224.18-100 Interstate Environmental Compact -- Kentucky as party -- Substance.
The Kentucky General Assembly recognizes that the purity and lifegiving qualities of our
environment are of great concern to the people of the Commonwealth and to all
Americans, that the ultimate responsibility for the quality of Kentucky's environment rests
upon the government of the Commonwealth, and that ecological systems and
environmental problems cross state boundaries. Therefore, the Kentucky General
Assembly recognizes that the discharge of this responsibility can be enhanced by acting in
concert and cooperation with our sister states and with the national government, insofar
as such cooperative governmental efforts are consistent with the laws of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky. The "Interstate Environmental Compact" is hereby ratified,
enacted into law, and entered into by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a party thereto
with all other jurisdictions legally joining herein, as follows:
INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPACT
The Contracting Jurisdictions Solemnly Agree That:
ARTICLE I
(1) Signatory states hereby find and declare:
(a) The environment of every state is affected with local, state, regional and
national interest and its protection under appropriate arrangements for intergovernmental
cooperation, are public purposes of the respective signatories.
(b) Certain environmental pollution problems transcend state boundaries and
thereby become common to adjacent states requiring cooperative efforts.
(c) The environment of each state is subject to the effective control of the
signatories, and coordinated, cooperative or joint exercise of control measures is in their
common interests.
(2) The purposes of the signatories in enacting this Compact are:
(a) To assist and participate in the national environment protection programs as
set forth in federal legislation; to promote intergovernmental cooperation for multistate
action relating to environmental protection through interstate agreements and to
encourage cooperative and coordinated environmental protection by the signatories and
the Federal Government;
(b) To preserve and utilize the functions, powers and duties of existing state
agencies of government to the maximum extent possible consistent with the purposes of
the Compact.
(3) (a)
Nothing contained in this Compact shall impair, affect or extend the
constitutional authority of the United States.
(b) The signatories hereby recognize the power and right to the Congress of the
United States at any time by any statute expressly enacted for the purpose to revise the
terms and conditions of its consent.
(4) Nothing contained in this Compact shall impair or extend the constitutional
authority of any signatory state, nor shall the police powers of any signatory state be
affected except as expressly provided in a supplementary agreement under Article 4.
ARTICLE II
(1) This Compact shall be known and may be cited as the Interstate
Environmental Compact.
(2) For the purpose of this Compact and of any supplemental or concurring
legislation enacted pursuant or in relation hereto, except as may be otherwise required by
the context:
(a) "State" shall mean any one of the fifty states of the United States of America,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Territory of the Virgin Islands, but shall not
include the District of Columbia.
(b) "Interstate environment pollution" shall mean any pollution of a stream or
body of water crossing or marking a state boundary, interstate air quality control region
designated by an appropriate federal agency or solid waste collection and disposal district
or program involving the jurisdiction of territories of more than one state.
(c) "Government" shall mean the governments of the United States and the
signatory states.
(d) "Federal Government" shall mean the government of the United States of
America and any appropriate department, instrumentality, agency, commission, bureau,
division, branch or other unit thereof, as the case may be, but shall not include the District
of Columbia.
(e) "Signator" shall mean any state which enters into this Compact and is a party
thereto.
ARTICLE III
Agreements with the Federal Government and other Agencies. Signatory states are
hereby authorized jointly to participate in cooperative or joint undertakings for the
protection of the interstate environment with the Federal Government or with any
intergovernmental or interstate agencies.
ARTICLE IV
(1) Signatories may enter into agreements for the purpose of controlling interstate
environmental problems in accordance with applicable federal legislation and under terms
and conditions as deemed appropriate by the agreeing states under Paragraph (6) and
Paragraph (8) of this Article.
(2) Recognition of Existing Nonenvironmental Intergovernmental Arrangements.
The signatories agree that existing federal-state, interstate or intergovernmental
arrangements which are not primarily directed to environmental protection purposes as
defined herein are not affected by this Compact.
(3) Recognition of Existing Intergovernmental Agreements Directed to
Environmental Objectives. All existing interstate Compacts directly relating to
environmental protection are hereby expressly recognized and nothing in this Compact
shall be construed to diminish or supersede the powers and functions of such existing
intergovernmental agreements and the organizations created by them.
(4) Modification of Existing Commissions and Compacts. Recognition herein of
multistate commissions and compacts shall not be construed to limit directly or indirectly
the creation of additional multistate organizations or interstate compacts, nor to prevent
termination, modification, extension, or supplementation of such multistate organizations
and interstate compacts recognized herein by the Federal Government or states party
thereto.
(5) Recognition of Future Multistate Commissions and Interstate Compacts.
Nothing in this Compact shall be construed to prevent signatories from entering into
multistate organizations or other interstate compacts which do not conflict with their
obligations under this Compact.
(6) Supplementary Agreements. Any two or more signatories may enter into
supplementary agreements for joint, coordinated or mutual environmental management
activities relating to interstate pollution problems common to the territories of such states
and for the establishment of common or joint regulation, management, services, agencies
or facilities for such purposes or may designate an appropriate agency to act as their joint
agency in regard thereto. No supplementary agreement shall be valid to the extent that it
conflicts with the purposes of this Compact and the creation of a joint agency by
supplementary agreement shall not affect the privileges, powers, responsibilities or duties
under this Compact of signatories participating therein as embodied in this Compact.
(7) Execution of Supplementary Agreements and Effective Date. The Governor
is authorized to enter into supplementary agreements for the state and his official
signature shall render the agreement immediately binding upon the state;
Provided that:
(a) The legislature of any signatory entering into such a supplementary agreement
shall at its next legislative session by concurrent resolution bring the supplementary
agreement before it and by appropriate legislative action approve, reverse, modify or
condition the agreement of that state.
(b) Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to limit the right of Congress by
act of law expressly enacted for that purpose to disapprove or condition such a
supplementary agreement.
(8) Special Supplementary Agreements. Signatories may enter into special
supplementary agreements with the District of Columbia or foreign nations for the same
purposes and with the same powers as under Paragraph (6), Article 4, upon the condition
that such nonsignatory party accept the general obligations of signatories under this
Compact. Provided, that such special supplementary agreements shall become effective
only after being consented to by the Congress.
(9) Jurisdiction of Signatories Reserved. Nothing in this Compact or in any
supplementary agreement thereunder shall be construed to restrict, relinquish, or be in
derogation of, any power or authority constitutionally possessed by any signatory within
its jurisdiction, except as specifically limited by this Compact or by supplementary
agreement.
(10) Complementary Legislation by Signatories. Signatories may enact such
additional legislation as may be deemed appropriate to enable its officers and
governmental agencies to accomplish effectively the purposes of this Compact and
supplementary agreements recognized or entered into under the terms of this Article.
(11) Legal Rights of Signatories. Nothing in this Compact shall impair the
exercise by any signatory of its legal rights or remedies established by the United States
Constitution or any other laws of this Nation.
ARTICLE V
Construction, Amendment and Effective Date. (1) It is the intent of the signatories
that no provision of this Compact or supplementary agreement entered into hereunder
shall be construed as invalidating any provision of law of any signatory and that nothing
in this Compact shall be construed to modify or qualify the authority of any signatory to
enact or enforce environmental protection legislation within its jurisdiction and not
inconsistent with any provision of this Compact or a supplementary agreement entered
into pursuant hereto.
(2) The provisions of this Compact or of agreements hereunder shall be severable
and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this Compact, or such an agreement is
declared to be contrary to the Constitution of any signatory or of the United States or is
held invalid, the constitutionality of the remainder of this Compact or of any agreement
and the applicability thereof to any participating jurisdiction, agency, person or
circumstance shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in full force and effect as to
the remaining participating jurisdictions and in full force and effect as to the signatory
affected as to all severable matters. It is the intent of the signatories that the provisions of
this Compact shall be reasonably and liberally construed in the context of its purposes.
(3) Amendments to this Compact may be initiated by legislative action of any
signatory and become effective when concurred in by all signatories and approved by
Congress.
(4) This Compact shall become binding on a state when enacted by it into law and
such state shall thereafter become a signatory and party hereto with any and all states
legally joining herein.
(5) A state may withdraw from this Compact by authority of an act of its
legislature one year after it notifies all signatories in writing of an intention to withdraw
from the Compact. Provided, withdrawal from the Compact affects obligations of a
signatory imposed on it by supplementary agreements to which it may be a party only to
the extent and in accordance with the terms of such supplementary agreements.
History: Created 1972 Ky. Acts ch. 105, sec. 1, effective June 16, 1972.
Formerly codified as KRS 224.610.
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Kentucky may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.