) from camp along trails made by elephants

Andrea Turkalo image courtesy of peacecorps.gov. continued on page 20

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Bill Jenkins Retirement Party festivities on February 29, 2012. Thank you, Bill, for 26 years of service!

KMUA Treasurer, Marty Ivy, and his wife, Debbie, announce the engagement of their daughter Ashley to Kyle Kendell. They plan to be married in a colorful, outdoor wedding this October. Congratulations to the happy couple and to the Ivy family!

Tony Thompson, manager of Murray Electric System, and his wife, Krista, announce the marriage of their daughter,Chelsee to her husband,Tony Ryan. The marriage took place on June 9th 2012. The couple plans to live in Murray, Kentucky. KMUA sends it congratulations to the Mr. and Mrs. Ryan and to the entire Thompson family.

KMUA congratulates Austin Carroll as the chairman of the Board of Distributors Insurance Company (DIC). A wholly-owned subsidiary, DIC provides a wide range of loss control, insurance, and employee safety products and services to public power and electric cooperative utilities. Distributors Self Insurance Fund (DSIF), a division of DIC, is a workers’ compensation self insurance which provides additional options for providing low-cost, quality insurance products to DIC program participants. Located in the TVPPA office, DIC was created several years ago by a group of distributors, that included Austin, to provide liability at a time when this particular type of insurance was difficult to obtain for public power utilities. “I am flattered and pleased to serve the DIC as Board Chairman and look forward to getting to work. Our goal is to provide security through insurance on behalf of all utilities,” said Carroll. Distributors Insurance Company provides Property-Casualty Insurance designed exclusively for public utilities. John Humphries, of Princeton, has also served in this capacity.

KMUA President Carroll Appointed as Board Chair of the DIC

Governor Steve Beshear has appointed a longtime energy regulator to the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC). Linda Breathitt, of Lexington, has worked in the energy sector for years in state and federal positions. Breathitt currently serves as Federal Representative to the Southern States Energy Board, where she represents the U.S. Department of Energy.

She has also worked as a senior energy and regulatory advisor at a law firm in Washington, D.C. She was appointed in 1997 as Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in which she provided regulatory oversight of the electric transmission system, energy markets, natural gas pipelines, oil pipelines, and hydro-electric licensing.

Prior to her federal work, Breathitt was a Commissioner and later, Chair of the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Source: Governor’s Press Release, May 11, 2012

Governor Appoints Linda Breathitt to Kentucky Public Service Commission.

Linda BreathittImage courtesy downtownlex.com

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PSC Approves LG&E and KU Plan for Gas-fired Power Plants The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a proposal by Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) and Louisville Gas & Electric Co. (LG&E) to construct a natural gas-fired generating facility at LG&E’s Cane Run plant in Jefferson County and to purchase an existing natural gas-fired plant in Oldham County, Bluegrass Generation plant in La Grange at a cost of $110 million.

KU and LG&E plan to construct a 640-megawatt combined cycle generating plant at Cane Run at a cost of $583 million. Combined cycle plants are designed to operate most of the time. The companies also will purchase the 495-megawatt Bluegrass Generation simple cycle power plant in La Grange. It is designed to run only at times of peak demand.

In their application, KU and LG&E said that the additional generating capacity is needed to replace coal-fired units at Cane Run and at KU’s Green River plant in Muhlenberg County and Tyrone plant in Woodford County and to meet projected increases in demand for electricity by 2016. Those facilities are being retired by the end of 2015 as part of a broader plan to comply with new and stricter federal air quality regulations. A 4% increase in rates is expected once the new plant is in operation. Source: KY PSC Press Release, May 1, 2012 and Barrouquere, Brett, “KU Rates to Rise 4% with New Plant”, Lexington Herald Leader, May 4, 2012, page B-9

E. KY. Power Looks To Replace Energy From Old Coal Plants East Kentucky Power Cooperative announced Friday it is requesting proposals for ways to generate as much as 300 megawatts of power to potentially replace its aging coal-fired power units. It’s the latest in a series of moves

by utilities throughout the state, as well as the nation, to comply with more stringent federal environmental regulations that go into effect in the coming years. In East Kentucky Power’s case, it will need to either shut down or retrofit four units at its Dale power plant in Clark County, which dates to the 1950s, as well as one unit at its Cooper plant near Somerset that went online in 1965. “Among the alternatives are retrofitting those units or developing new generation to replace them,” said cooperative spokesman Nick Comer. Source: Herald Leader – June 8, 2012

LG&E-KU Proposes 7% Customer Rate Hike Gas and electric bills could be going up again within the next year for LG&E and KU customers. That is if a proposed LG&E and KU rate hike is approved. Combined gas and electric customers could wind up paying an extra $10.65 a month for utilities. LG&E and KU are asking the Kentucky Public Service Commission for a roughly 7% rate increase. Source: Wave 3 – June 8, 2012

New EPA Regulations Announced June 15 for Soot from Power Plants In spite of the Administration’s wishes to hold new EPA regulations until after the November elections, a federal judge forced the EPA to release new regulations pertaining to soot from power plants. Source: National Public Radio, June 15, 2012

Coal Turns Ugly As Gas Cuts Use To 20-Year Low: Energy Markets Coal demand in the U.S. is collapsing as power companies switch away from the fossil fuel to take advantage of the cheapest natural gas in 10 years. Use of coal to generate electricity will drop 2 percent this year to the lowest since 1992, while gas-fired consumption rises 5.6 percent, according to the Energy Department. Gas prices have tumbled to the weakest levels since February 2002 this year amid a boom in output and milder-than-normal weather. Appalachian coal, the U.S. benchmark grade, sank 15 percent in January and is down 26 percent from a 2011 high, prompting companies from Alpha Natural Resources Inc. to Patriot Coal Corp. and Arch Coal Inc. to close mines. On June 21, Arch Coal announced it will layoff 600 employees. Natural gas has dropped 31 percent in the past year as higher-than-average temperatures cut demand and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, at shale formations drove inventories to record highs. Source: Bloomberg and “Arch Coal Lays Off 600” LHL, 6/22/12 pA-1Feb.

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Congressman Whitfield Presses EPA On Cost Of Mercury Rule. House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have renewed a request to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to provide them with the full compliance cost of the agency’s final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS rule. While a May 8 EPA response estimated the capital component of the total cost to be $35 billion, it appears that the total cost may exceed $108 billion. Source: Varela, Robert, Public Power Daily.com, June 14, 2012

LG&E Agrees to Pay Fine, Reduce Ash Emissions LG&E has agreed to pay a $22,500 fine to settle allegations that coal ash emissions have repeatedly landed in a neighborhood near one of its plants. The utility did not admit any wrong doing but settled with officials with the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District. Neighbors complained that the fine wasn’t enough as they continue to suffer from ash emissions. Source: LG&E Agrees to Pay Fine, Reduce Ash Emissions, Lexington Herald Leader, April 20, 2012, P. A-6

Kentucky Power Reverses Course of Coal Plant The Kentucky Public Service Commission has issued an order granting the motion by

Kentucky Power/American Electric Power to withdraw its request for approval of an environmental compliance plan that included construction of a $940 million flue gas desulfurization unit and associated facilities at its Big Sandy generating station near Louisa in Lawrence County. The plant in Lawrence County is the only Kentucky Power (American Electric Power) plant in the state. The Big Sandy plant was built in the 1960s and has two units totaling 1,078 megawatts. Kentucky Power originally planned to retrofit the second unit of 800 megawatts with a scrubber to control emission and retire the other unit. According to the Kentucky Attorney Generals’ office only 30% of the coal burned at the plant is from Eastern Kentucky and with the retrofits that amount would decrease.

Across the nation, companies are closing aging coal fired plants in lieu of upgrading them in favor of natural gas which is cheaper due to new production techniques. Like Kentucky Power, East Kentucky Power Cooperative backed away from building a new coal-fired power plant after some controversy. Kentucky Utilities recently received approval from the PSC to retire three of its coal plants in favor of natural gas electric generation Sources: “PSC Grants Kentucky Power Motion to Withdraw,” KY Public Service Commission, Press Release, May 31, 2012, Platt’s May 30, 2012 and Sloan, Scott, “Kentucky Power Seeks to Drop Controversial $1 Billion Plan”, Lexington Herald Leader, May 31, 2012, p. A-1

Mayfield Commissioned SCADA System Survalent Technology announced today it has commissioned a new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system at Mayfield Electric & Water Systems. “This is the first SCADA System for Mayfield Electric & Water Systems,” said manager, Marty Ivy. The SCADA System has been timed with a new substation to make the most of data available from smart devices in the substation,” stated Steve Strauss, Vice President of Sales for the Eastern United States.” Survalent’s IED Wizard and Control Panel provide a means to easily program and display IEDs. Mayfield will also benefit from text messaging to cell phones for alarm conditions and the ability to have view-only capability of their screens from the internet.” Source: Survalent Technologies and Hometown Connections, press release, May 16, 2012.

Image courtesy Winoria via Flickr

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continued on page 10

Harlan County Coal Mine

Secretary of Energy, Chu, Directs Power Marketing Administrations To Make Dramatic Changes Energy Secretary Steven Chu is directing the four federal power marketing administrations to upgrade infrastructure to take a greater advantage of energy efficiency, demand resources an clean energy. Chu said that while continuing a commitment to cost based rates, the PMAs must now rise the challenges of the 21st century. KMUA and APPA President and CEO Mark Crisson have spoken out against this move due, in part, to the potential impact on SEPA hydropower rates. Source: Public Power Daily, March 19, 2012 publicpower.com

Gouged By the Wind Politicians keep promising to reduce energy prices, but they keep ignoring one easy step: repeal renewal energy standards. Twenty-nine states have these rules requiring local utilities to purchase between 20% and 33% of their electric power from renewable sources. They were enacted over the past decade when lawmakers bought into the fad about cheap “clean energy.” Their real effect has been to force utilities to pay above-market prices for electricity, which means higher electric bills for consumers. Source: Submitted by KMUA

KMUA President Austin Carroll from the Wall Street Journal.com, May 16, 2012.

Mandated Renewable Electricity Portfolios Two years ago, HB 4 attempted to mandate Kentucky’s electric distributors and generators to have a proportion of renewable power in its portfolio. The percentage of renewable power in the portfolio was to increase each year. That bill was defeated thanks to KMUA’s grass roots efforts. Robert Bryce, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Center for Energy Policy and the Environment has published these findings regarding mandated renewable portfolios. Mandated by a desire to reduce carbon emissions, and in the absence of federal action to do so, 29 states have required utility companies to deliver specified minimum amounts of electricity from “renewable” sources, including wind and solar power. California recently adopted the most stringent of these so-called renewable portfolio standards (RPS) requiring 33 percent of its electricity to be renewable by 2020.

There is growing evidence that the costs may be too high - that the price tag for purchasing renewable energy and for building new transmission lines to deliver it, may not only outweigh any environmental benefits but may also be detrimental to the economy costing jobs rather than adding them. Analysis of available data has reviewed a pattern of starkly higher rates in most states with RPS mandates compared to those without mandates. The gap is particularly striking in coal-dependent states - seven such states with RPS mandates saw their rates soar by an average of 54.2 percent between 2001 and 2010, more than twice the average increase experience by seven other cost dependent states without mandates. The impact on low income households is even more significant. Source: Bryce, Robert, “The High Cost of Renewable Electricity Mandates,” Energy Policy and the Environment Report, No. 10, February 2012, published by Manhattan Institute.

Utility MACT Rule Moves On Despite Senator McConnell’s calls to thwart EPA’s more stringent environmental limits on mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxins from coal fired plants, the U.S. Senate voted on June 20 to defeat a resolution by Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma that would have prevented the EPA from implementing the so-called “Utility MACT” regulations that McConnell and others call “a war on coal.” Source: McConnell Pleas to Thwart EPA Rejected. Lexington Herald Leader, June 21, 2012, p. A-3

rENEWABlE POWEr

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.Image courtesy wikimedia.org

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Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant Over Budget And ScheduleThe Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on April 5 provided an update on the progress of construction at the Watts Bar 2 nuclear power plant near Spring City, Tenn. Expected to be completed by 2013 with a total cost of $2.49 billion, TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore said the estimates on both cost and time were wrong. The DSEP approved by the board in 2007 projected a 60-month construction schedule and a cost of $2.49 billion. TVA now expects the project to cost an additional $1.5 billion to $2 billion to complete, putting the total cost to complete Watts Bar 2 near $4 billion to $4.5 billion. TVA also said they will not complete the project by 2013, as

expected and approved in the 2007 construction schedule, but should have the plant operational between September and December 2015. The Board of Directors of TVA must still approve both the cost and schedule increases. Source: Wheeler Brian, April 5, 2012, PowerEngineering.com

Nuclear Related Industries to Develop in Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed HB 559 on May 31, 2012 allowing nuclear-related industries to exist in the Commonwealth as long as electricity generation is not the primary output. “I have been assured by our Kentucky congressional delegations that the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant will continue its work for some time. This legislation will

help add employment opportunities.” stated Governor Beshear. Source: Governor’s Office Press Release, May 15 and 31, 2012.

NUclEAr POWEr

Governor Steve BeshearImage courtesy governor.ky.gov

Connected Nation A Kentucky based non-profit, Connected Nation, whose stated goal is to spread the reach of broadband, salvaged a contract in Florida by cranking “its powerful Lobbying team into gear and turning to the legislature,” reports TampaBay.com The Florida Department of Management Services had been unhappy with Connected Nation’s performance and was going to let the contact expire. Instead, the Florida legislature passed a bill that transferred the contract and allowed Connect Nation to bid. Connected Nation then slashed its price in half and emerged as one of the top three bidders, according to the report. Source: Farrar, Lu-Ann, Lexington Herald Leader, June 6, P. A-

TElEcOMMUNIcATIONS

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September 23-26, 2012APPA Business and Financial Conference: Peabody Hotel, Memphis, Tennessee. www.publicpower.org/BandF

May-August 2012 TVPPA Training Schedule can be found on www.tvppa.com or call 423.648.2464.

KSA 3rd Annual Meeting: Kentucky Stormwater Association (KSA) will hold its third Annual Conference to share innovate ideas, techniques and solutions for effectively managing. Stormwater at the Hilton Cincinnati Airport Hotel in Florence on August 8-10, 2012. To register for the conference or for more information about KSA, visit www.kystormwater.org.

TrAINING and conferences

Water Treatment Plants Recognized Forty-nine water treatment plants in Kentucky have been recognized by the Energy and Environment Cabinet for their demonstrated success in producing drinking water in 2011 that consistently met or exceeded state water quality standards. The 49 systems honored are among 155 public and private water treatment plants in the state that participated in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Area-Wide Optimization Program (AWOP).

The program challenges plants to reduce turbidity levels below those required by state and federal regulations. Turbidity, or cloudiness of water can be caused by sand and dirt, as well as bacteria and viruses. Particle removal is critical for producing water free of dirt and microbes which can cause waterborne diseases. Member systems recognized included: Barbourville Water and Electric, Benham Water Plant, Georgetown Municipal Water And Wastewater Service, Glasgow Water Companies A and B, Lawrenceburg Water and Sewer Department, London Utility Commission, Light and Water, Morehead Utility Plant Board, Nicholasville Water Department and Paris Water Works. Source: Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Press Release, May 24, 2012

EPA To Work with Drinking Water Systems to Monitor Unregulated Contaminants The EPA published a list of 28

chemicals and two viruses that 6,000 public water systems will monitor from 2013 to 2015. The EPA will spend more than $20 million to support the monitoring, the majority of which will be devoted to assist small drinking water systems with conducting the monitoring. The data collected under the Unregulated

Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3 (UCMR3) will inform the EPA about the frequency and levels at which these contaminants are found in Drinking Water Systems and help determine wither additional protections are needed. The list of contaminants to be studied includes total chromium and hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6. Source: EPA Press Release May 1, 2012

Auditor To Review KY’S Micro-Government Groups Such As Library, Sewer And Fire Districts The next target of the state auditor’s office will be “special taxing districts” that include sewer and library services — and the first order of business is to figure out how many such districts exist, state Auditor Adam Edelen said. The statutes describe 45 different times. And they range from sanitation and conservation districts, to fire districts, to library boards and airport boards and infrastructure authorities,” he said. “I’m a big fan of the work they do. But at the end of the day, if you’ve got the ability to reach into the taxpayers’ wallets, you’ve got to be accountable to them.” Source: cn2 Politics- Posted: 06 May 2012 03:04 PM PDT

Lake Levels in Western Kentucky Worrisome Lake levels in Western Kentucky are at a historic low for late spring, worrying local businesses and safety officials. The lakes are 3 feet below summer pool. On May 17, the TVA recorded lake levels at 357.17. Summer pool is 359 feet. The TVA reports that Kentucky Lake is at a historic low for this time of year. A level two drought has been declared in western KY - which may affect small water systems. Source: Lexington Herald Leader, May 19, 2012, p. A-9

WATEr Hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) is recognized as a human carcinogen via inhalation.Workers in many different occupations are exposed to hexavalent chromium. Problematic exposure is known to occur among workers who handle chromate-containing products as well as those who perform welding, grinding, or brazing on stainless steel.

image and article from wikipedia.org

image courtesy genuinekentucky.com

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Annual Drinking Water Report Shows Violations Down Most plant violations involve reporting Frankfort, Ky. (June 14, 2012) – The Annual compliance Report (ACR) on public water systems prepared by the Kentucky Division of Water (DOW) indicates violations involving contaminants and treatment dropped by 257 from 2010 to 2011.

The report, required by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, lists Kentucky’s 461 public water systems and any violations imposed in the previous calendar year. The report shows that maximum contaminant level and treatment violations decreased from 116 in 2010 to 96 in 2011. “The majority of violations at Kentucky’s public water systems last year involved administrative infractions rather than problems with water treatment,” said Julie Roney, coordinator of the DOW Drinking Water Program. The 2011 compliance report may be viewed in summary and detailed formats at http://water.ky.gov/DrinkingWater/Pages/AnnualComplianceReports.aspx. The summary report is arranged by contaminant, while the detailed document is arranged by public water system. For more information about the report, contact Julie Roney at DOW at 502-564-3410.

PSC-KIA Water District Boundary Project In some cases, it is unclear where the the water districts’ boundaries are geographically. Normally these geographical territories are created by a fiscal court or by the county judge executive. Sometimes the territory is expanded by the actions of the water district itself through service expansion. There is no central depository for those legal documents that create or expand a water district. Most of the records originated in the 1960s or 70s. The PSC-KIA plan is to gather this information and map the boundaries. For water districts where no legal documents exist or where only service territory maps exist, actions by the courts will be pursued. These boundary documents are static but the boundaries are dynamic and therefore, the PSC plans to pursue legislation to create a depository at an agency for the records. This need has arisen as a result of boundary disputes. The GIS staff of the PSC and KIA will help in gathering the territory and service area documents. Source: KSWIG meeting minutes, June 20, 2012

James Glenn, Jr. (b. February 17, 1948) is a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing the 13th District since 2007. He previously served as an Owensboro City Commissioner from 2005-2006. He is a long-term supporter of public power and local control. Owensboro Municipal Utilities is located in his district. OMU is one of only two municipal electricity generators in the state and the second largest member of KMUA.

Representative Glenn is an Associate Professor at Owensboro Community and Technical College. He was a member of the Adjunct Faculty of Brescia University from 1990-1995.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Representative Glenn is a long-term resident of Owensboro and is passionate about “doing the right thing for the economy of our city and bringing jobs to hard working people of Owensboro.”

Glenn received his Bachelor’s Degree and MBA at the University of Wisconsin. He received his Doctorate in higher education at the University of Kentucky. He has served on the boards of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, Owensboro History and

Science Museum and Owensboro River Park Civic Center.

Representative Glenn is running for re-election in the 2012 election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 13. He defeated Jeremy Warfield in the Democratic primary on May 22, 2012. Glenn faces Independent Bill Barron in the general election on November 6, 2012.

James Glenn, Jr.Legislator in the Spotlight

JAMES GLENN JR.Legislator (D)

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Eddie Masterson is the Superintendent of the Wastewater Utility for the City of Lebanon established in 1935. He has worked in the water industry for 12 years, and has served as Superintendent in Lebanon for 5 years. Prior to that Masterson served as Assistant Park Director and public works employee. Masterson and his skilled crew of 8 provide wastewater services to almost 2,500 residential, commercial and industrial customers. The City of Lebanon has 49 miles of wastewater collection lines and one treatment plant with a capacity of 3.0 million gallons per day. Masterson is married to Dee Dee, and has 3 children, Christina 22, Catherine 20, Bethany 8. Always busy with work for the city and spending time with his family, in his spare time, Eddie enjoys golf and youth sports.

Masterson and the City of Lebanon have been long time member and supporter of KMUA. Masterson credits his successful career to team work. We have made a lot of positive changes here at the wastewater treatment plant. Because we work as a team, we have been able to build a new office building that includes an employee break room and facilities. We all pitched in and did it with our own hands to make the city’s dollar stretch further. We wanted a better work place and we made it happen - together. I have the pleasure of working with a great group of men that

take their work seriously. We care about the local community and want the best service that we can provide for our customers,” commented Masterson.

In the 1860’s, Lebanon was a crucial location on the L&N Railroad and the scene of considerable Civil War activity. It served as a recruiting center, a hospital center, headquarters for the Union Army and headquarters for the Confederate Army.

In the 19th century, Lebanon was one of the stops along the National Turnpike from Maysville to Nashville, and Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson met here long before the Civil War. On the southern limits of Lebanon is the National Cemetery, where many of the Union Soldiers who fell in the 1862 Battle of Perryville were laid to rest. The cemetery is the site of many military funerals and hosts annual Memorial Day celebrations.

Today, Lebanon, in Marion County, is a growing and increasingly industrialized community with a population of almost 6000 people. Lebanon is renowned for its Ham Days Festival and Tractor Show which is held during the last weekend of September. In the 1960s and early 1970s it was known as an entertainment hotspot, as nationally known acts appeared at Club 68 and the Golden Horseshoe nightclubs but it maintains a reputation for heritage and hospitality.

The wastewater treatment plant is 77 years old with three upgrades, the last being in 1996 and the team works to keep it in tip top shape. Lebanon is currently planning the following projects; Extension to Crossroad industrial Park; Extension to Nally and Haydon (Hardin Creek Subdivision); Renovate Corporate Drive lift Station; Rehab Downtown mini system.

Eddie MastersonManager in the Spotlight

We care about the local community and want the best service that we can provide for our customers.

EDDIE MASTERSONSuperintendentWastewater Utility City of Lebanon

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Tony ThompsonManager in the Spotlight

I have always felt that locally owned utilities are an asset to the cities that we serve and believe in advocating and defending their role and existence.

TONY THOMPSONGeneral Manager Murray Electric System

Tony Thompson is the General Manager of Murray Electric System, established in 1942. He has worked in the electric industry for 37 years, and has served as General Manager at MES for 16 years. Prior to that Thompson served as a Journey Lineman and System Engineer. MES provides electric service to the city of Murray. MES also provides Broadband services in Murray that include CATV, high-speed Internet, home security and telephony services in partnership with eTel of Murray, LLC. MES has almost 8,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers. MES maintains 250 miles of transmission and distribution lines and 6 substations. MES is a wholesale customer of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Thompson is married to Krista and has 2 children, Drew and Chelsee. In his spare time, Tony enjoys hunting and fishing, supporting MSU athletics, and spending time with his family.

Thompson is a long time member and supporter of KMUA. He has always supported and defended the role of municipally owned utilities in the state. Tony has testified in front of state legislative committees and provided information to local and regional media outlets in support of KMUA’s agenda. “I have always felt that locally owned utilities are an asset to the cities that we serve and believe in advocating and defending their role

and existence. I feel that MES has been successful because of team effort, consistency in our strategic plan and an exceptional staff of 41 professionals who care deeply about their local community and the services that we provide,” says Thompson.

The city of Murray has experienced consistent growth over recent years. Murray is a city in Calloway County with a population approaching 18,000 people. Murray is the 22nd largest city in Kentucky, the county seat of Calloway, and is home to Murray State University. MSU is a four year university with an enrollment of almost 11,000 students. MSU is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S. News & World Report’s regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years.

MES is currently planning the following projects; a new engineering and operations office with modern warehousing. MES is also designing an AMI system that will automate meter reading and be able to provide two way communication between the customer’s metering point and the central office. MES is also planning an upgrade of its Broadband infrastructure to allow the addition of more High Definition programming, as well as higher speeds for its internet customers. MES is also a charter member of the MuniNet Fiber Agency which is deploying a fiber optic network across the southwest portion of the state to connect several communities with a high capacity fiber network.

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APPA Academy Webinar SeriesAn internet connection and computer are all you need to educate your entire staff for just $89 Register today at www.appaacademy.org. Non-APPA members enter coupon code webinar to receive the member rate. • Utility Governance Webinar Series - Strategic Planning for Utility Boards and City Councils JULY 17The • The Pull-Through: Energy Program Participant Recruitment & Retention JULY 19 • DEED/DSTAR Webinar - Discussion of Smart Grid Impact on Distribution Relability and Overview of Future DSTAR Projects JULY 25 • Establishing a Safety Culture at Your Utility JULY 31 • The New 2012 APPA Safety Manual Overview AUGUST 7 • Utility Governance Webinar Series - Performance Monitoring and Accountability for Boards AUGUST 14.

HOPKINSVILLE ELECTRIC SYSTEM GENERAL MANAGER RECEIVES NATIONAL PUBLIC POWER AWARD SEATTLE, WASH., June 19, 2012 — Austin B. Carroll, general manager at Hopkinsville, Ky., Electric System, received the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Harold Kramer-John Preston Personal Service Award at the Association’s national conference in Seattle, Washington. This award recognizes service to APPA through substantial contributions toward Association goals.

Carroll has worked in public power for 37 years and has been a leader in the Tennessee Valley, the state of Kentucky and nationally. He was on the original Seven States Power Inc. Board and was

instrumental in helping Tennessee Valley Authority distributors have an ownership stake in the production of power they purchase. In recent years, as head of the Kentucky Municipal Utilities Association, he has raised the participation of municipal utilities in that state in regional and national energy and broadband issues. He testified before a congressional committee in 2011 to explain the importance of municipally owned telecommunications services in the goal of bringing high-speed broadband to all American households. In 1999, he started EnergyNet, the Internet division of Hopkinsville Electric System. Today, EnergyNet provides Internet services to more than 3,000 businesses and residents in Hopkinsville. He has also worked to develop a regional, municipally owned long-haul fiber network to support economic development in Kentucky. He is a member of the APPA Board of Directors, Chair of Membership Committee, and he chairs Distributor Insurance Corporation Board. Source: APPA news release

PSGC’s Unit 1 Up and Running On June 12, Unit 1 of the Prairie State Generating Company’s power plant near Marissa, Illinois went live providing power for the PSGC owners, including Paducah Power System and Princeton Electric Plant Board. Unit 1 is contracted to produce 800 megawatts. It’s a significant milestone in the construction of the plant which began in 2007 and will culminate near the end of the year when Unite 2 is expected to begin commercial operations. KMUA and its members sends its congratulations to Dave Clark and John Humphries on this monumental achievement!

Henderson Municipal Power and Light Victorious After Long Battle In August 2009, Big Rivers Electric Corporation filed a lawsuit against the City of Henderson and the Henderson Utility commission. Big Rivers claimed certain energy within the City’s reserved capacity at Henderson’s Station Two Power Plant belonged to Big Rivers. The City strongly opposed Big River’s position. The Henderson Circuit Court placed the dispute in arbitration and after 30 months the Arbitration Panel issued a final order on May 30, 2012. The Panel ruled in favor of the City and denied all of Big River’s claims. The City now plans to begin scheduling and selling energy in the open market. LG&E and E.On supported and participated in Big Rivers’ attempt to take the City’s energy.

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Ed Fortner is about to reach his one-year anniversary as the Utilities Manager at Berea City Utilities having taken over the position at the end of July 2011. Fortner is a graduate of George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester and is an Eastern Kentucky University alumnus. He has held a position in the area of utilities since the mid-1980s.

Fortner began his career at Richmond Utilities under the supervision of Steve Fowler. He also has worked with the Kentucky Geological Survey, the Kentucky Division of Water and operated water plants in Danville, Pennsylvania and Colorado. “Sometimes I feel like all my previous work experiences have culminated in this job at Berea. There was some part of every job I’ve had that has helped me in my current position. Working at Berea with a great team of 34 professionals has been a wonderful opportunity to succeed. I’m especially proud of the community based efforts for green power and energy efficiency that we’ve seen in Berea,” Fortner commented.

When Ed arrived, the sewer plant had been rebuilt and all the employees had been moved under one roof. The facilities had been updated and remodeled. Making new projects and new programs more achievable for the new manager. “I have an open door policy and my co-workers know that they can bring any issue or any subject to me and we can work on a solution together. It’s been a great year and we’ve

had some big achievements. We are especially proud of the award winning solar panel program that has been erected.

With support from the city council and a federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, Berea Municipal Utilities is converting sunlight into electricity through 60 photo-voltaic panels. The panels are located next to the Berea Municipal Utilities building. This is a cost saver for BMU as the solar power supplies the municipal building’s electricity needs, with all surplus fed into the local utility grid.

Fortner said, “ BMU customers can buy into the solar panels through a 25-year lease of up to two 235-watt solar panel for a one-time fee of $750. As a result customers’ accounts are credited for the electricity that their panel generates. The program is based on customer choice and offers an opportunity to invest directly in clean energy options.“ 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 or don’t want to get involved with ownership responsibilities. Schools, individuals and businesses can participate in this program. It’s been a huge success.”

Fortner enjoys partnering with Berea College as it’s often a win-win scenario. Scoring the highest in Kentucky and among the highest in the Southeast, Berea College, earned a B+ from the 2011 College Sustainability Report Card, published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. Berea students attend tuition free (all must also serve part-time campus jobs, many of them green). About 100 Berea students live in a pioneering Ecovillage, and the campus is home to Kentucky’s first LEED-certified hotel. Berea is working to reduce greenhouse gases and spends 10% of its food budget locally. Berea College began construction on what will be the most energy-efficient residence hall in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, if not the country, in April 2012. The three-story, 42,000 square foot building – referred to as the “Deep Green Residence Hall” – will be constructed adjacent to Boone Tavern Hotel & Restaurant and will house 120 students in 66 rooms. Construction is expected to be completed by August 2013. The construction methods, sustainability features and the usage of local

Ed FortnerManager in the Spotlight

ED FORTNERUtilities ManagerBerea City Utilities

I’m especially proud of the community based efforts for green power and energy efficiency that we’ve seen in Berea

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Berea solar array

and recycled materials in construction of the residence hall fit within the college’s strategic direction to meet the ACUPCC (American College & University President’s Climate Commitment) goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from campus operations and to promote sustainability as a role model for the community as well as students.

The first new residential facility constructed at Berea College since the Ecovillage a decade ago, this $16.5 million residence hall will be the third campus building to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. “BMU hopes to play a part in this new development by supplying municipal utility services to this cutting edge dormitory,” said Fortner.

Clearly, Ed has a multifaceted job! In addition to his other duties, Fortner oversees the management of the city’s 4.3 million gallon per day wastewater plant that utilizes oxidation and Ultra Violet disinfection. The plant has 92 miles of wastewater collection line. The plant discharges to Silver Creek. In 2010, over one billion gallons had been processed. Berea Municipal Utilities Electrical System is comprised of two substations Rash

Road (12 KV) and Lewis Street (4KV) Substations with 80 miles of distribution line. BMU treats surface water from four reservoirs, Cowbell and Owsley Fork Lakes. BMU provides service to over 5,100 electric customers, almost 4100 water customers and nearly 5,400 wastewater customers.

Sources: Buckner, Jay, “Berea College Begins Construction on Deep Green Residence,” April 12, 2012. Bereacollege.com and Bereautilities.com

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KEN

TUCKY MUNICIPAL

SANITARYSEWER

UT

ILITIES A S S O CIATION

Annette C. DuPont-Ewing // Executive DirectorKentucky Municipal Utility Association (KMUA) 110 A. East Todd Street Frankfort, KY 40601

and through a stream leads to an elevated observation platform (mirador) overlooking a muddyclearing (called a “bai”) with minerals that attract elephants. The hours pass quickly when watching as many as 75 elephants, about 40 bongos, forest buffaloes, antelope-like sitatungas, and the occasional gorilla, all “hanging out” quite peacefully.

For 22 years, Andrea has been a guardian angel to a large group of forest elephants, watching over, studying, and protecting them. A native of Massachusetts, she is one of the world’s leading experts on elephants and has separately identified more than 4,000 individuals. Almost every day, she observes them for hours, monitoring their health and behaviors. Elephants are the earth’s largest land animals and are extremely intelligent, capable of remembering events and exhibiting emotions.

Andrea and her field team of trackers, in collaboration with Cornell University in New York, are working to decipher the complex language used by elephants and compile it into a lexicon. Many elephant sounds are at frequencies too low for humans to hear, but if recorded and played back at triple speed, their rumbling calls can be heard. Andrea makes constant recordings from the mirador, which are digitally analyzed and correlated with behavior to attempt to figure out what the elephants are communicating to one another. Andrea easily recognizes

whether certain calls are a greeting, a protest, or a subsonic rumble warning the herd to stay together – all based on her ongoing research.

The forest elephant is threatened as poaching has become epidemic. Ten percent of the population is poached every year for its ivory. Andrea’s priority is protecting the elephants, and she works closely with the Dzanga-Sangha National Park’s armed police, who at times have engaged in gun battles with the poachers. Andrea believes that if she were not present, the clearing would become a killing field. She plans to spend another fifteen years in the forest, with annual visits back to the US, working on the lexicon and protecting the elephants.

Back at her camp, Andrea cooks on a wood-burning stove, showers from a bucket hoisted by a rope and pulley, and has an outhouse that would make our Kentucky ancestors proud. Elephants occasionally wander through the small camp with its three open air cabins, a kitchen, a storage building/office, and a thatch-roofed open dining area. Solar panels charge storage batteries that supply a pair of LED lights in the dining area and are used to recharge batteries for cameras, laptops, and the satellite radio that Andrea uses to keep up with what’s happening in the world beyond the forest. For Tom and Jana, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

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