State of Kentucky Archives: on Environment

Andy Beshear: Clean air and clean water underlie everybody's success

Matt Bevin: Opposes federal regulations like waterway protection

Robert Goforth: Torturing dogs and cats counts as domestic violence

Legislative outcome: Referred to Judiciary (died in Committee)

Rocky Adkins: 1996: sponsored the Kentucky Tourism Development Act

Jim Gray: EPA regulations overstep bounds, but we can't throw them out

But Gray refused to say whether he would work to end federal regulatory initiatives such as the Clean Water Act. "There's no one size fits all on those kinds of questions," Gray said. "You don't say carte blanche that we're going to throw the baby out with the bathwater."

[Gray's opponent Senator Rand] Paul said regulation from the federal government has overstepped its bounds. "You don't want the government telling you that you can't make reservoirs and ponds to irrigate your land," Paul said.

Jack Conway: Fight the EPA's burdensome regulations

• In 2013, Jack joined a bipartisan group of 26 other state Attorneys General in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent the EPA from revoking coal permits.
• In 2013, he spearheaded an effort to prevent the EPA from issuing stringent greenhouse gas regulations.
• Jack believes the EPA is violating the Clean Air Act by not allowing Kentucky to develop its own plan to reduce emissions.

Matt Bevin: I don't support cockfighting, but don't criminalize it

"I am genuinely sorry that my attendance at an event which, other than my comments, appears to have primarily involved a discussion of cockfighting, has created concern on the part of many Kentucky voters. I understand that concern," Bevin said. "I am not and have never been, a supporter of cockfighting or any other forms of animal cruelty."

Bevin had initially said he wasn't aware the event was a cockfighting rally, but a video uncovered by Louisville's WAVE-TV showed that Bevin was asked directly about whether cockfighting should be legalized--it is not now legal in Kentucky. He replied: "Criminalizing behavior, if it's part of the heritage of this state, is in my opinion a bad idea. A bad idea. I will not support it."

Alison Grimes: OpEd: Disdain for the EPA, but better choice for greens

Grimes doesn't offer much for the green community to rally behind. She has criticized Pres. Obama for taking "direct aim at Kentucky's coal industry" and faulted proposed EPA carbon dioxide controls of existing power plants. Those positions aren't likely to be controversial in the nation's No. 3 coal producing state, but they don't mix well with the agenda of environmental groups.

McConnell has increasingly taken aim at the Obama administration's climate agenda, including chiding EPA at a public "listening session" at the agency's Washington headquarters. But before groups such as the Sierra Club dole out campaign funds, they first want to make sure that Grimes is close enough to their camp to overlook the differences.

Steve Beshear: Secures Clean Water Act funding to clean up pollution

Bruce Lunsford: Worked on father’s tobacco farm as a youngster

Bruce Lunsford: Bring together all parties to review mountaintop removal

LUNSFORD: Coal is the economic engine for hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians. We need to bring together all relevant parties, including the coal industry, local leaders, and the environmental community to review mountaintop removal practices. We can find solutions that protect the environment, eliminate the dangers of runoff, and utilize coal more efficiently.