Lou Adopts!

Sponsored by

Mega DOG adoption event

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Adoptions from 12-4 p.m.

Kentucky Exposition Center Pavillion

Join us at LOU ADOPTS!, a mega adoption event to find loving homes for nearly 100 adoptable local dogs and puppies from seven local shelters!

Admission and parking are FREE!

Enter through Gate 4 and park in Lot J.

Scan now to learn more or visit kyhumane.org/louadopts year found that the EPA needed to act on chloroprene and ethylene oxide, saying EPA’s modeling and monitoring indicated that as many as a half-million people in some areas of the country may be exposed to unacceptable health risks from them.

In making its announcement, EPA said its proposal would update several regulations that apply to chemical plants. The proposed rules would reduce 6,053 tons of air toxics emissions each year, which are known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health effects.

Facilities that make, store, use or emit ethylene oxide, chloroprene, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene dichloride or vinyl chloride would be required under the new rules to monitor levels of these air pollutants entering the air at the fenceline of the facility—something that environmental justice advocates across the country have been advocating for years. EPA would also make the monitoring data public.

Fenceline monitoring amounts to more than tracking emission levels at a chemical plant’s property line, said Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that prompted the EPA to act.

“They have to manage their plant to the metric,” she said. “It’s not just monitoring.”

She described fenceline monitoring as “the police body cams of the chemical industry.”

The rules also seek to address another frequent complaint from people who live near chemical plants — that the EPA has been too lax regarding emissions released during start-ups, shutdowns, emergencies or malfunctions.

Federal courts have told the EPA since 2008 that chemical plants cannot use events like malfunctions or shutdowns as broad exemptions to clean-air regulations, said Kron, the Earthjustice attorney.

Along the Gulf Coast, environmental advocates have complained about emissions related to disturbances from major storms, such as hurricanes, and malfunctions that cause plants to relieve pressure by burning off or “flaring” chemicals in pipes or tanks, often sending flames or smoke billowing into the air.

These can cause “huge toxic releases and the way the rules are written, that is completely permissible,” Kron said. “That needs to change.”

Regan seemed to agree.

“Communities don’t stop breathing during a hurricane,” he said. “They don’t stop breathing during an event. It is the company’s responsibility to control their pollution.”

Environmentalists expect robust industry pushback during the rule-making process, which will include a 60-day comment period and at least one virtual public hearing.

“I expect the industry to buck and scream and go to Congress,” said Williams, the California activist. “We look forward to working with the administration to ensure the final rules remain as strong as the rules proposed today.” •

“A LOT of you have said, ‘RaeShanda, you’re not Mrs. Garrett, but you stay giving us the facts of life.’”

If you’re a fan of TikTok, chances are you’ve “been to the board” with RaeShanda Lias-Lockhart of All is Fair in Love and Fashion (or @shopaif), a women’s clothing and accessories boutique. Even as Lias-Lockhart preps her store (online and by appointment only) for the coming Kentucky Derby season, her viral videos offer common sense advice, which she delivers at her dry-erase board. Lias-Lockhart also meets her followers — some of whom are also patrons of her business — online during live events where she talks about new products and shares insight into how she approaches TikTok. Meeting Lias-Lockhart “at the board” or at a live event offers just a taste of the content and hard work that has made her famous. Lias-Lockhart has over two million followers on TikTok and comes close to 100,000 on