Author: Cassandra Stephenson, Tennessee Lookout

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Industry Orgs: ‘Big, Beautiful’ Budget EV Cut Could Stall Tennessee Momentum

Photo: Ford Co.

Congress may be poised to roll back electric vehicle tax credits and institute new annual taxes on electric vehicle owners — moves that could spell trouble for electric vehicle manufacturers in Tennessee and across the country, according to industry organizations.

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a revised version of President Donald Trump’s budget reconciliation bill last week. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” slashes multiple tax credits available to consumers who purchase new, used and commercial electric vehicles (EVs). It also creates a new annual tax for owners of EVs ($250) and hybrid vehicles ($100), money meant to make up for owners’ lack of gas tax contributions toward infrastructure upkeep.

The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration. Should it pass, the EV tax credits will expire on December 31, 2025, instead of the original December 2032 sunset date.

Industry advocates and analysts warn that axing the tax credits — which can save buyers up to $7,500 on new, American-made and sourced EVs — will kill the industry’s momentum in Tennessee and put investments and jobs at risk.

Tennessee has incentivized its growing electric vehicle industry with hundreds of millions of dollars of state contributions and tax breaks over the last decade. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development estimates more than 20,000 Tennesseans are employed by companies with EV operations, and EV projects have injected $16.2 billion in capital into the state since 2017. In West Tennessee, BlueOval City’s EV assembly line for Ford’s new electric truck is under construction, and BlueOval SK is gearing up for battery production. The massive $5.6 billion campus is expected to reshape and reinvigorate rural West Tennessee.

The Electrification Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group advocating for electric vehicle adoption and supportive public policy, called the move a “sledgehammer to Tennessee’s EV industry” in a statement published Tuesday.

EVs in Tennessee: Uncertainty abounds as Trump targets Biden-era electric vehicle funding

“It would eliminate critical tax credits that are spurring private-sector investments, supporting critical mineral supply chain development, creating American jobs and ensuring the United States remains competitive in the global automotive market,” Electrification Coalition executive director Ben Prochazka stated. “Removing these credits would pull the rug out from under the auto and aligned battery industries at a critical time, immediately putting Tennessee jobs at risk. Industry needs policy certainty and consistency to build domestic and allied supply chains.”

Reached by email, the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development declined to comment on industry organizations’ concerns.

What does this mean for Tennessee auto manufacturing?

Tennessee’s electric vehicle industry has grown over the last two decades to include manufacturing plants for Ford, Volkswagen, and GM, in addition to multiple companies that produce EV batteries or EV battery components.

Nissan also assembled its all-electric Nissan LEAF at its plant in Smyrna until recently. The 2026 LEAF will be assembled at the company’s Tochigi Plant in Japan, according to a company spokesperson, meaning the company no longer assembles any EVs or hybrid vehicles in Tennessee.

The state has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the electric vehicle industry over the last decade, according to records kept by the state’s Department of Economic & Community Development. This includes a $78 million grant for the recruitment of Ultium Cells LLC, an EV battery manufacturer, to locate jobs for 1,300 workers in Maury County.

State lawmakers approved a $900 million incentive package for Ford’s BlueOval City campus in 2021, including $500 million in reimbursements for construction work on the campus in Stanton, Tennessee.

Some U.S. Republicans are pushing to keep energy tax credits. Tennessee lawmakers aren’t among them.

While Tennessee’s growth in the industry predates tax incentives created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) under former President Joe Biden to support the production of batteries and battery components in the U.S., those incentives helped companies stand up more cost-competitive electric vehicle plants in the U.S., Harrison Godfrey, managing director of clean energy industry association Advanced Energy United, told Tennessee Lookout in November.

An October Washington Post analysis found Tennessee received an estimated $12.6 billion in investments in clean energy projects since the IRA passed in 2022.

Ford and GM did not respond to requests for comment on the potential rollback of consumer EV tax credits. But the Alliance for Automotive Innovation — an industry group with members from 42 U.S. automotive companies including GM, Ford, Nissan, and Volkswagen — listed support for electric vehicle manufacturing among its 2025 policy priorities. 

The organization specifically stated that policymakers should maintain both production tax credits for vehicle manufacturers and “consumer incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles.”

The Nissan spokesperson stated the company’s position on EV tax credits aligns with the policy priorities of Autos Drive America, a trade association representing international automakers in the U.S., including Nissan. Autos Drive America has worked to increase the number of electric vehicles that qualify for the Clean Vehicle Tax Credit since the IRA’s passage in 2022.

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment.

Budget politics

In April, Governor Bill Lee celebrated the latest EV-related business expansion in Tennessee: a $54 million investment from automotive supplier Avancez in assembly operations at the BlueOval City Supplier Park.

A spokesperson for Lee did not respond to a request for comment on how EV tax credit rollbacks may impact Tennessee’s continued industry growth. 

Lee voiced his support for the budget bill in a post on X on May 21st, saying it will “secure the border, unleash American energy & deliver tax cuts — all measures that guarantee opportunity, security & freedom for the American people.”

The Electrification Coalition urged U.S. senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty to “take a more balanced approach” and preserve the tax credits to ensure the U.S. does not fall “further behind” in the global EV market.

Blackburn and Hagerty did not respond to requests for comment.

All of Tennessee’s U.S. Representatives voted in favor of the budget reconciliation bill, except for U.S. Representative Steve Cohen, a Democrat based in Memphis. The bill passed in the House 215-214. All Democratic representatives voted against the bill.

Cohen could not be reached for comment by press time. U.S. Republican representatives DesJarlais, Fleischmann, Green, Harshbarger, Kustoff, Ogles, and Rose did not respond to requests for comment.

U.S. Representative Tim Burchett, a Republican representing East Tennessee, said in an emailed statement to Tennessee Lookout that he voted in favor of the bill due to national debt concerns.

Representative Tim Burchett (Photo: U.S. House of Representatives)

“Our nation is currently $36 trillion in debt,” Burchett stated. “This bill rolls back Biden’s Green New Deal tax credits that we don’t have the money to pay for. I believe in an all-of-the-above energy approach, but we shouldn’t plunge our country deeper in debt as a result.”

Burchett also stated that the new tax for EV and hybrid owners “makes sure all drivers contribute towards our nation’s infrastructure,” as “electric vehicle owners don’t pay a gas tax which is used to fund vital highway projects.”

The Electrification Coalition and Nissan both expressed support for EV and hybrid drivers paying their “fair share” toward infrastructure, but said the new tax level is more punitive than practical. 

“We believe the new annual tax should be more in line with the gas tax equivalent [$150] rather than being set at a level that seems punitive,” the Nissan spokesperson stated.

“While all drivers should pay their fair share, this proposal is nearly three times what the average driver pays in federal gas taxes, which have not covered the cost of infrastructure for nearly 20 years,” Prochazka, of the Electrification Coalition, stated. “Rather than imposing a punitive tax on a subset of Americans, Congress should identify a fuel-neutral solution to the Highway Trust Fund’s structural insolvency.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Study: Tennessee Would Have Lost $468M Under New FEMA Rules

Flooding surrounds a house about a mile away from the Obion River in Ridgely, Tenn. on April 9, 2025 after 96 hours of torrential rain. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)

Under proposed new federal disaster aid thresholds designed to reduce the amount of funding distributed to states following natural disasters, Tennessee would have lost 37 percent of the assistance it received after disasters from 2008 to 2024, according to research from Urban Institute.

A memo sent from former Federal Emergency Management Agency acting administrator Cameron Hamilton to the White House Office of Management and Budget suggested quadrupling the damage threshold for federal aid, CNN reported in late April.

Nonprofit think tank Urban Institute analyzed 870 major disaster declarations that received public assistance grants from 2008 to 2024 using the proposed quadrupled threshold to “understand what these proposed changes could mean for federal disaster spending and state and local government budgets,” their report states.

President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly expressed its aims to cut FEMA spending and shift more post-disaster recovery responsibility to states, though it’s not clear if this higher threshold proposal will be implemented. Members of Congress continue to debate how FEMA should be reformed.

At a House Appropriations Committee hearing on May 7, Hamilton said federal law is clear on the federal government’s role as a resource for overwhelmed states.

“The problem is we’ve created financial incentives for the continuation of that, and even expanded levels,” Hamilton said. “We’ve kind of lowered disaster thresholds. We’ve used other criteria that, to be honest, are a little bit too soft for my opinion, that have incentivized financially a lack of carrying insurance policies, as well as lower disaster thresholds, which are probably not the best use of my staff.” Hamilton said. 

“This isn’t to say that states aren’t in need. We know they are, but we have to raise the threshold so that FEMA can truly prioritize efforts where the state is, in fact, overwhelmed,” he said.

Hamilton, who was appointed by Trump, was fired from his interim role one day after the hearing, where he contradicted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem by telling members of Congress that he believed eliminating FEMA entirely was “not in the best interest of the American people.” 

After a disaster, states assess damage and can request a presidential disaster declaration to open eligibility for aid through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund. The president has sole discretion over whether to approve a declaration, but FEMA uses internal thresholds to shape their recommendations to the president.

The minimum threshold for public assistance programs — which help state and local governments recoup the costs of debris clearing and infrastructure repairs — sits at a statewide cost-to-population ratio of $1.89 per capita impact (PCI). Quadrupling it would raise it to $7.56 PCI.

West Tennessee picks up pieces, awaits FEMA decision after severe storms

The nonprofit research group quadrupled the PCI threshold for each year between 2008 and 2024 and compared the costs from preliminary damage assessment reports for each disaster in that timeframe to determine if it would have met the threshold for federal aid. 

The group found that 71 percent of major disasters from 2008 to 2024 would not have received a presidential disaster declaration under the higher threshold, meaning states would have lost out on roughly $15 billion in federal assistance.

Tennessee would have lost $468 million of aid if this higher threshold had been in place, the report states.

The Hamilton memo also recommended reducing the federal government’s share of recovery costs when disaster declarations are granted by capping the share at 75 percent. 

Currently, the federal government covers at least 75 percent of costs. In Tennessee, the state and local governments typically split the remaining 25 percent share.

If the 75 percent cap had been in place from 2008 to 2024, Tennessee would have had to cover an additional $118 million in recovery costs — the most of any state or territory, according to the report.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Report: Climate Change Made April Flooding More Intense

Farm equipment is seen partially submerged on a flooded field in Ridgely, Tenn. on April 9, 2025. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)

The effects of climate change made severe flooding that inundated West Tennessee and parts of the Central Mississippi River Valley in early April about 9 percent more intense, according to an analysis published Thursday by an international team of environmental researchers.

From April 3rd through April 6th, thunderstorms and torrential downpours hovered over a broad swath of the Mississippi River Valley, leading to near-record breaking floods, widespread damage and at least 15 deaths.

Those four days of rainfall are the heaviest recorded for the region in spring since 1950, according to the report published by World Weather Attribution, an international collaboration that analyzes the potential influence of climate change on extreme weather events. 

Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas were particularly hard-hit by severe storms from April 3 through April 6, 2025. (Photo: World Weather Attribution)

The study used observational data, historical records and climate models to examine how warming temperatures impact storm likelihood and intensity. Researchers also used nonprofit Climate Central’s Ocean Climate Shift Index tool — based on observations and climate model data — to analyze sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico where much of the moisture fueling the storm originated, said Ben Clarke, a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. 

Researchers compared how this type of weather event has changed between today’s climate — about 1.3 degrees Celsius hotter due to warming caused by use of fossil fuels and deforestation — compared to a cooler, pre-industrial climate (1850-1900).

“When we combine the evidence, we do find an overall increasing trend in such extremes,” Clarke said. “Similar events have become, we estimate, about 40 percent more likely, or, equivalently, about 9 percent more intense.”

Clarke noted that some climate models used in the study showed a more “mixed picture” of the effects of warmer temperatures, meaning the study’s results are “likely a conservative estimate.”

While the methods used in this study are peer-reviewed, the study itself was released in the immediate aftermath of the severe weather event and has not yet been peer-reviewed itself, Clarke said.

Early warnings likely saved lives, researchers say

Over four days in early April, eight states saw “relentless amounts of rain” ranging from six to 12 inches, with some locations exceeding 16 inches, Climate Central Weather and Climate Engagement Specialist Shel Winkley said.

The rain fell on soil that was already saturated from late-winter rain, particularly in the Ohio River Valley, he said. 

In Northwest Tennessee, the small town of Rives suffered severe flooding in February, only to flood again a few weeks later.

Torrential rainfall from April 3 through April 6, 2025 is the heaviest ever recorded for the Central Mississippi River Valley in spring, according to World Weather Attribution. (Photo: World Weather Attribution)

Winkley said a ridge of high pressure over the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida blocked the low pressure system producing the storm from pushing forward, essentially stalling the storm front to dump rainfall over the already-saturated ground.

Early warnings from the National Weather Service very likely saved lives, Bernadette Woods-Placky, Climate Central’s chief meteorologist, said.

In Obion County, Tennessee, more than 100 families evacuated their homes during the event. Nearby Dyer County issued a mandatory evacuation for residents of Bogota on April 7th in anticipation of additional flooding.

Woods-Placky noted that layoffs and firings were beginning to roll out in National Weather Service offices across the U.S. as part of cost-cutting measures under the Trump administration around the time these floods were happening.

“This is an example of how critical these employees are and why recent workforce cuts risk undermining their ability to keep people safe and prepared,” she said.

Winkley said post-storm analyses like this are vital for protecting public safety in future events.

“It helps us really understand, is this going to be a place that’s livable in the future, and if it is, how do we make sure that it’s livable and safe?” he said.

Study: ‘Generational’ storms could become more likely

The 96-hour rain event was the second-highest on record for the Obion, Forked Deer and Loosahatchie Rivers (all Mississippi River tributaries), according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Dyersburg, Tennessee — the county seat of Dyer County — is prone to flooding from the North Fork of the Forked Deer River. 

Early April’s flooding marked the third-highest flood in the town’s history, according to Mayor John Holden, who has held the position for 19 years.

The worst flood in Dyersburg’s history occurred in 2010, wiping out multiple homes and trailer parks. The second-highest flood record was set in 1937.

Bleachers and soccer goals protrude above flood water that completely covered the Dyersburg Soccer Complex in Dyersburg, Tenn. on April 10, 2025. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)

Historical data indicates downpours like this are “expected to occur, on average, about once a century in today’s climate with 1.3 degrees Celsius of warming,” the report states.

Before the storms rolled in, the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center warned the public of “generational” rainfall totals.

But the study’s authors caution that further warming could increase the likelihood that these events will no longer be expected just once in a generation.

“If warming reaches 2.6 degrees Celsius (4.7 degrees Fahrenheit), which is expected by 2100 under current policies, four-day spells of rainfall are expected to become a further 7 percent more intense and twice as likely,” according to a study summary.

“This is a good moment to remember that we are a water planet, and a warmer atmosphere forces more evaporation, so our atmosphere in general has more water to come down whenever there’s a trigger, wherever there’s a trigger,” Woods-Placky said. “So that’s why we’re seeing an overall increase in heavy rain events, even to places that may not be getting wetter. The distribution of how they’re getting rain is coming in these heavier buckets.”

What does higher intensity mean?

Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas were hardest hit by the early April storms, and each state requested a major disaster declaration to access FEMA assistance.

Damage estimates for public property and recovery in West and Middle Tennessee exceed $26 million, according to post-storm assessments. State and local officials believe this will meet the eligibility threshold for federal public aid. Tennessee has yet to receive a decision from the Trump administration.

The administration approved a major disaster declaration for Kentucky on April 24. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders requested a major disaster declaration to cover the April storms on May 3. Trump denied Sanders’ earlier request for major disaster aid following storms and tornadoes in March.

West Tennessee picks up pieces, awaits FEMA decision after severe storms

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency estimates around 300 homes and 14 businesses or nonprofits were severely damaged. West Tennessee mayors report hundreds of acres of flooded farmland.

To illustrate the significance of the storm’s 9 percent higher intensity that the study attributes to climate change, Imperial College London Centre for Environmental Policy Senior Climate Science Lecturer Friederike Otto refers to a separate study on Hurricane Helene.

That study, published by the Grantham Institute of Climate Change and the Environment in 2024, estimated that a roughly 11 percent increase in wind speed due to climate change accounted for about 44 percent of the storm’s damage in coastal Florida.

Essentially, Otto said, the increase in intensity by 10 percent could nearly double the cost of damage. 

“If that hits you (the region) once in a lifetime, I mean … that’s one thing,” Otto said. “But if that hits you twice, and it has the higher impact, that completely changes what … extreme weather can mean for a community.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Wetlands Development Legislation Headed to Governor’s Desk

Around 50,000 trees were planted in this forested and protected wetlands in northern Shelby County to help preserve and restore a natural space, Shelby County in West Tennessee, March 11, 2025. (© Karen Pulfer Focht)

A bill slashing regulations for an estimated 80 percent of Tennessee’s non-federally protected wetlands is headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk next Monday after receiving approval from the General Assembly.

The bill’s West Tennessee Republican sponsors — Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Memphis) and Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) — said the legislation removes onerous and seemingly subjective mitigation requirements for landowners and developers. 

Environmental advocates and scientists said the legislation paves the way for the destruction of Tennessee’s natural resources.

The bill passed 71-21 with one abstention in the House, and 25-6 in the Senate.

Since the 1970s, wetland regulations in Tennessee have required developers and landowners to seek permission from the state before draining or altering wetlands. The swampy areas can host diverse species, soak up rain water, and filter it as it seeps into groundwater tables, recharging aquifers. Alterations to wetlands required developers to pay for mitigation — efforts to preserve or restore other wetlands nearby.

(Flooding) is a constant that we are dealing with, and these two things are related … and what (Sen. Brent Taylor) belittles as ‘damp dirt’ is actually the stuff that matters.

– Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville

Vaughan and Taylor’s legislation scraps automatic mitigation requirements for most of Tennessee’s isolated wetlands, which lack surface connections to navigable rivers and lakes. Federal law requires mitigation for those larger water bodies, but a 2023 Supreme Court ruling removed isolated wetlands from federal control, leaving their regulation entirely to the states.

Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah) a West Tennessee Republican who helped shape the legislation, said his district includes swampland. 

“That land over in that very agriculturally rich area is flat, it does flood, and it is replete with a variety of wonderful wetlands, but things change … and the state was given the authority to begin to monitor that,” Walley said Monday.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) estimates the legislation will axe development regulations for up to 80 percent of Tennessee’s isolated wetlands.

Recent modeling commissioned by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) indicates most of the state’s isolated wetlands are located in West Tennessee, a region expected to see intense development around Ford’s new Blue Oval City manufacturing campus in Haywood County. 

More than 30,000 acres of isolated wetlands fall in the northwest corner of the state, which remains inundated with historic levels of water after severe storms caused generational flooding earlier this month.

Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) grew up in Dyersburg, one of several West Tennessee towns that flooded. 

“(Flooding) is a constant that we are dealing with, and these two things are related … and what (Sen. Taylor) belittles as ‘damp dirt’ is actually the stuff that matters,” Yarbro said. “The research is pretty clear that it’s these smaller wetlands that … actually reduce the peak flooding levels in communities.”

The Senate rejected Sen. Heidi Campbell’s (D-Nashville) attempt to add a 2-year sunset provision to the law and an amendment that would have brought the law in line with the recommendations presented by TDEC in 2024.

New wetlands regulations

The sponsors initially planned to eliminate all state regulation of isolated wetlands to match federal law, citing other states’ decisions to do the same.

Wetlands protections built an industry for mitigation banking. Rollbacks could erode it.

Instead, the legislation defines four types of isolated wetlands and sets regulatory thresholds for each of them.

Artificial wetlands, a new category, are wetlands created purposefully or inadvertently by the alterations of humans or beavers. Developers are allowed to drain and fill this type of wetland with no regulatory oversight.

No permits or mitigation are required for alterations to low-quality isolated wetlands up to 1 acre, or moderate-quality wetlands up to one-quarter acre.

These wetlands have minimal or moderate roles in ecosystems, natural water cycles, and chemical cycles, according to the legislation. Exact definitions for wetland quality will be created through a rule-making process that includes public input opportunities.

General permits and 1-1 mitigation are required for low-quality isolated wetlands from 1 to 2 acres in size. Changes to moderate-quality isolated wetlands from one-quarter acre to 2 acres require a general permit with mitigation capped at a 1-1 ratio (which raises to 2-1 on the second acre). 

Alterations to high-quality isolated wetlands will continue to require more specialized Aquatic Resource Alteration Permits from the state and mitigation, as will changes to low- and moderate-quality isolated wetlands larger than 2 acres.

Southern Environmental Law Center Tennessee Director George Nolan attended several committee meetings to testify against the passage of a bill reducing the state’s wetlands regulations. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout © 2025)Photographs by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout © 2025)

About 80 percent of Tennessee’s isolated wetlands are smaller than one acre, according to SELC Tennessee Director George Nolan. Around 94 percent of isolated wetlands are smaller than 2 acres.

​​The legislation also prevents TDEC from considering isolated wetlands of any quality when determining a project’s cumulative impact, even if the project encompasses other federally regulated wetlands.

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Home Builders of Tennessee supported the legislation, as did the Pacific Legal Foundation, a national firm that fought for deregulation of American wetlands at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. They said the changes will support property rights and bring down costs for developers.

Several environmental groups, scientists, and businesses that restore wetlands and sell mitigation credits to developers opposed the legislation, warning that the clause ignoring cumulative impact could super-charge wetlands destruction and hinder an industry that has invested more than $1 billion in restoration and conservation projects in Tennessee.

Vaughan said he sees mitigation requirements as “trampling people’s private property rights.”

“I may own a piece of property and because someone else says that there is something on my property that has resource value that I’m going to have to pay a third party to be able to use my own property. That does not compute,” Vaughan said Monday.

Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) voted against the bill. 

“If these changes are being made to improve our environment, are being made to improve the quality of life of people in Tennessee, that’s one thing,” Pearson said. “But if we are changing the protections of our natural resources on behalf of corporate entities to be able to make more profit, I have a significant problem with that.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Flood Fallout Poses Challenges for West Tennessee Soybean Farmers

Flooding surrounds a house about a mile away from the Obion River in Ridgely, Tenn. on April 9, 2025 after 96 hours of torrential rain. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)

West Tennessee soybean farmers, already on the heels of a tough year, are now facing challenges posed by the remnants of early April floods.

Gina Ward’s low-lying fields near Rives and the Obion River flooded in February, requiring the third-generation farm to make costly repairs to the private levee attached to their land.

Just a few weeks later, the majority of the levee was once again washed away in a near-record-setting flood after rain drenched Northwest Tennessee and surrounding areas.

The 96-hour rain event was the second-highest for the Obion, Forked Deer, and Loosahatchie Rivers, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

When the water finally began to recede from Ward’s drowned fields about 10 days later, it left craters and debris. 

“It looks like the surface of the moon now,” she said.

Soybeans cover more acres than any other row crop in Tennessee, according to the University of Tennessee. The crop is most popular in the state’s west and central regions.

April typically marks the beginning of the planting season. Ward had not yet planted her fields when the storms began on April 3, but she wants to get seeds in the ground as soon as possible to maximize her yield. 

She has started planting in fields on higher ground. But the sandy moonscape left behind by the flood in lower-lying areas will take a lot of time and work before it’s ready to be planted again, Ward said.

Flood waters left deep ruts on portions of Gina Ward’s low-lying fields in Obion County near the Obion River. Ward said she had planned to plant soybeans on the land. (Photo: Gina Ward)
Water from the overflowing Obion River covers a field on Owl Hoot Road in Ridgely, Tenn. on April 9, 2025. The field is about a mile away from the river’s typical bank. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)
Craters covered the surface of Gina Ward’s field in Obion County near the Obion River after flood waters receded. (Photo: Gina Ward)
Farm equipment is seen partially submerged on a flooded field in Ridgely, Tenn. on April 9, 2025. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)

Stefan Maupin, executive director of the Tennessee Soybean Production Council, said most of the flooded land was not planted. 

“The farmers who farm that low-lying ground know that it’s best to wait as long as possible to get outside of flooding season before they start planting that ground,” he said.

But the flooding has pushed back their planting dates, which could lead to lower yields.

“Conventional wisdom in any farming is to get your crop in early, and that’s going to be a little difficult to do on hundreds of thousands of acres in these flood plains, because the water is going to have to go down, and the fields will have to dry,” Maupin said.

Field maintenance could also prove expensive and time-consuming for farmers whose fields were left littered with debris, covered in sediment or rutted by receding flood water.

These delays and extra expenses compound the losses soybean farmers saw in 2024.

Soybean prices paid to Tennessee producers dropped 16 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, despite farmers planting around 15 percent more acreage, according to the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. 

Like any other business, a farmer’s goal is to make a return on their investment, and planting requires significant capital up front, Maupin said. Profit margins are thin due to high interest rates and inflated costs for things like fuel, fertilizer, and pesticides. 

“Last year they had no profit in corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton, and they lost a lot of money,” he said. “This year, the prices and the input costs are not any better, so they needed to be able to reduce their costs as much as possible. For those who farm in these flooded areas, it is only going to drive up their costs to put a crop there.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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At Least 5 killed In Severe Storms in West Tennessee; Tornado Assessments Begin

Body camera footage shows Tennessee troopers, McNairy County deputies, Selmer Police officers and firefighters searching the debris of a home for trapped or hurt survivors after severe storms battered West Tennessee in the early morning hours of April 3, 2025. (Photo: Tennessee Highway Patrol)

A chain of severe storms and a possible tornado killed at least five people across West Tennessee early Thursday.

The storms left a path of major damage in Fayette, Hardeman and McNairy counties, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA). An EF-3 tornado struck the town of Selmer, Tennessee, according to preliminary surveys from crews deployed by the National Weather Service Memphis.

Residents of West and Middle Tennessee received multiple severe storm, tornado and flood warnings throughout Wednesday night into the early morning hours Thursday. 

The National Weather Service issued more than 70 severe thunderstorm warnings, more than 50 tornado warnings and 21 flash flood warnings in the last 24 hours, TEMA reported Thursday afternoon.

NWS received reports of observed tornadoes and damage for seven of those tornado-warned storms.

State officials warn that “generational flooding” — flooding so severe it happens once a generation or once a lifetime  — continues to pose a threat to multiple counties in Middle and West Tennessee as multiple rounds of heavy rain are forecast to stretch into Sunday. 

Rain totals could reach at least 10 inches in areas of West Tennessee north of Interstate 40 by the end of the weekend, according to National Weather Service Memphis. The northwest corner of the state could see up to 15 total inches of rain.

Gov. Bill Lee requested an Emergency Declaration for Tennessee and TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan issued a State of Emergency Wednesday evening in anticipation of the severe storms and flooding. 

Lee’s request includes federal assistance for debris removal, emergency protective measures and direct federal assistance.

President Donald Trump approved Lee’s request around 11 a.m. Thursday, making FEMA assistance available to all 95 Tennessee counties. Under the declaration, FEMA can provide equipment and resources to support emergency response, and direct federal assistance under the public assistance program will be provided at 75 percent federal funding, according to the agency.

The state remains under a level 3 State of Emergency status, which allows state resources to support local requests for assistance following severe weather while continuing to provide support for ongoing Tropical Storm Helene recovery efforts in East Tennessee.

Five deaths, multiple injuries reported

At least five people have been reported dead, state and local officials confirmed.

The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed one death each in McNairy County, Obion County and Carroll County.

A 48-year-old man was pronounced dead in Fayette County around 2 a.m. Thursday after the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call reporting a tornado had overturned a modular home, according to the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency.

Four other family members were transported to a nearby hospital, two in critical condition and two in stable condition. The man’s 16-year-old daughter later died at the hospital, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

Tornado damage assessments begin

NWS Memphis does not yet have an exact number of confirmed tornadoes from Thursday morning’s severe weather event.

Teams are assessing tornado damage in Selmer, Tennessee and Lake City, Arkansas to confirm and classify the strength of tornadoes, according to NWS Memphis.

Selmer saw an EF-3 tornado with peak winds estimated at 160 miles per hour, according to preliminary survey results released by NWS Memphis Thursday afternoon. The agency suspended further surveys of the area out of concern for surveyors’ safety in ongoing storms.

In Arkansas, the preliminary survey shows Lake City also saw an EF-3 tornado with top winds around 150 miles per hour.

Ratings could change after surveys are complete, NWS Memphis stated.

The agency received additional reports of tornados in the region from spotters and radar but crews have not yet been able to survey damage or confirm.

Tennessee Highway Patrol deployed a strike team to McNairy County to support local officials, according to TEMA.

“My heart breaks for our city and county at this time,” Selmer Mayor Sherry Inman stated in a social media post expressing gratitude for those who have offered assistance or prayers. “Please continue to pray for all the families and homes that have been lost.”

State officials report power outages, roads blocked by water or debris

About 9,700 power outage reports remained active statewide as of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, according to TEMA. This is down from more than 15,400 outages reported as of 4 a.m.

Communications systems are experiencing problems in McNairy County and TEMA is working with local officials to remedy the situation.

Customers served by the Grand Junction Water Department in Hardeman County do not have water. The Henderson Water Department in Chester County is under a boil water advisory.

Multiple roads throughout Middle and West Tennessee have been impacted by downed trees and power lines and flooding, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). Crews are working to clean up debris. 

Excessive rainfall to come

Excessive rainfall continued Thursday with the “bullseye” of enhanced risk storms encompassing most of West Tennessee from Memphis to Clarksville along Interstate 40. Widespread flash floods were expected, according to NWS Memphis.

Most areas of Middle and West Tennessee have seen between 3-5 inches of rain over the last 18 hours, with some areas nearing 7 inches, according to TEMA. Another 3-4 inches was forecast for Thursday evening, and 5-7 inches are projected on Saturday.

Severe weather forecasts also include continued tornado, large hail and damaging wind threats in addition to flood risks.

This is a developing story.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Analysts: Trump Cuts to EV Tax Credits Could Roil BlueOval City

A Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck photographed at Town and Country Ford in Madison, Tenn. President-elect Donald Trump’s policy could negatively impact both production and sales of electric vehicles. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Uncertainty over President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for federal tax credits and loan programs supporting American electric vehicle manufacturing could stall Tennessee’s fast-growing electric vehicle and clean energy industries, analysts say.

Tennessee has seen an estimated $12.6 billion in investments in new clean energy projects since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act under President Joe Biden in 2022, according to an October Washington Post analysis of data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and energy think tank Rhodium Group.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created more than 20 tax incentives for clean energy and manufacturing, marking one of the largest climate investments in American history. No Republican lawmakers voted for the act, but the Post’s analysis found “red” states – including Tennessee – have so far received the lion’s share of investment dollars following its passage.

Low-cost federal loans and tax credits for U.S.-produced batteries and battery components have helped companies stand up more cost-competitive electric vehicle plants in the United States, said Harrison Godfrey, managing director of clean energy industry association Advanced Energy United. The IRA also changed consumer electric vehicle tax credits to incentivize the industry to anchor in the United States; For the credit to apply, vehicles must have batteries made in the U.S. using materials sourced from the U.S. or some allied nations, Godfrey said.

But Trump’s transition team is reportedly planning to scrap the $7,500 tax credit for buyers who purchase new electric vehicles, Reuters reported Friday. And the fate of Biden-era clean energy programs remains unclear.

This is not a red state, blue state economic development story. This is an all of America economic development and manufacturing resurgence story, and Tennessee is a great example of how this resurgence, this growth, is serving ‘red’ America.

– Harrison Godfrey, Advanced Energy United

Energy industry analysts worry such a rollback would stymie the balance of producer and consumer-facing incentives.

“The fundamental thing to understand about that is that the two work in conjunction,” Godfrey said. “It’s not enough just to have one side of that policy … it’s great if we’re standing up factories, but if there’s nobody buying at the end of the assembly line for those components, for that finished vehicle, because we haven’t also helped support that consumption side of the equation … we see great investments that do not actually bear fruit.”

Dozens of bills seeking to rescind parts of the IRA have been considered in the House of Representatives in the last two years, but 18 members of the House Republican Conference wrote in favor of maintaining the IRA’s energy tax credits in an August letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“Prematurely repealing energy tax credits, particularly those which were used to justify investments that already broke ground, would undermine private investments and stop development that is already ongoing,” the letter states. “A full repeal would create a worst-case scenario where we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to nothing in return.”

Jack Conness, a policy analyst at energy and climate think tank Energy Innovation, points to the letter as an example of the difference between rhetoric and reality in discussions about repealing parts of the IRA. The reality, he said, is that post-IRA investments have had “significant impact on economic growth and jobs” in red Congressional districts.

“Businesses have been operating under the assumption and making large investments in places like Western Tennessee on the assumption that this policy survives,” Conness said. “So when you want to potentially shake this up, it causes total chaos and havoc on the private business side.”

Electric vehicle and battery industries flock to Tennessee

These policies helped boost projects like Ford’s BlueOval City and the BlueOval SK battery plant in West Tennessee. The companies announced the plant’s development in Haywood County 2021. The U.S. Department of Energy approved a conditional loan of up to $9.2 billion to BlueOval SK under the IRA to build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky last summer.

Godfrey said the future of the Loan Programs Office and its low-cost loan programs for EV and EV component manufacturers is a “big outstanding question.”

What to know: The new Ford BlueOval City plant poised to reshape West Tennessee

“If you deconstruct that, if you shutter the office or if you greatly reduce the size, shift that mission, I think there’s risk there that we don’t see additional projects like this funded in the future,” he said. 

But while some factories have secured their IRA loans, the ink isn’t yet dry on loans like BlueOval SK’s, which is still in the conditional phase.

U.S. Rep. David Kustoff’s West Tennessee district has seen $7.9 billion in investment since the IRA’s passage, according to the Post analysis, followed by U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles’ Middle Tennessee with $2.9 billion.

Both voted against the IRA. Neither could be immediately reached for comment.

Kustoff said in 2022 that the “radical spending bill” would “hurt energy producers” and “certainly worsen inflation,” among other things. Ogles called it a “gross waste of taxpayer dollars.”

Both have said BlueOval City and BlueOval SK will be transformational for the region.

Since 2022, EV component supplier Magna announced it would build the first two supplier facilities in BlueOval City’s Stanton supplier park, and a stamping and assembly facility in Lawrenceburg. NOVONIX Anode Materials announced a new $1 billion battery plant in Chattanooga. Ultium Cells announced a $275 million expansion of its plant in Spring Hill.

According to the Post’s analysis, post-IRA investments have spanned multiple Congressional districts in Tennessee:

Diana Harshbarger (R), District 1: $17 million
Charles Fleischmann (R), District 3: $746 million
Scott DesJarlais (R), District 4: $146 million
Mark Green (R), District 7: $672 million
Steve Cohen (D), District 9: $189 million

“This is not a red state, blue state economic development story,” Godfrey said. “This is an all of America economic development and manufacturing resurgence story, and Tennessee is a great example of how this resurgence, this growth, is serving ‘red’ America.”

Industry Turbulence

The EV industry’s expansion in Tennessee — and the United States — has not been without setbacks.

Ford announced it would push back production of its new, all-electric pickup truck from 2025 to 2027 as part of its response to heightened competition in the EV market and slowing demand. But BlueOval SK is expected to begin producing battery cells in late 2025.

Nissan announced it will cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global manufacturing capacity in November after a drop in profit. It’s not clear if the Nissan Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant will be impacted.

Production at Ford’s West Tenn. plant delayed to 2027 in attempt to improve profitability

General Motors announced it will lay off 1,000 employees — mostly from its global technical center in Warren, Michigan — on Nov. 15. The company’s largest facility in North America is in Spring Hill. 

Godfrey said all industries see “waxes and wanes” during growth, and the EV industry has been under a microscope in recent years. Progress doesn’t tend to be illustrated quarterly, but over years or decades, he said.

Conness said flirting with the idea of a repeal of IRA programs causes uncertainty to flare.

“The private market wants to know what’s happening on the policy side, and the private market has been pretty outspoken about keeping IRA,” he said.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, who has become a close associate of Trump, has spoken in favor of stripping the tax credit.

Musk wrote, “Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries!” on his social media site X in July. In a Tesla earnings call that month, he mused that ending the tax credits would be “devastating” for Tesla competitors but “long-term probably actually helps Tesla.” (Tesla has reaped some benefits from federal loan programs, tax credits and carbon credits).

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation —  which represents 42 U.S. automotive companies including GM, Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen — penned a letter to Republican lawmakers in October asserting that the IRA’s EV tax credits are “critical to cementing the U.S. as a global leader in the future of automotive technology and manufacturing.”

“We think about the recent decades where we’ve seen much of the heartland of America, and particularly some of the industrial cities that were really prosperous and vital in the 20th Century collapse on themselves. It’s about the shrinking and departure of these anchor tenants … the major manufacturers there,” Godfrey said. “So the real risk is … if we see a pullback on the industrial policy that is helping support that resurgence, I think we could see a replay of what we’ve seen in a lot of these towns over the past 40-plus years, admittedly for slightly different reasons.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.

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Report: Tennessee Ranks High in Projected Electric Vehicle Jobs, Lags In Charging Ports

A Ford 150 Lightning photographed at Town and Country Ford in Madison, Tenn. (Photo: John Partipilo)

As the Southeast continues to draw in electric vehicle and battery manufacturers, Tennessee ranks near the top of the list for anticipated jobs and investment, according to a new report examining electric transportation in the region.

But despite seeing the highest rate of growth in publicly accessible electric vehicle chargers — rapid charging ports increased 60 percent over last year in Tennessee — the state still lags well behind national and regional figures for chargers per person.

The report was the fifth annual study prepared by Washington, D.C.-based data analysis firm Atlas Public Policy for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a renewable energy advocacy nonprofit. It explores the momentum of the electric transportation industry in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Those six states have more than 100 facilities dedicated to electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing, making up 31 percent of the 238,000 EV jobs announced in the U.S. as of June. Of $205 billion in announced investments in the EV industry in the United States, 38 percent will land in the Southeast region, according to the report.

What to know: The new Ford BlueOval City plant poised to reshape West Tennessee

Georgia ranks highest in the region with 27,394 total anticipated EV manufacturing jobs, with Tennessee’s 16,164 expected jobs coming in second.

Tennessee’s high ranking is in large part due to a Ford electric vehicle plant and battery manufacturing plant under construction in rural West Tennessee. BlueOval City and BlueOval SK, a joint venture of Ford and SK On, represents a $5.6 billion investment and accounts for 5,800 anticipated jobs once the site is up and running.

While growth in EV manufacturing continues, the report notes that Southeastern states have struggled with engaging utilities and expanding charging infrastructure. 

“Addressing these areas will be crucial for the region to fully capitalize on its potential in the evolving EV landscape,” the report states.

Market share

Tennessee’s 4.5 percent EV sales market share for light-duty vehicles in the Southeast falls near the middle of the pack, above Alabama and South Carolina but significantly below North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, which ranks first with an 8.9 percent market share.

Tennessee logged 43,319 cumulative EV sales between July 2023 and June 2024, the report states. That’s an annual growth of 42 percent, exceeding the national average of 37 percent.

New light-duty EV sales dipped in the first quarter of 2024, nationally and in the Southeast, but sales have begun to trend back up in most southeastern states, according to the report.

Charging ports

Tennessee saw the highest rate of growth in publicly accessible rapid EV chargers, increasing by 60 percent compared with last year. But the state’s 0.31 chargers per 1,000 people still falls well under the national average of 0.53, and 0.40 in the Southeast.

Tennessee has 583 fast-charging ports and 1,558 other charging ports, according to the report.

Tennessee and Georgia are the only two states in the study area to award federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funding to build chargers where they are lacking along busy thoroughfares.

Tennessee awarded $21.9 million from the first round of NEVI funds for 31 fast-charging sites along the state’s major highways in January 2024. The money was matched by $10.7 million in private-sector investments.

Construction and production delays

The report notes that a Rivian plant in Georgia and a VinFast facility in North Carolina have delayed construction “due to unforeseen challenges or barriers to starting up production,” while Hyundai’s Metaplant in Georgia is moving ahead of schedule.

Ford announced in August that it would delay production at BlueOval City until 2027 as the company shifts its strategy toward prioritizing hybrid vehicles and lowering battery production costs. Ford initially planned to launch production of its next-generation pickup truck in 2025.

BlueOval SK at BlueOval City will begin producing battery cells in late 2025 to power electric commercial vans produced at the company’s Ohio assembly plant. BlueOval SK will begin manufacturing batteries for Ford’s E-Transit and F-150 Lightning at its Kentucky battery plant in mid-2025.

Public funding

Only Alabama increased state funding for electric transportation in the last year, the report states. 

Tennessee ranks second in the region for public funding per capita with a total $277 million approved, $266.5 million which comes from federal government programs.

The report doesn’t include loans or tax credits in states’ public funding totals.

Tennessee lawmakers approved a $900 million incentive package for Ford in October 2021, including a $500 million reimbursement for construction work on the megasite. The funding is contingent on job creation.

The federal government also offers tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act for production of batteries and battery materials and advanced energy products, the report notes. Thus far, two projects in Alabama and one project each in Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina will take advantage of those credits, according to the report.

Union activity

The last 12 months have seen aggressive campaigning from the United Auto Workers union in auto manufacturing plants throughout the country. Following UAW’s strike against Detroit’s “Big Three” (Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis) in 2023, the UAW announced that it would commit $40 million toward organizing through 2026, focusing on the South, the report states.

Republican lawmakers make vocal push against Chattanooga VW plant union effort

The unionization campaign drew opposition from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in addition to the governors of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas.

“Unionization would certainly put our states’ jobs in jeopardy,” the governors wrote in a joint statement issued in April. 

Tennessee had two major union developments at automotive plants in 2024. In April, 4,300 Volkswagen Chattanooga employees became the first Southern auto workers outside of the Big Three to unionize. In September, Spring Hill’s Ultium plant, a joint venture from General Motors and LG Energy Solution, notched another union victory. The plant shipped its first battery cells to General Motors in March, two and a half years after breaking ground at the new facility.

Outside of Tennessee, United Steelworkers ratified their first contract at the Blue Bird facility in Georgia in 2024. But a union vote at an Alabama Mercedes-Benz plant failed in May.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.

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Land Deal Could Create New State Forest, Protect Memphis Water Supply

Tennessee is working to purchase 5,477 acres of forest land near Grand Junction from the Hobart Ames Foundation. The land is part of the Wolf River watershed. (Photo: Wolf River Conservancy)

About 60 miles east of Memphis near the Mississippi line, verdant hardwood trees and ecologically exceptional streams weave through thousands of acres of rolling hills.

The land is home to a diverse array of aquatic and terrestrial life, decades-old archaeological sites and a watershed that feeds into the aquifer where hundreds of thousands of Memphians source their drinking water.

If all goes to plan, 5,477 acres of this land will soon become Tennessee’s newest state forest, securing its preservation for posterity.

The land is a portion of the 18,400-acre historic Ames Plantation, a privately owned tract in Fayette and Hardeman Counties amassed by Massachusetts industrialist Hobart Ames in the early 1900s.

For the last several decades, the Hobart Ames Foundation has partnered with the University of Tennessee’s AgResearch and Education Center to maintain and study the land and its history. The university’s website calls the center “an 18,400-acre laboratory” home to an archaeology field school, vet school, forestry camp, tree research nursery, row crop research fields and more.

When the roughly 5,500-acre portion of forest hit the market around early 2023, Tennessee’s forestry division rushed to piece together funding to buy it.

Deal cobbled together at ‘breakneck speed’

Work toward the purchase was already underway when State Forester Heather Slayton was appointed to her role this January. After calling her staff to inform them of her new title, “my second act was to call the Hobart Ames Foundation to let them know that we were hustling to get this project off the ground,” she said. “In the relative scheme of forest legacy projects, it was breakneck speed.”

A man paddles down the main stem of the Wolf River in West Tennessee. (Photo: Wolf River Conservancy)

The land was only on the market for a short time before the Hobart Ames Foundation agreed to remove it and allow the state “a little bit of time” to patch together the funds to “keep it protected and conserved in perpetuity,” Slayton said.

News of the project surfaced in August when the state Department of Agriculture brought an approval request to a State Building Commission subcommittee, warning that the land “will be under immediate threat of development if sold to a third party.”

The forest is located near Grand Junction, about 30 miles south of Ford’s new BlueOval City electric vehicle manufacturing plant.

“This tract is important and irreplaceable as it maintains the longest continuous research tree nursery in the country. It also contains one of the best examples of long-term, well-managed bottomland hardwood forest in West Tennessee,” the request states.

Slayton said an initial $16.9 million to secure the purchase will come from Tennessee’s Heritage Conservation Trust Fund, in addition to about $1.5 million in state wetland funding and help from other state agencies. Tennessee’s Division of Forestry applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Legacy Program, which helps keep working forests kept intact. The program would cover 75 percent of the total $22.5 million purchase price, with state funds making up the remaining 25 percent. If the federal grant is approved, the plan is to repay the Heritage Conservation Trust Fund’s contribution, she said. Including additional costs, the total worth of the project is around $24.3 million, Slayton said.

The total worth of the project is around $24.3 million.

The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit conservation group, will act as an intermediary to purchase the land from the Hobart Ames Foundation and sign over the contract to the state.

Zachary Lesch-Huie, Tennessee state director for The Conservation Fund, said the land is valuable for a multitude of reasons. It contains a major part of the upper fork of the Wolf River, which feeds the aquifer system responsible for Memphis’ water supply. It’s home to several species prioritized by Tennessee for protection, and features an “outstanding” forest habitat. There’s potential for future recreational and educational opportunities there, including hunting, river access, hiking, and continued archeological research on more than 40 historical sites on the property.

The purchase is not yet final — Lesch-Huie said the process is going well but could take several more weeks, barring any unforeseen snags. He said he credits the land’s excellent condition to the stewardship of the Hobart Ames Foundation and the University of Tennessee.

“I also want to give credit to … the Hobart Ames Foundation, because their willingness to even do this important deal for the state of Tennessee is what this (project) hinges on,” he said. “All these conservation deals rely on a willing landowner, and they are that.”

The University of Tennessee declined to comment on the pending deal, and the Hobart Ames Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

Once the sale is complete, the University of Tennessee will continue to manage the property alongside the state and continue its tree nursery research project.

“The information that comes out of the research for tree genetics and how to produce healthier, more resilient trees helps the forests of all the rest of the State of Tennessee as well,” Slayton said.

Safeguarding the Wolf River and Memphis drinking water

The north fork of the Wolf River flows through this portion of bottomland forest — essentially a river swamp or forested wetland — on the Ames property. It meets the Wolf River in Moscow, Tennessee, and the Wolf River then flows into the Mississippi River at Mud Island, north of Downtown Memphis.

Wetlands are really integral to protecting and providing clean water, so this system helps to do that for about 2.8 million people downstream in the city of Memphis area and the surrounding counties.

– Heather Slayton, Tennessee State Forester

Memphis is the largest city in the country that relies fully on ground water, according to the University of Memphis.

Ryan Hall, director of land conservation at the Wolf River Conservancy, said the entire tract of forest land lies within an aquifer recharge zone for the Memphis Sand Aquifer. Rainwater is slowly filtered through layers of sand, purifying the water. Natural sand aquifers are separated by thick clay that protects water from contaminants, according to the University of Memphis. But thinning clay and breaks in its surface in several areas throughout Shelby County pose ongoing pollution concerns.

Ford megasite atop ‘recharge zone’ for underregulated Memphis Sands aquifer 

Tennessee Lookout

“Wetlands are really integral to protecting and providing clean water, so this system helps to do that for about 2.8 million people downstream in the city of Memphis area and the surrounding counties,” Slayton said. “So just being able to protect that wetland function of creating clean water for those people is really, really special.”

The Wolf River Conservancy aims to preserve the Wolf River watershed as a natural resource and provide conservation education. The organization is working to build a Wolf River Greenway trail through Memphis. The group has acted as supporters and advocates of transforming this land into a new state forest, Hall said.

“(The property) has been stewarded well for a long time, and now we know it’s going to be stewarded well in perpetuity, so that peace of mind is just — the Wolf River Conservancy and all of our volunteers, donors, we’re very grateful that this is happening,” he said.

A rich cultural site

The Ames property was one of several large plantations located in the area in the 1800s, Slayton said.

“This particular forest block and the larger Ames property has a very rich cultural history of enslaved people in this part of Tennessee,” she said.

The University of Tennessee, in partnership with the Hobart Ames Foundation, has done extensive research on the property, identifying historical artifacts and tracing ancestors who lived there.

The greater Ames property features the Ames Manor, a cabin, and the remains of multiple 19th-century buildings, including houses, stores, churches, schools, cotton gins, and the quarters of enslaved people, according to the university. There are 26 known cemeteries on the property, including up to six burial grounds for enslaved people, some of which have more than 100 graves.

“That’s another part of this project that’s super exciting: keeping it in public ownership so we can protect the cultural significance of the property,” Slayton said.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.

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Ford Pauses West Tennessee Truck Production Until 2027

Credit: Ford Co.

Production of Ford Motor Company’s electric next-generation pickup truck at its new West Tennessee plant will be delayed until 2027, the company announced Wednesday.

Construction on the new campus continues, and the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center where the truck will be manufactured still plans to employ 3,000 workers, a Ford spokesperson confirmed. The campus’ battery plant — a joint venture between Ford and SK — will make up the remaining jobs needed to fulfill Ford’s promise that the campus would create 5,800 jobs. Tennessee lawmakers approved nearly $1 billion for the $5.6 billion project three years ago.

A spokesperson said Ford remains confident it will meet requirements set in that incentives deal.

“West Tennessee is a linchpin in our plan to create a strong and growing Ford in America. BlueOval City will be one of the most advanced manufacturing complexes anywhere in the world, and we are counting on the workforce in West Tennessee to produce advanced batteries starting next year, and then our most innovative pickup ever starting in 2027,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said in an emailed statement.

The postponement decision is part of a shift in the Michigan automaker’s electric vehicle strategy, which will scrap plans for an all-electric three-row SUV and prioritize hybrid vehicles. The company will reduce its yearly capital expenditures for pure electric vehicles from 40 percent to about 30 percent, according to a Wednesday news release.

When Ford announced its plans for the BlueOval City campus in Stanton in 2021, the company set an initial production goal in 2025.

Dimming electric vehicle market may delay start of full production at Ford’s new West Tenn. plant

But a down-shift in electric vehicle demand and swelling market competition pushed Ford to reassess, the company stated.

Ford will now focus its electric vehicle efforts “where it has competitive advantages,” with plans to roll out production on a new all-electric commercial van in 2026 in Ohio, followed by a mid-sized pickup truck designed by Ford’s California skunkworks team, and the next-generation pickup, to be assembled at BlueOval City’s Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center in 2027.

Talk of a delay at BlueOval has been swirling since early June amid slowing demand for electric vehicles, including the company’s F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. In late 2023, Ford CFO John Lawler said the company’s electric vehicle unit was on track to lose $1.3 billion that year.

Pushing back the timeline allows Ford to implement lower-cost battery technology in the next-generation pickup to make it more price-competitive, the release states.

Lower-cost battery production is a major underpinning of Ford’s revised strategy to make their new electric vehicles profitable within the first 12 months of launch. In Kentucky, BlueOval SK will begin manufacturing batteries for Ford’s E-Transit and F-150 Lightning in mid-2025.

BlueOval SK at BlueOval City in Tennessee will begin producing cells in late 2025 for the new electric commercial van slated for production at Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant. Those batteries will also be used in the next-generation electric truck when it production begins in 2027.

Ford also aims to move some Mustang Mach-E battery production from Poland to Michigan in 2025 to take advantage of Inflation Reduction Act benefits, according to the release. Plans are on track to produce Lithium iron-phosphate batteries at BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in 2026.

The shift toward hybrid technology for its planned three-row SUVs will mean a “special non-cash charge of about $400 million for the write-down of certain product-specific manufacturing assets” for the now-scrapped all-electric SUVs. Other expenses resulting from the shift could total up to $1.5 billion (which will be reflected as “special items” when they are incurred).

Ford stated the company will provide an update in the first half of 2025 on its electrification, technology, profitability, and capital requirements.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.