The U.S. Senate approved a measure Thursday to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for charging the cities that use water from Kentucky’s Lake Cumberland as part of a larger water infrastructure bill.
By a vote of 95 to 3, the Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act, a biannual bill that authorizes water infrastructure projects across the country.
The Lake Cumberland amendment was offered by Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul and would block the corps from charging the users of its water for 10 years after the bill becomes law. Paul and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky both voted for the bigger bill. It now goes to the House of Representatives.
95-3 Senate vote to approve the Water Resources Development Act
“My amendment would ensure that Lake Cumberland’s surrounding communities and businesses would not be overwhelmed with substantial fees from the Army Corps of Engineers,” Paul said in a statement earlier this week. “I am hopeful this amendment will pass to help prevent the federal government from placing additional financial burdens on hardworking Kentuckians in this uncertain economic climate.”
The corps completed Lake Cumberland in 1951 to provide flood control and hydroelectric power, but the reservoir has also served as a water supply for 11 cities and businesses.
Unlike other impoundments paid for with federal funds, however, the users have never paid fees to operate and maintain the Wolf Creek Dam or use the lake’s water.
$11 million Amount 11 users of Lake Cumberland water would owe
Based on a 2004 draft study, the 11 users owe a combined $11 million going back 65 years to the lake’s creation. They’d be able to pay off the amount over a 30-year period.
In April, Rep. Hal Rogers, a Somerset, Kentucky, Republican who’s chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, attempted to stop the Corps from completing a water allocation study on Lake Cumberland that could lead to charges for its users.
Although Kentucky’s senior member of Congress successfully amended a $37 billion water and energy development spending bill to cut off funding for the Corps study, the full House has yet to vote on the bigger legislation.
Loren McDonald, project manager for the Corps of Engineers Nashville District, said in April that the Corps is $200,000 short of what it needs to finish the $569,000 study.
The cities and industries that currently use the water fear the impact of being required to pay a one-time fee and the potential of being on the hook for future repair costs for the dam, which has been reinforced twice.
Curtis Tate: 202-383-6018, @tatecurtis