Tennessee Senate passes bill to roll back wetlands protections in favor of developers

Tennessee Senate passes bill to roll back wetlands protections in favor of developers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee lawmakers could drain many protections for an estimated 80% of wetlands in the Volunteer State in favor of developers. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville), would roll back some state protections on "isolated wetlands," which are wetlands that do not have any surface connections to other federally protected bodies of water, but could have connections unde…

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

Paul Stoddard, a principal at environmental consulting firm EnSafe, unlocks the gate to the West Tennessee Wetlands Mitigation Bank in Shelby County, Tenn. on March 11, 2025. EnSafe planted more than 50,000 trees to restore portions of this 250-acre wetland, creating credits for developers to purchase to offset destruction of wetlands elsewhere. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht for Tennessee Lookout)Fourth-generation Middle Tennessee cattle farmer Col…

Proposed Mitigation Banks bill would expedite wetland destruction | Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Written by SCCF Environmental Policy Staff and reprinted with permission HB 1175/SB 492, Mitigation Banks, is a bill that, if passed, will expedite wetland destruction across the state and cause further degradation of our overtaxed coastal systems. Mitigation banking is an idea that relies on compensatory action to be taken to allow for the destruction

Government backflips on wetlands proposal, postpones regulation after outcry

NSW delays wetlands protection proposal, sparking uncertainty among farmers over land and water regulations.