U.S. Senator Rand Paul’s amendment to S. 2848, the Water Resources Development Act, to protect Kentuckians that rely on Lake Cumberland as a water source from paying user fees ,passed the U.S. Senate last week by a vote of 95 to 3.

The user fee being studied by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers would have included the City of Albany and it’s customers, since the source for water for the Albany Municipal Water Department is Lake Cumberland.

Albany Mayor Nicky Smith told the Clinton County News on Monday that he was appreciative of Senator Paul’s efforts on this issue.

“I am totally behind Senator Paul in this manner,” Smith said from his office Monday afternoon. “It was just the right thing to do.”

For two years after becoming law, Dr. Paul’s amendment would prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from charging eleven cities and businesses a one-time user fee, as well as an annual operation and maintenance fee, to access the water in Lake Cumberland.

Currently, the Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a water reallocation study that would determine the fees.

“Taking action on behalf of Kentuckians is one of my most important responsibilities in the Senate, so I am pleased that these actions have yielded a positive result for Lake Cumberland’s surrounding communities that would help protect families from paying higher water bills and prevent government from further hindering our employers’ competitiveness,” said Dr. Paul. “I know how important this issue is for the affected communities, so I will continue working in Congress and with local officials to shield them from these charges.”

This amendment blocks the Army Corps of Engineers from charging a fee for surplus water stored in Lake Cumberland. The Crops is in the process of studying Lake Cumberland/Wolf Creek Dam to determine how much cities and industries will have to begin paying the Corps for using water from Lake Cumberland and for operation and maintnance of the reservoir.

Until now, these cities and industries have not had to pay any such user fee.

As for the “two years” noted in the bill, Kelsey Cooper, the State Communications Director for Sen. Paul, explained that portion of the bill.

“Two years was the maximum we could get under the budget rules, and it will allow everyone to work on a long term solution without having the fee in place,’ Cooper told the Clinton County News in an email Monday afternoon. “Our amendment blocks the fees – not the study – so we will know then what the fees would really look like.”