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Kansas Legislative News
April 20th, 2015
Zack Pistora
Legislative Director
Sierra Club – Kansas Chapter
Phone: 785-865-6503
email: [email protected]
KS Legislature Finishes Regular Session; Environmental Issues Do Better Than Expected
Earlier this month, the 2015 Legislative Session wrapped up its regular session after 53 days of business. 2015
was the first year of the new 2 year cycle of legislation, as well as the first year of elected service for many new
state Representatives and the 2nd term for Governor Brownback. Certainly, this session marked a fair amount
of new policy shake‐ups and political controversy (such as gun licensing, school finance formula, and more),
but not many had expected the slight gains in environmental policy. In fact, our Kansas legislators and the
Governor have signed 6 environmentally‐related bills into law, advancing management of pollution and waste,
and conserving water (see summary below). Another 3 or so bills impacting water policy, creating an interim
Carbon Emissions study committee, and allowing KS Dept. of Agriculture to hold conservation easements, are
expected to be finalized in legislative wrap‐up, the “Veto Session”. Overall, I would say that thus far the 2015
KS Legislature has been surprisingly attentive to the difficult environmental challenges that our state faces,
such as the state’s water crisis, the ongoing troubles of fossil fuel dependency, and the need to our remediate
contaminated lands. However, with the Veto Session coming next week, there may be a sneak attack from the
“Fossil Fool” crowd to tax clean energy and get rid of the state’s successful RPS policy.
Bills passed by the Legislature and approved by Governor Brownback
SB 124 –KDHE’s Management of Drilling Waste & Water Pollution Standards
SB 124 packages three KS Dept. of Health & Environment (KDHE) sponsored bills, in part to manage drilling
waste from oil and gas drilling / fracking operations, as well as to provide some flexibility to struggling
communities in meeting water quality standards for ammonia. Part 1: originally, SB 124 – continues to allow
KDHE and KCC to allow and monitor landspreading of drill cuttings in KS by industry, but annual reporting by
these agencies to the State Legislative committees is required. The bill also requires property sellers to
disclose any landspreading practices in the previous 3 years to potential buyers. FYI: You may recall that two
years ago our Kansas Chapter of Sierra Club did oppose this policy on landspreading waste. Part 2 of the bill
came out of SB 125, which allows low concentrated amounts of naturally occurring radioactive material
(NORM) & technologically‐enhanced NORM (TENORM) to be eligible for disposal in Kansas landfills. KDHE will
create rules and regs on allowable concentrations and sources of waste on or before July 1, 2016. Part 3: The
final element of SB 124 came out of HB 2303, which establishes opportunity for variances to water quality
standards. KDHE will need to get approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to institute these
temporary flexibility measures to allow for 400 some permitted small wastewater lagoon facilities to be in
noncompliance as they make plans to upgrade their water treatment options. The Kansas Sierra Club will
continue to keep a watchful eye on this legislation, as well as KDHE, to make sure our land and aquatic
ecosystems, as well as human health, are being protected.
HB 2192 – Kansas Storage Tank Act and Environmental Stewardship Fund
This bill designates a funding stream to pay for remediation activities at contaminated “orphan” sites, where
no responsible party is paying for cleanup. The bill also creates a reimbursement program to incentivize
owners of underground petroleum storage tanks to replace single‐walled containment systems with secondary
containment systems. We agree this is a good strategy for progress on underground storage containers.
HB 2193 – KDHE and Voluntary Remediation Programs
This bill combined HB 2193 – Solid and Hazardous Waste and the Risk Management Program Act, & HB 2177 –
the Voluntary Cleanup and Property Redevelopment Act. This law allows KDHE to enter into agreement with a
responsibility party to carry out a risk management plan with a responsible party and administer an upfront,
one‐time fee to clean up the contamination to a point in which further future risks can be minimized. This new
legislation amends the law to evaluate contamination in relation to its risk to human health and the
environment, as oppose to simply excavating the land that exceeded the state’s toxicity standards. These
voluntary cleanup plans will be available for public review upon request, and KDHE will upload such voluntary
plans to their website. We applaud lawmakers and our state agency for effort to further remediate
contaminated land in a voluntary and cooperative style. In our opinion, this is one additional tool to
comprehensively reduce the presence and harms of toxic contamination in Kansas.
H Sub for SB 36 – Creating the Local Conservation Lending Program (LCLP)
Mirroring a successful linked‐deposit program in Iowa, KDHE sponsored this legislation to create a lending
program to reduce nonpoint source pollution, such as agricultural waste and fertilizer runoff. The LCLP would
invest ‘recycled funds’ from the Kansas Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund into local banks and credit
unions in exchange for low‐interest loans for conservation practices. These conservation practices aren’t
limited to, but include riparian buffers and streambank stabilization options for reducing sedimentation of
water bodies, fixes to onsite wastewater treatment, and alternative livestock watering. Loan applicants can
receive anywhere from $2000 to $250,000 over 10 years with a maximum rate of $3% on the loan. We like this
idea. It’s certainly time to reduce nonpoint source pollution, especially Ag runoff, as it is having a strong
negative impact on downstream aquatic ecosystems. While this lending program is a step in the right
direction, the state may have more of an impact by recommending transitioning away from shortsighted
agricultural practices, specifically involving over‐application of fertilizer and permitting of huge Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
SB 156 – Creating Water Conservation Areas
SB 156 is another 3‐bill package that focuses on water conservation. The original SB 156 outlined an expansion
of expenditures from the Arkansas River gaging fund to focus on operating and maintaining measurements of
groundwater levels in the Arkansas River Basin. In addition, the bill incorporated SB 275, which creates Water
Conservation Areas. Water Conservation Areas are defined management plans that water right holders can
come into agreement to between themselves and the Chief Engineer. Such management plans utilize a
community‐cooperation approach to reduce water consumption or water pollution over a certain timeframe.
This new law allows for water conservation agreements to go beyond the scope or limitations of a
Groundwater Management District (GMD) or other water agreements such as a Local Enhanced Management
Areas (LEMA) in a, or an Intensive Groundwater Use Control Area (IGUCA). Water Conservation Areas will also
factor in prior reductions in water use from proactive water conservationists. Finally, the bill eliminates the
statutory reference to testing methods of Agricultural liming materials sold (referenced originally in HB 2278).
The Kansas Chapter is happy to see our state leaders are moving forward in allowing Kansan water users to
form conservation agreements on their own, but we’re skeptical that only voluntary approaches to water
conservation will be reverse the extreme depletion of the Ogallala‐High Plains aquifer.
SB 120 – Regarding Land Purchases for the Kansas Dept. of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT)
SB 120 amends current law regarding land purchases by the state by lowering the amount of acres the KS
Dept. of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism can purchase without legislative approval. The land purchase law was
previously 320 acres, but is now at a 160 acre threshold. However, the new law makes exception for four
Southeast Kansas counties to acquire land up to 640 acres purchased with Natural Resource Damage and
Restoration funds.
With Budget & More Left To Do in May; “Veto Session” May Be Final Test for Clean Energy
On April 29th, lawmakers will return one final time this session to begin the Veto Session, the “overtime”
period, in which the Legislature will decide on final matters through the second week of May. This Veto
Session will be unusually intriguing as the two chambers will decide the budget and repair the estimated $650
million shortfall between revenue and expenses for FY 2016. At stake here for the “Eco‐friendly” crowd are
further budget cuts to environmental agencies and programs, as well as tax policies that make renewable
energy appealing to industry and investors, and affordable for folks adopting clean energy solutions for
themselves. The Tax Committee Chairs have said they will be “keeping these bills in their back‐pocket”, like HB
2401 and SB 257, that would tax our growing renewable energy sectors to patch‐up the revenue gap. Of
course, these bills would likely cause more economic trouble than good, as it will reduce business appeal and
ultimately, long‐term revenue receipts. We will continue to emphasize the advantages of keeping clean energy
incentives on the books because of its positive impact to local and state economies, and our environment. For
more detail, read this article:
http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.14064
Bills At‐large for the Veto Session:
(Votes: H = House, S = Senate; + = bill is good for environment, * = bad / oppose, ^ = neutral or no position)
LAND:
HB 2061– Allowing Dept. of Agriculture to hold and maintain conservation easements+ (121‐2)
ENERGY:
HB 2233 – Kansas Electric Ratepayers Protection Act (KERPA)+
 Bill would create a joint study committee to come with a state plan to reduce carbon pollution by 2030.
SB 253 / HB 2373 – Repeal of the Renewable Energy Standards*
SB 257 / HB 2396 – 10 year property tax exemption for renewable resource & technology^
 Bill would eliminate the current tax exemption for renewable energy
HB 2401 – 4.33% Excise Tax on Renewable Energy & Ethanol*
HB 2264 – Valuation and taxation of certain oil and gas equipment and materials*
SB 91 / HB 2131 – Continuing Abandoned Oil & Gas Fund for plugging abandoned wells+ (S 40‐0, H 105‐18)
WATER:
HB 2063 – Amending the definition of project in the water supply project loan program^ (123‐0)
HB 2156 – Interest rate change to water supply storage projects^ (119‐0)
SB 52 / HB 2059 – Authorizing chief engineer to allow augmentation to secure water^ (S 40‐0, H 120‐3)
HB 2351 – Allowing Conservation Districts to sponsor Locally Enhanced Management Areas+
Major Stories:
New Tax Proposals on Renewables Puts “20% by 2020” Clean Energy Standard in Serious Jeopardy
Our State’s goal of achieving 20% renewable energy by 2020 by repealing the Renewable Portfolio Standards
(RPS) may receive more attention in the Veto Session. The RPS has become a bargaining piece for compromise
on the Americans for Prosperity and the KS Chamber of Commerce, with help from Koch Industries, have
continually tried to eliminate the renewable energy goal over the past three years. The problem for the “Fossil
Fools” (besides that clean, renewable energy is a direct competitor to the pollution‐causing fossil fuel market)
is that our renewable energy goal is a government mandate, and interferes with the free‐market. Well,
besides the fact that the RPS has been widely successful in stimulating our state economy by creating jobs and
industry (especially for Western Kansas), the RPS has helped balance our energy mix and brought down our
dependence on Wyoming coal that is very expensive to burn “cleanly”. With Kansas NOW at the finish line of
meeting our 20% renewable goal, Kansas Sierra Club will push the legislature to consider bumping the goal to
25% to double‐down on the success of clean energy in KS. We recommend the KS Legislature consider the RPS
and its future in this summer’s study committee on a state plan for lowering the state’s carbon pollution.
KS Sierra Club helps stop “stinky” and “fishy” bills to reduce endangered wildlife protection
The Kansas Sierra Club, along with the KS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism and a number of wildlife and
conservation allies, helped stop SB 268 and SB 269 from escaping the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
SB 268, would’ve allowed an exception to the Nongame & Endangered Species Conservation Act to perform
stream maintenance and give the go‐ahead to remove stream obstructions and debris with heavy equipment.
SB 269 would have circumvented the administrative process for delisting a state endangered species, in
particular, the bill would have delisted the Eastern Spotted Skunk.
Both pieces of legislation were pushed by the Sedgwick County Commission. We thank Chairman Larry Powell
and the rest of the Senate Natural Resources Committee for making the right decision to leave the necessary
habitat protection laws in place for these historic, vulnerable Kansas wildlife species.
State Water Plan Fund Ideas Gain Traction
The House Vision 2020 committee has released its policy recommendations on improving the State Water Plan
Fund. Committee Chairman Tom Sloan presented the white paper to Governor Brownback and several state
agencies. One of the ideas that was recommended was to establish a “Water Depletion Trust Fund”, in which
highly‐excessive water users will compensate their county for the property value loss from their continued
water withdrawal. The Kansas Sierra Club recommended this idea to fund water conservation practices and
water‐efficient technology at both the county and state levels. You’ll be able to see the full document, as well
as our own recommendations, on our Kansas Sierra Club website. We thank Chairman Tom Sloan and the
Vision 2020 committee for their good work in addressing the state’s ongoing water problems as well as the lack
of dedicated state funding to the water plan.
KCC Orders Fracking‐Waste Injectors to Turn Down to Ease Earthquakes; Residents Want More to be done
Kansas Sierra Club obtained a small victory in our campaign to help Kansans affected by the harms of fracking
and horizontal drilling, as the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) announced a plan to reduce the volume
and pressure of injecting fracking wastewater into disposal wells. On March 19th, the KCC issued a plan to
reduce the volume and pressure of wastewater injection at certain disposal wells in Harper and Sumner
counties over the next 100 days. Barrels injected per day in these wells will decrease from 16,000 to 8,000
barrels per day, and daily injection‐pressure averages will be kept at 250 PSI. The KCC will then monitor the
effects of the wastewater reduction on resulting seismic activity.
Certainly, KS Sierra Club and the counties’ residents are pleased to hear the news. It’s about time our state
leaders recognize some of the real problems of fracking. We are glad that residents are getting some relief
from earthquakes; we have been hearing reports that earthquake activity has already slowed down a bit,
which means the new order may already be working! Certainly the South‐central Kansas residents, like those
of Anthony and Harper KS, need a break from the quakes. In the last 2 years alone, there have been over 150
recorded earthquakes over a 2.5 magnitude. In contrast, only 3 earthquakes of the same size were felt the
prior 30 years combined.
But much more needs to be done to rectify the damage already done by the oil & gas industry. Preventing
more earthquakes from happening is good, but residents are still stuck with the existing cracks in their ceilings
and walls, broken possessions from falling off the walls and tables, and structural damages to community
buildings. In our opinion, the “Frackers” still need to pay up for the damages they’ve contributed to already…
the damages to homes and businesses, but also to the roads they’ve deteriorated from heavy‐hauling trucks
and the cleanup of chemical spills from truck accidents. KS Sierra Club introduced HB 2349, “the Earthquake
Damages Fund”, that would’ve charged the oil & gas industry for its wastewater injection and created financial
relief for victims of property damage, but that bill wasn’t even granted a courtesy hearing this session.
Additionally, while the earthquakes are one serious concern, the new KCC order doesn’t address ongoing
worries of water contamination by the toxic chemicals injected in fracking, nor the air pollution from the
methane released at these drilling sites. There are still no laws against the industry contaminating or depleting
our state’s limited freshwater supplies from the hydrological cycle. The KCC, Governor Brownback, and the KS
Legislature needs to take a more comprehensive approach to horizontal drilling and fracking that goes beyond
the earthquakes. We must have a public hearing on HB 2348, the FRACK Act, and consider the best practices
and state safeguards to prevent future harm to Kansans and our environment.
FYI: The Kansas Sierra Club is still collecting stories and photos of earthquake damages; please email your
information to [email protected].
Don’t Let State Government Close the Door on Renewable Energy Growth in Kansas
When the legislators come back for Veto Session, they’ll be encouraged by fossil fuel loyalists to eliminate the
RPS and look to patch up the budget hole by taxing renewable energy. These bills would not only jeopardize
existing long‐term contracts with renewable energy companies, it is likely these bills would deter potential new
business growth, as renewable energy companies may take their investments to neighboring states with better
incentives and more stable policy. Most Kansans realize the positive advantages of renewable energy,
especially the economic opportunity of making Kansas a leader of clean energy. After all, we are the 2nd best
state for wind potential, and in the top 10 for solar. We have opportunity to expand advanced, clean biofuels
and methane gas capture technology. Kansas could be a player in energy storage options and energy efficiency
programs too. But instead, our state leadership is looking at putting a wet blanket on a homegrown industry
that is literally brightening things up!
In the next couple weeks, please share your opinion about keeping our renewable energy sector alive and
prosperous for our state. Share your opinion with me, and I’d be happy to spread your thoughts with your
elected state officials, with Governor Brownback’s office, and our area newspapers. Take a few minutes to
write a paragraph or two on your thoughts… and send me an email at my email address listed below. Also,
take a few minutes this week to talk with your friends, family, or coworkers on the importance of clean energy,
clean water and air, and a healthy environment for people and wildlife. Also, please make a financial donation
to the “KANSAS SIERRA CLUB”! Remember, this week, April 22nd, marks the annual Earth Day celebration. But
for us at the Sierra Club, we know that “every day is Earth day.”
As always, thank you for being part of our Kansas Chapter of Sierra Club, for caring about our environment,
and for reading my update. If you’re a member of Sierra Club, we already know you’re pretty cool, but if you
have read this far… you’re extra awesome! Thank you! Expect another update after Veto Session.
Your proud Kansas Lobbyist,
Zack Pistora
Legislative Director
Sierra Club – KS Chapter
[email protected]
785‐865‐6503