BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Tennessee Republican gubernatorial candidates Thursday attacked the Bredesen administration's enforcement of environmental laws, saying state regulators put obstacles in the way of business development.
"They're out of control," Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, said of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. "At one time they would regulate what was supposed to be regulated, but they've crossed their bounds on that."
His comments came during a GOP candidates' forum hosted by the Brentwood-Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce.
U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., singled out both TDEC and the state Tennessee Department of Transportation, saying the agencies "need an overhaul."
They "need somebody at the very top that understands business, local government and what it means to move things forward," the Chattanooga congressman said.
Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons described how a West Tennessee businessman complained to him about state regulators delaying attempts to open a new business for more than a year.
"The agency that he cited having difficulty with was TDEC," Mr. Gibbons said. "There seems to be a consensus on that."
Later in the day, Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen's press secretary, Lydia Lenker, rejected criticism about overzealous environmental regulators.
"Each state agency must deal with the various interests of the constituencies it serves and ... state agencies have worked together to create a favorable business climate in Tennessee that balances job creation with environmental protection," she said.
Candidates also took swipes at pending state legislation that would ban mountaintop removal coal mining.
Lt. Gov. Ramsey argued the "bill would actually have basically banned coal mining in the state of Tennessee. ... We want to make sure we have that supply of energy."
U.S. Rep. Wamp said Tennessee coal is being mined in a "very responsible" way.
Knoxville Mayor Haslam said the country will be dependent on coal energy "for a while." If the conversation is about blasting mountaintops to obtain coal and leaving the rubble to fill up the valleys below, "that's one thing," the mayor said.
"But I'm confident from conversations with folks in the coal mining industry and members of environmental groups that there really is a workable solution," Mr. Haslam said.
Dawn Coppack, who is lobbying for the ban on mountaintop removal for a church-affiliated environmental group, said she was "very disappointed" at Lt. Gov. Ramsey's remarks "as are a number of pastors and Christians across the state."
Gov. Bredesen is barred by law from running for a third term.