Republican committee sneaks through wetlands protection rollbacks

Democrats on the House Environmental Affairs Committee released the following statement in response to language related to 2021’s Senate Bill 389, an anti-wetlands bill, being amended into Senate Bill 414, an unrelated sewage bill, in committee: 

“In 2021, we fought to conserve and maintain Indiana’s wetlands. Little did we know, the fight would be revived a few short years later,” House Democratic Environmental Affairs Committee members said. “But it’s clear Republicans are beholden to special interests and want to line their pockets no matter the cost. They want to build to enrich without care for drinking water quality, flood mitigation, or critical wildlife habitat, and do this at the end of the legislative process so that this provision can pass through with little public input or oversight.”  

Democratic House Environmental Affairs Committee members include State Reps. Sue Errington (D-Muncie), Maureen Bauer (D-South Bend), Pat Boy (D-Michigan City) and Carolyn Jackson (D-Hammond).