STATEMENT: Sierra Club Responds to SB 89 Veto

FRANKFORT, KY -- After weeks of engagement from Sierra Club and partners, and growing opposition from Kentuckians across the political spectrum, Governor Andy Beshear has vetoed Senate Bill 89 (SB 89). If the veto is overturned, the legislation would strip decades old protections for Kentucky's groundwater, streams, and wetlands leading to increased pollution risks, higher water treatment costs, and more flood risks for communities across the Commonwealth–including drinking water of more than one million Kentuckians. Because of these wide-reaching impacts SB 89 has attracted broad opposition, not only from every environmental organization in Kentucky, but from cultural and community voices like Kentucky Poet Laureate and New York Times bestselling author, Silas House, and Louisville based band Bendigo Fletcher, whose new single “One Little Drink” is an ode to water in protest of SB 89. The bill is being lobbied for by corporate interests who would increase profit margins with fewer health and safety standards to follow.

In response, Kentucky Sierra Club Director, Julia Finch, released the following statement:

“From miner’s sons to retired hippies, Kentuckians from across the political spectrum have made it clear–clean water is not a political issue, it is a Kentucky issue. Sierra Club thanks Governor Beshear for recognizing that. Now it’s time for the state legislature to do the same, listen to their constituents, and let the veto stand. Our state is not a dumping ground for corporate elites to take advantage of while they try to cut some overhead.”