Editor’s note: SB 89 passed the full Kentucky House of Delegates on March 12 after the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted to send it to the floor.

On March 10, 2025, residents from across five counties in Kentucky came together to protest SB 89, which would strip all protections for any waterways across the state not defined as “navigable waters” — leaving ground water, headwaters, and ephemeral streams and ephemeral wetlands unprotected by the state. (Ephemeral streams and wetlands are fed mainly by rainfall.)

Building on a groundswell of community opposition to the harmful bill, community members responded to a call put out by the Kentucky River Chapter of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth by assembling in Pineville, Kentucky, home of the bill’s sponsor Scott Madon. The gathering was the most recent in a series of protests and calls to action from across the state, as thousands of citizens and state water quality officials voice their strong opposition to the bill.  

SB 89 would strip protections for Kentucky’s groundwater, headwater ephemeral streams and many wetlands, increasing pollution risks, raising water treatment costs and exacerbating flood risks for communities across the commonwealth — including the drinking water for more than 1.5 million Kentuckians. In a letter to Rep. Jim Gooch, chair of the U.S. House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, the secretary of Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet expressed the state’s “grave concerns” about the bill, stating that it “threatens the water quality of many Kentucky rivers, streams and tributaries and, as a result, would significantly compromise Kentucky’s groundwater, impacting the water quality of more than 31,000 private use wells and at least 156 public water systems.” 

“We have fought for years for even the basic water protections we have in this state,” said environmental activist Elaine Tanner. “Now we are facing unprecedented threats to all of Kentucky’s waterways and water supply with this bill they have fast tracked against the will of Kentucky residents.” 

The bill was passed by the Kentucky Senate on Feb. 14, and was immediately met with a vast statewide backlash. It was originally scheduled for a vote in the House Natural Resources and Energy committee on March 6, but that vote has been delayed amidst an atmosphere of public outcry and opposition. A committee vote on the bill is currently expected to occur on Wednesday, March 12, after which it could go to the full House as soon as the same day.

There is still time to engage with your legislators and voice your opposition to this harmful and far reaching bill.