{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-224.18-100","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 224.18-100","heading":"Interstate Environmental Compact -- Kentucky as party -- Substance.","body":"The Kentucky General Assembly recognizes that the purity and lifegiving qualities of our\nenvironment are of great concern to the people of the Commonwealth and to all\nAmericans, that the ultimate responsibility for the quality of Kentucky's environment rests\nupon the government of the Commonwealth, and that ecological systems and\nenvironmental problems cross state boundaries. Therefore, the Kentucky General\nAssembly recognizes that the discharge of this responsibility can be enhanced by acting in\nconcert and cooperation with our sister states and with the national government, insofar\nas such cooperative governmental efforts are consistent with the laws of the\nCommonwealth of Kentucky. The \"Interstate Environmental Compact\" is hereby ratified,\nenacted into la w, and entered into by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a party thereto\nwith all other jurisdictions legally joining herein, as follows:\nINTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPACT\nThe Contracting Jurisdictions Solemnly Agree That:\nARTICLE I\n(1) Signatory states hereby find and declare:\n(a) The environment of every state is affected with local, state, regional and\nnational interest and its protection under appropriate arr angements for intergovernmental\ncooperation, are public purposes of the respective signatories.\n(b) Certain environmental pollution problems transcend state boundaries and\nthereby become common to adjacent states requiring cooperative efforts.\n(c) The en vironment of each state is subject to the effective control of the\nsignatories, and coordinated, cooperative or joint exercise of control measures is in their\ncommon interests.\n(2) The purposes of the signatories in enacting this Compact are:\n(a) To assist and participate in the national environment protection programs as\nset forth in federal legislation; to promote intergovernmental cooperation for multistate\naction relating to environmental protection through interstate agreements and to\nencourage cooperative and coordinated environmental protection by the signatories and\nthe Federal Government;\n(b) To preserve and utilize the functions, powers and duties of existing state\nagencies of government to the maximum extent possible consistent with the purpose s of\nthe Compact.\n(3) (a) Nothing contained in this Compact shall impair, affect or extend the\nconstitutional authority of the United States.\n(b) The signatories hereby recognize the power and right to the Congress of the\nUnited States at any time by any  statute expressly enacted for the purpose to revise the\nterms and conditions of its consent.\n(4) Nothing contained in this Compact shall impair or extend the constitutional\nauthority of any signatory state, nor shall the police powers of any signatory st ate be\naffected except as expressly provided in a supplementary agreement under Article 4.\nARTICLE II\n(1) This Compact shall be known and may be cited as the Interstate\nEnvironmental Compact.\n(2) For the purpose of this Compact and of any supplemental or concurring\nlegislation enacted pursuant or in relation hereto, except as may be otherwise required by\nthe context:\n(a) \"State\" shall mean any one of the fifty states of the United States of Americ a,\nthe Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Territory of the Virgin Islands, but shall not\ninclude the District of Columbia.\n(b) \"Interstate environment pollution\" shall mean any pollution of a stream or\nbody of water crossing or marking a state boundary, interstate air quality control region\ndesignated by an appropriate federal agency or solid waste collection and disposal district\nor program involving the jurisdiction of territories of more than one state.\n(c) \"Government\" shall mean the governments of t he United States and the\nsignatory states.\n(d) \"Federal Government\" shall mean the government of the United States of\nAmerica and any appropriate department, instrumentality, agency, commission, bureau,\ndivision, branch or other unit thereof, as the case may be, but shall not include the District\nof Columbia.\n(e) \"Signator\" shall mean any state which enters into this Compact and is a party\nthereto.\nARTICLE III\nAgreements with the Federal Government  and other Agencies. Signatory states are\nhereby authorized jointly to participate in cooperative or joint undertakings for the\nprotection of the interstate environment with the Federal Government or with any\nintergovernmental or interstate agencies.\nARTICLE IV\n(1) Signatories may enter into agreements for the purpose of controlling interstate\nenvironmental problems in accordance with applicable federal legislation and under terms\nand conditions as de emed appropriate by the agreeing states under Paragraph (6) and\nParagraph (8) of this Article.\n(2) Recognition of Existing Nonenvironmental Intergovernmental Arrangements.\nThe signatories agree that existing federal -state, interstate or intergovernmental\narrangements which are not primarily directed to environmental protection purposes as\ndefined herein are not affected by this Compact.\n(3) Recognition of Existing Intergovernmental Agreements Directed to\nEnvironmental Objectives.  All existing interstate  Compacts directly relating to\nenvironmental protection are hereby expressly recognized and nothing in this Compact\nshall be construed to diminish or supersede the powers and functions of such existing\nintergovernmental agreements and the organizations created by them.\n(4) Modification of Existing Commissions and Compacts.  Recognition herein of\nmultistate commissions and compacts shall not be construed to limit directly or indirectly\nthe creation of additional multistate organizations or interstate compac ts, nor to prevent\ntermination, modification, extension, or supplementation of such multistate organizations\nand interstate compacts recognized herein by the Federal Government or states party\nthereto.\n(5) Recognition of Future Multistate Commissions and Interstate Compacts.\nNothing in this Compact shall be construed to prevent signatories from entering into\nmultistate organizations or other interstate compacts which do not conflict with their\nobligations under this Compact.\n(6) Supplementary Agreements.   Any two or more signatories may enter into\nsupplementary agreements for joint, coordinated or mutual environmental management\nactivities relating to interstate pollution problems common to the territories of such states\nand for the establishment of commo n or joint regulation, management, services, agencies\nor facilities for such purposes or may designate an appropriate agency to act as their joint\nagency in regard thereto. No supplementary agreement shall be valid to the extent that it\nconflicts with the purposes of this Compact and the creation of a joint agency by\nsupplementary agreement shall not affect the privileges, powers, responsibilities or duties\nunder this Compact of signatories participating therein as embodied in this Compact.\n(7) Execution of Supplementary Agreements and Effective Date.  The Governor\nis authorized to enter into supplementary agreements for the state and his official\nsignature shall render the agreement immediately binding upon the state;\nProvided that:\n(a) The legislature of any signatory entering into such a supplementary agreement\nshall at its next legislative session by concurrent resolution bring the supplementary\nagreement before it and by appropriate legislative action approve, reverse, modify or\ncondition the agreement of that state.\n(b) Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to limit the right of Congress by\nact of law expressly enacted for that purpose to disapprove or condition such a\nsupplementary agreement.\n(8) Special Supplementary Agreements.  Signatorie s may enter into special\nsupplementary agreements with the District of Columbia or foreign nations for the same\npurposes and with the same powers as under Paragraph (6), Article 4, upon the condition\nthat such nonsignatory party accept the general obligati ons of signatories under this\nCompact. Provided, that such special supplementary agreements shall become effective\nonly after being consented to by the Congress.\n(9) Jurisdiction of Signatories Reserved.  Nothing in this Compact or in any\nsupplementary agreement thereunder shall be construed to restrict, relinquish, or be in\nderogation of, any power or authority constitutionally possessed by any signatory within\nits jurisdiction, except as specifically limited by this Compact or by supplementary\nagreement.\n(10) Complementary Legislation by Signatories.  Signatories may enact such\nadditional legislation as may be deemed appropriate to enable its officers and\ngovernmental agencies to accomplish effectively the purposes of this Compact and\nsupplementary agreements recognized or entered into under the terms of this Article.\n(11) Legal Rights of Signatories.  Nothing in this Compact shall impair the\nexercise by any signatory of its legal rights or remedies established by the United States\nConstitution or any other laws of this Nation.\nARTICLE V\nConstruction, Amendment and Effective Date.  (1)  It is the intent of the signatories\nthat no provision of this Compact or supplementary agreement entered into h ereunder\nshall be construed as invalidating any provision of law of any signatory and that nothing\nin this Compact shall be construed to modify or qualify the authority of any signatory to\nenact or enforce environmental protection legislation within its ju risdiction and not\ninconsistent with any provision of this Compact or a supplementary agreement entered\ninto pursuant hereto.\n(2) The provisions of this Compact or of agreements hereunder shall be severable\nand if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision  of this Compact, or such an agreement is\ndeclared to be contrary to the Constitution of any signatory or of the United States or is\nheld invalid, the constitutionality of the remainder of this Compact or of any agreement\nand the applicability thereof to a ny participating jurisdiction, agency, person or\ncircumstance shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in full force and effect as to\nthe remaining participating jurisdictions and in full force and effect as to the signatory\naffected as to all severable matters. It is the intent of the signatories that the provisions of\nthis Compact shall be reasonably and liberally construed in the context of its purposes.\n(3) Amendments to this Compact may be initiated by legislative action of any\nsignatory and bec ome effective when concurred in by all signatories and approved by\nCongress.\n(4) This Compact shall become binding on a state when enacted by it into law and\nsuch state shall thereafter become a signatory and party hereto with any and all states\nlegally joining herein.\n(5) A state may withdraw from this Compact by authority of an act of its\nlegislature one year after it notifies all signatories in writing of a n intention to withdraw\nfrom the Compact. Provided, withdrawal from the Compact affects obligations of a\nsignatory imposed on it by supplementary agreements to which it may be a party only to\nthe extent and in accordance with the terms of such supplementary agreements.","path":[],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=10338","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:39Z","sha256":"37b136749a8c6da05cabf20d7e1adf9d54f16c8a676ce8d60aeb691e9d7107f6","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-224.16-090","next":"us-ky/krs-224.18-110"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}