Lawmakers consider wetlands compromise ‘too important not to get right’
Alex Pellom, chief of staff at the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said it is important that the wetlands permitting process is not overly cumbersome. But by expanding unregulated development on wetlands, he said the bill still poses a flood risk, which is a major hazard in the state. (Submitted)
Half of the state’s wetlands — often described as “earth’s kidneys — could be deregulated under a new proposal, but lawmakers are looking at a compromise that would take wetlands’ size and quality into account.
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Rep. Kevin Vaughan wetlands George Nolan Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Southern Environmental Law CenterKeely Brewer
Keely Brewer is a Report for America corps member covering environmental impacts on communities of color in Memphis. She is working in partnership with the Ag & Water Desk, a sustainable reporting network aimed at telling water and agriculture stories across the Mississippi River Basin.
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