Parks and Sustainability Committee Tabled Bernheim Forest Pipeline Resolution on March 9, 2023

The Louisville Metro Council Parks and Sustainability Committee met on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 3:05 p.m. in Council Chambers/virtually. Chair Jecorey Arthur (D-4) presided; eight committee members and non-committee members Andrew Owen and Jennifer Chappell attended. The committee took up one agenda item: R-014-23, a resolution opposing seizure of conservation land for a proposed natural gas pipeline through Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest. After presentations and several procedural votes, the committee voted 4-3-1 to table the resolution. The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.

Pending Legislation: R-014-23

• Sponsor Councilwoman Betsy Ruhe (D-21) introduced the resolution as a statement against LGE's use of eminent domain to build a natural gas pipeline across Bernheim Forest, an area protected by a conservation easement. She argued the project's cost has tripled, it would become a stranded asset, it conflicts with Metro Council's prior renewable energy and net-zero greenhouse gas emission goals, and that eminent domain should serve the public good.
• Committee Member Khalil Batshon moved, and Phillip Baker seconded, to recommend approval; after testimony, debate shifted to a motion to table.

Presentations and Public Testimony

• Dr. Mark Wourms, Executive Director of Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, described Bernheim as a roughly 16,000-acre forest with 350,000 to 400,000 annual visitors, 13 headwater streams, and rare species including endangered bats, golden eagles, and the Bluff Vertigo snail. He said the proposed 12-mile LGE pipeline would cut about 12 acres across the Cedar Grove Wildlife Corridor, permanently fragmenting habitat, breaking conservation easements, and crossing unstable karst terrain. He said LGE, a $1.2 billion company whose parent PPL is worth more than $5 billion, would need to pour concrete into caves and sinkholes and has no credible sustainability plan.
• Elisa Owen, spokesperson for Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light and a coalition of nonprofits representing 8,450 Jefferson County residents, opposed the pipeline. She argued LGE is moving 180 degrees from 21st-century energy needs, threatening private property rights, conservation easement law, ratepayers, and the climate. She cited the World Wildlife Fund Living Planet report's finding of a 69% drop in monitored vertebrate populations since 1970 and said renewable power with storage is lower-cost and cleaner than natural gas.

Committee Discussion

• Vice Chair Marilyn Parker questioned why LGE had not been invited and asked how large the affected area would be, and why terrain stability was not a larger concern.
• Council Member Jeff Hudson said he agreed with almost all of the resolution but could not support subsection 2 of section 1 because he believed it directs a private business how to conduct its business.
• Council Member Andrew Owen, a non-committee member, argued that LGE is a public-granted monopoly and that eminent domain should be used only when a very high bar is met. He said the pipeline is not such a case and would become a stranded asset.
• Council Member Jennifer Chappell expressed support for the resolution and said protecting the natural environment is important even though Bernheim is not in Jefferson County.
• Committee Member Khalil Batshon said the committee should hear LGE's side before voting and moved to table the resolution.
• Committee Member Cindi Fowler, after conferring with staff, made a motion to reconsider the failed tabling motion so more information could be obtained.
• Sponsor Ruhe said LGE would have an opportunity to respond before the full Metro Council; Clerk Sonya Harward noted that outside agencies cannot speak at a council meeting.
• Assistant Jefferson County Attorney Jason Fowler clarified that the resolution is non-binding: it urges or asks LGE to divert resources and does not legally compel LGE to do anything.
• Clerk Sonya Harward noted procedural limits, including that the same motion cannot be made twice and that reconsideration was the available path.

Key Outcomes

• First motion to table R-014-23 failed: 3 yes (Parker, Hudson, Batshon), 4 no (Arthur, Baker, Fowler, Ruhe), 1 abstention (Mulvihill).
• Motion to reconsider the tabling vote carried: 4 yes (Fowler, Parker, Hudson, Batshon), 3 no (Arthur, Baker, Ruhe), 1 abstention (Mulvihill).
• Second motion to table R-014-23 carried: 4 yes (Fowler, Parker, Hudson, Batshon), 3 no (Arthur, Baker, Ruhe), 1 abstention (Mulvihill). The resolution was tabled.
• Committee Member Pat Mulvihill abstained on all matters because his wife is employed by LGE.
• No recommendation was sent to the full Metro Council; the item remains pending before the committee.