Smokestack

Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture is worried that a process to map pollution in the Floyds Fork watershed could end up having lasting effects on agriculture policy.

James Comer expressed his concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency on Facebook and in a statewide agriculture newsletter. Here’s what he said on Facebook:

Starting this week, WFPL will begin airing a month-long series about past and present air pollution in the city’s Rubbertown neighborhood, and the health effects for those who live nearby. Installments will air during Morning Edition, Here and Now and All Things Considered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and will be posted here on Smokestack when they air.

Coal company Alpha Natural Resources announced today it will idle four underground mines in Harlan and Letcher counties. Two hundred miners will lose their jobs, while about sixty people will be moved to other positions or other mines.

Kentucky Utilities will spend $57 million to install updated pollution control equipment and pay civil penalties under the terms of a proposed consent decree.

The money will go to installing a sulfuric acid mist emission control system at the company’s Ghent power plant, replace a coal-fired boiler and pay $300,000 in fines to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Here’s what the EPA said about the settlement in a news release:

A group working to establish a botanical garden across from Waterfront Park is making progress. Efforts have sped up over the past year and non-profit Botanica now has a draft agreement with Metro Government for the site.

The organization has a vision of a 22-acre botanical garden, with different themed gardens and a conservatory for indoor plants. Botanica board president Brian Voelker says the outdoor gardens will be designed to maximize the usable space.

Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency released its medium-term outlook on coal...and concluded that countries like India and China will be burning more coal over the next five years. So much, in fact, that coal could even surpass oil as the world's top energy source by 2017. But that rise in coal production doesn't mean that any of it will come from Central Appalachia.

Louisville’s chapter of the U.S. Association for Energy Economics is planning for a full 2013.

The Louisville chapter of the USAEE has been around for about five years, but chapter activities and lectures have been sporadic. The group aims to provide education and networking opportunities for everyone interested in energy—from professionals to the community as a whole.

Regulators have approved a settlement that prohibits Duke Energy from passing on to consumers all the costs the company will incur building a coal-gasification plant in southwestern Indiana.

Costs for the plant in Edwardsport have increased substantially since it was proposed in 2007, and the latest estimate is $3.5 billion. Under the new agreement, Duke’s customers will pay nearly $2.6 billion for the plant, while the utility will be forced to absorb nearly $900 million in cost overruns.