Errington offers amendment to protect Indiana wetlands

State Rep. Sue Errington (D-Muncie) offered an amendment to Senate Bill 414 today which would have deleted language stripping Indiana's dwindling wetlands of protections and regulation. This language was added during an Environmental Affairs committee hearing. The amendment failed along party lines.

“This amendment was an opportunity to not just protect wetlands, but protect Hoosiers and our infrastructure,” Errington said following the vote. “Wetlands reduce flooding and provide us with drinking water. If wetlands continue to be eroded, Indiana will feel the impacts on public health and infrastructure for years to come. Indiana already has the most polluted bodies of water in the nation. How much more are we willing to harm our environment for the sake of special interests?

“As the Ranking Minority Member of the House Environmental Affairs Committee, I was appalled that this language was added into an unrelated bill on such short notice. Democrats on the committee were surprised, but the public was blindsided. Despite my efforts during the committee meeting to delay the vote on the amended bill to give the public the ability to testify, the amended version of the bill moved forward. Governing without opportunity for input from our constituents and those more equipped than us to speak on the environmental impacts of our legislation is not good governance, frankly, it's not how a strong democracy operates.

“This legislation moving forward with this anti-wetlands language not only poses a threat to Indiana's environment, it adds to the growing public perception that legislators are more interested in benefitting special interests than benefitting the public interest. Just last October, our Wetlands Task Force issued their findings, including that Indiana's cumulative loss of wetlands is already having a measurable impact on Hoosiers, particularly from a water quality and flooding standpoint. This bill – with the anti-wetlands language included – is the total opposite of what the task force is recommending.”