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The 2026 legislative session has kept KWA extremely busy. The last day to file bills has passed, so the no new legislation can be proposed. Below is a listing on bills we are supporting, opposing and monitoring. We encourage you to speak up in support or opposition to legislation. Your calls and emails make a difference! Here is how to reach your elected legislators in Frankfort:
03/31/2026 - Concurrence (Concurrence occurs when both chambers (House and Senate) agree on the final version of a bill.) 04/01/2026 - Concurrence 04/02/2026 - 10 Day Veto Period Begins 04/13/2026 - Last Day of Veto Period 04/14/2025 - First Day of Over Turn Period 04/15/2025 - Sine Die ( Last day of session) House Bills: House Bill 166
Why KWA Supports: Climate change and extreme weather events (e.g., floods) directly affect Kentucky waterways. A dedicated resiliency officer could improve coordinated planning for floodplain management and watershed protection, potentially reducing storm-related erosion and pollution risks. House Bill 196
Why KWA Supports: PFAS contamination is a widespread water quality concern. Establishing reporting and accountability measures could help identify sources and improve monitoring of PFAS in rivers, streams, and drinking water supplies. House Bill 197
Why KWA Supports: Healthy soils play a key role in reducing runoff, sedimentation, and nutrient loading into waterways. By supporting soil restoration and conservation, this bill could indirectly improve watershed resilience and water quality across agricultural landscapes that drain into Kentucky rivers and lakes. House Bill 221
Why KWA Supports: Early and reliable severe weather alerts can help communities prepare for flood events and heavy rainstorms that threaten water quality and riverine ecosystems. A structured alert system supports public safety and could complement floodplain outreach and hazard mitigation efforts tied to KWA’s water protection goals. - KWA does have a concern about abandoning existing systems and ensuring alert systems can and will communicate with other operating systems. House Bill 371
Economic Development to coordinate and promote the state’s outdoor recreation economy. The office would serve as a central point for policy development, interagency coordination, and engagement with communities and businesses tied to outdoor recreation, formally embedding this role in state statute. Why KWA Supports :Many of Kentucky’s outdoor recreation opportunities depend directly on healthy rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands, making water quality and habitat protection foundational to recreation-based economic development. KWA has an interest in ensuring that growth in outdoor recreation is paired with strong environmental safeguards and collaboration with natural resource agencies so that increased use and investment do not come at the expense of Kentucky’s waterways. House Bill 397
Why KWA Supports: While this bill focuses on fish management, it affects river ecosystems and recreational fishing on a major waterway. Regulating trophy catfish harvesting and transport could have implications for river health, species balance, and sediment disturbance, issues relevant to water quality stewardship and sustainable use of aquatic resources. House Bill 530
Why KWA Opposes: HB 530’s sweeping changes to permitting deadlines, reviews, and judicial standards would weaken environmental and water quality safeguards by curtailing meaningful review of permits, especially if environmental regulators are forced to approve projects or have decisions deemed automatically approved after tight deadlines. In the context of collapsing federal water protections and recent state actions narrowing water jurisdiction, this bill could further limit opportunities to scrutinize permits for impacts on groundwater, stream health, and connected aquatic ecosystems, undermining KWA’s efforts to protect comprehensive water protections and maintain strong state oversight of activities that threaten water quality. House Bill 552
Why KWA Supports: This Bill will reverse the impacts of 2025’s Senate Bill 89, which stripped Kentucky of its longstanding authority to define and protect its own waters by tying state jurisdiction to a narrowed federal standard. That change left many streams, wetlands, and especially groundwater resources vulnerable at a time when federal water protections are being rolled back. Restoring Kentucky’s ability to define “waters of the Commonwealth” is essential to protecting drinking water sources, headwaters, and interconnected surface and underground waters. Reasserting state authority ensures Kentucky can respond to local water quality threats rather than relying on shifting and increasingly limited federal protections. House Bill 723
Why KWA Supports: The Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund helps protect important natural areas, wildlife habitat, and watersheds throughout the state. Stable funding for land conservation can support watershed protection, preserve riparian areas, and improve access to outdoor recreation tied to Kentucky’s rivers and streams. By linking conservation funding to outdoor recreation sales, the bill could strengthen long-term investment in the natural landscapes and waterways that support Kentucky’s outdoor economy and environmental health. House Bill 856
Why KWA Supports: Data centers can require large volumes of water for cooling and other operational needs, which can place pressure on local water supplies and watersheds. Requiring feasibility studies and annual water-use reporting can improve transparency and help state agencies and communities better understand potential impacts on local water resources before facilities are built or expanded. For the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, these requirements are important tools for ensuring that new industrial development considers water availability and protects the long-term health of Kentucky’s rivers, streams, and drinking water sources. Senate Bills
Senate Bill 8
such as electric, gas, and water providers. The bill establishes new rules for the commission’s membership, qualifications, and appointment process, including having five commissioners with some appointments made by the Auditor of Public Accounts. It also sets term limits, establishes a process for electing the commission chair, and gives the commission more authority over staffing and compensation. In addition, the bill restricts who may intervene in PSC cases, designates the Attorney General as the sole advocate for residential consumers in those cases, raises the threshold for when transmission line projects require a certificate of public convenience and necessity, and shifts the PSC’s administrative attachment away from the Energy and Environment Cabinet. Why KWA Opposes: The Public Service Commission oversees decisions that shape Kentucky’s energy infrastructure, utility investments, and major projects that can affect land, water, and communities. SB 8 would significantly restrict who can intervene in PSC proceedings and require that residential consumer interests be represented solely by the Attorney General, preventing intervening groups from selecting their own legal representation. These changes could limit the ability of community groups, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders to directly participate in decisions that affect their communities and watersheds. For KWA, this raises concerns about reduced public participation and fewer independent voices in regulatory decisions that can have lasting impacts on Kentucky’s waterways and landscapes. Senate Bill 39
Why KWA Is Monitoring: While this bill affects private land rights, changing fishing regulations could influence fish populations, habitat conditions, and fishing pressure on waterways connected to private waters. Protecting broader ecological integrity of streams and tributaries remains crucial for water quality, especially where private ponds drain into public waters. Senate Bill 60
Why KWA Supports: Improperly managed waste tires can trap water and become sources of mosquito habitat, toxins, and sediment runoff. Strengthening waste tire regulation reduces environmental hazards and improves watershed health, aligning with KWA’s interests in comprehensive pollution prevention. Senate Bill 88
Why KWA Supports: While framed as a utility policy, preventing water and utility disconnections during declared disasters is fundamentally an issue of access, equity, and community resilience. Continuous access to water and essential utilities during extreme heat, cold, or other emergencies ensure vulnerable residents, especially low-income, seniors, and medically vulnerable people, can safely shelter in place. Protecting water access during disasters reduces preventable injuries and deaths, supports public health and emergency response efforts, and strengthens a community’s ability to withstand and recover from increasingly frequent climate-driven events. Senate Bill 178
Why KWA Opposes: Because SB 178 would apply across environmental and public health regulatory programs, the bill could significantly complicate how Kentucky agencies develop and update safeguards that protect waterways and public health. By placing new evidentiary and technological thresholds on rulemaking, the legislation could make it more difficult for state agencies to adopt stronger protections when emerging science, local conditions, or environmental risks indicate they may be needed. By requiring direct links to manifest human harm, the bill removes the risk model used by all regulatory entities to prevent harm before it occurs. For organizations like the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, the bill raises concerns about whether Kentucky will retain the flexibility to respond to water quality threats and protect communities that rely on clean rivers, streams, and lakes. Senate Bill 330
Why KWA Supports: Large data centers can have significant impacts on energy demand, water withdrawals, wastewater systems, and local infrastructure. SB 330 would improve transparency by ensuring that key information about these impacts, including water use, utility demand, and public subsidies, is available to the public and decision-makers. For Kentucky Waterways Alliance, this transparency is important for understanding how large industrial developments may affect water resources, watersheds, and local infrastructure, and for ensuring communities have access to the information needed to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their environment.
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