Tennessee lawmakers are revisiting plans to roll back state regulations that protect nearly half a million acres of Tennessee wetlands from development.
For months, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has elicited feedback from developers and conservation groups, at odds over state wetland policy, in order to achieve consensus.
Thursday’s meeting of the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee demonstrated how little agreement has been achieved thus far.
Allowing unchecked development on Tennessee’s wetlands — which serve to absorb floodwaters and replenish aquifers — could lead to flooding that will cost taxpayers “millions and millions of dollars down the road,” David Salyers, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), told lawmakers.
“There’s about seven million Tennesseans that hope we get this right,” Salyers said “There are future generations that depend on us to get this right.”
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Salyer’s agency has proposed doubling the area of wetlands that can be developed without a state permit from a quarter-acre to half an acre. The agency has also proposed reducing costly payments from developers tied to the area of wetlands they propose to disturb. And it has proposed streamlining red tape.
TDEC’s recommendations followed the efforts earlier this year by Collierville Republican Kevin Vaughan, to significantly roll back wetland protections. Vaughan’s bill ultimately failed, but could be revived when the legislature reconvenes in January.
Developers who testified Thursday criticized TDEC recommendations for not going far enough to remove onerous hurdles that drive up project timelines and increase costs.
“We’re not looking at a broad redo of wetlands across the state…we’re not looking to damage the hunting lands that are out there. We’re not looking to create floods,” said Keith Grant, a West Tennessee developer, who noted that Tennessee currently has stricter protections over small and isolated wetlands than 24 states and the federal government.
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“Why would Tennessee be more stringent in regulating wetlands than our federal government when regulation lowers property owners values and increases housing costs for tax paying citizens of Tennessee?” he said.
Conservationists, however, noted the increase in frequency of drought and flooding Tennessee has experienced in recent years, making the natural safeguards that wetlands provide even more vital.
“This is not the right time to turbocharge the hardening of our landscapes, but if we remove our wetlands protections that is exactly what will happen,” said George Nolan, director of the Tennessee office of the Southern Environmental Law Center.
There is no action expected on state wetlands policy until the Legislature reconvenes in January.
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