State lawmakers are considering a rollback of protections for nearly half a million acres of wetlands in Tennessee, a proposal that is raising concerns over its potential to worsen flooding, deplete and degrade drinking water and impact hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation.
The bill would eliminate rules that require developers and landowners to get state approval and pay mitigation fees before filling in, dredging or otherwise disturbing wetlands.
Rep. Kevin Vaughan, a Republican from Collierville who is sponsoring the bill, called the measure a needed check on “bureaucratic overreach” and “unnecessary inflation on the cost of construction.”
Getting state approval to build on wetlands is an expensive, time-consuming and often frustrating process for developers, said Vaughan, a West Tennessee developer. Vaughan also accused state environmental regulators of stretching the definition of wetland — to include muddied tractor ruts or ditches where cattails sprout from runoff.