Kentucky's capitol in Frankfort.(Sylvia Goodman / KPR )After Republican state legislators reduced protections against water pollution in 2025, conservationists worry they’ll see another push for environmental deregulation in 2026, mirroring the efforts of President Donald Trump’s administration .“I’m much more concerned about damage that will happen rather than achieving anything new and good,” said Sarah Lynn Cunningham, co-founder and executive director of the Louisville Climate Action Network. “I feel more like we’re in a defensive posture to prevent regression.”From conservative lawmakers worried about Kentucky’s energy industries to people like Cunningham fighting society-driven climate change, they all agree the biggest issue coming before the legislature in the new year will be what to do about the resource-intensive data centers tech companies are hungry to build as they invest in artificial intelligence.But they say other proposals on energy and the environment are also likely to come up as the General Assembly begins work in January.‘A pretty good record’This year legislators will approve a new, two-year budget for the state government, and environmental advocates hope they’ll spend extra on conservation efforts.A report from The Nature Conservancy compared Kentucky to 11 “peer states” and found it lags in estimated annual conservation funding. At about $2.4 million, the report said Kentucky fell $9.1 million behind the next-lowest contributor: Indiana, at $11.5 million.Conservation projects can serve multiple purposes, from shoring up a town against future floods to opening up green spaces for recreation to shielding water resources needed by residents and businesses, said Nick Hart, water policy director for the Kentucky Waterways Alliance.“There's data out there that shows that every $1 spent for conservation funding and flood resilience returns back to us threefold in economic development,” he said.Senator Robby Mills, a Henderson Republican who chairs the Senate’s majority caucus, indicated conservative lawmakers are open to discussing how to better support conservation efforts.“But I think we have a pretty good record on conservationism. And if opportunities availed itself, I wouldn't say that we would shy away from it. We’d look at it,” he said.‘Aggressive assault’In 2025, the legislature ended a decades-old tradition in Kentucky of giving state-level protections against pollution to basically all waters in the commonwealth.Under a new law, Senate Bill 89, the state mostly follows the federal government’s lead on which waters to safeguard. The law’s Republican supporters said this will reduce unnecessary red tape burdening businesses.Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced in November that it wants to reduce the types of waterways that qualify for Clean Water Act protection. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates less than 15% of Kentucky wetlands would stay shielded.“I would like to think that this aggressive assault on the integrity of what remains of our wetlands would sort of spur some folks to revisit the fact that we’ve entirely laid ourselves bare,” said Michael Washburn, executive director of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance.But Republican lawmakers likely aren’t interested in taking up that issue again, at least so soon after passing SB 89. Mills said he expects legislators and their staff to watch what happens with federal regulations over the next year.Similarly, Senator Scott Madon, a Pineville Republican who was SB 89’s lead sponsor, said he isn’t interested in revisiting the law in 2026 and thinks Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration could do a better job implementing it.He pointed to Beshear’s claim that the state required an extra $1.8 million annually for staff to review water permit renewals under the new rules.“Well, we never did really understand what he needed 1.8 for,” Madon said.Going nuclearIt’s a safe bet some Republican lawmakers’ interest in nuclear energy will persist.Mills said he sees continued support of coal and other fossil fuels as a bridge to get Kentucky to a future that’s powered significantly by nuclear energy.“If there were targeted investments that we could make as a legislature to help our fossil fuel plants continue to burn for another 10 or 15 years, those could be investments that you see,” he said.Madon said he’s afraid a day is coming when enough coal won't be available. Kentucky must diversify its energy portfolio, like states that are mixing solar, wind, gas and other power sources.“I'm not saying anything against coal. I just think we need some other avenues to go along with our coal,” he said.PFAS, tires, invasivesAdvocates from environmental groups listed off various legislative proposals they hope will gain momentum this year.Hart of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, for example, said the legislature ordered the state government to produce a report with recommendations on how to tackle the vehicle tires that litter streams. They expect it will lead to concrete policy proposals.Lane Boldman, executive director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee, said she hopes lawmakers will advance legislation to create a working group on PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals” leaked into environments worldwide, and require manufacturers to disclose details when they add PFAS to products.She and other environmental advocates also say they’d like to see progress on proposals to fight the spread of invasive plant species and stop utilities from cutting power during extreme weather to customers with overdue bills.They’re also wary of possible budget cuts to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and the Public Service Commission.Both agencies historically have been understaffed, but their work is needed to meet obligations under U.S. environmental laws and take action when people break the rules on, say, pollution limits, said Audrey Ernstberger, an associate attorney with the Kentucky Resources Council.“We want to make sure that these agencies continue to have reasonable amounts of funding to do their jobs,” she said. ...read more read less