Earlier today, I asked, “What about staffing?” That was in reference to the question, raised by environmentalists, about alleged fraud in two coal companies’ effluent monitoring reports to state regulators.
But what about the candidates for U.S. Senate? If Waterkeeper Alliance, Appalachian Voices and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth are right and state regulators just let these reports collect dust, allowing the companies to make stuff up, how does that play into the campaigns of Jack Conway, the Democrat, and Rand Paul, the Tea Party Republican?
It seems to put them both in equally awkward positions.
One one hand, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is pressing Conway to investigate and prosecute the coal companies at a time when Conway is trying to look as coal-friendly as possible, saying he would have voted against a Senate climate/energy bill and opposing EPA efforts to curb global warming. Would the AG want to position himself with a Kennedy?
On the other hand, Paul has said federal regulators should back off and let Kentucky regulators do their jobs the way they see fit. Will voters really want to go back to a time when there were no minimum federal environmental standards?
Your thoughts?
