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Article published Apr 16, 2008 Controversial environmental bills pass committees
By Joel Davis of The Daily Times Staff
Two different bills by Blount County legislators that focus on the environment were approved in committees in both the state House and Senate today.
The Senate Environment, Conservation, and Tourism Committee recommended for approval Sen. Raymond Finney’s Senate Bill 3822, legislation that would prohibit the disturbance of ridge lines above 2,000 feet in Tennessee. The companion bill was defeated in a House subcommittee, but Finney has been pressing forward.
Recommended for passage by the House Conservation and Environment Committee was state Rep. Joe McCord’s House Bill 4185, which would define “limited resource waters” as “ephemeral bodies of water that flow primarily in response to rainfall, for which groundwater is not a significant source and that do not support a significant indigenous population of native fish or aquatic life.”
The committee referred the bill to the House Government Operations Committee.
The Tennessee Clean Water Network claims that the bill would remove protections from 30,000 miles of streams throughout the state. McCord has said his bill is about setting consistent definitions.
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