In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision, states face a changing regulatory landscape for waters that no longer fall under federal Clean Water Act protection. This week, the Tennessee Legislature voted to send a bill on isolated wetlands to a summer study session. The bill would have reduced protections for wetlands without a surface connection to other state waters.
According to the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC), the measure would apply to 432,850 out of the state’s 787,000 acres of wetlands. TDEC worked to brief the Legislature on the potential consequences of the bill, including that building on those wetlands could lead to increased flooding and consequently added burden to taxpayers. Key nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as Tennessee Wildlife Federation, Harpeth Conservancy, Protect Our Aquifer, The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, Ducks Unlimited, and the local office of the Southern Environmental Law Center, played leading roles in educating legislators and advocating for conservation of wetlands and waterways.
TDEC looks forward to working with all stakeholders, including the above NGOs, as well as homebuilders, developers, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, the Tennessee Farm Bureau, and others, in developing a workable framework regarding wetlands regulation in Tennessee.
