skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Opponents Amplify Calls to Reject Indiana's Wetland Deregulation Bill

play audio
Play

Tuesday, March 30, 2021   

INDIANAPOLIS -- Opponents of a wetland deregulation bill in Indiana are amplifying their pleas to lawmakers to reject the measure.

More than 80 groups signed a letter sent to Gov. Eric Holcomb and state lawmakers yesterday, which offered policy alternatives to provisions in Senate Bill 389 that would eliminate state wetland protections established in 2003.

John Ketzenberger, director of government relations for The Nature Conservancy in Indiana, noted there is a reason that Indiana is one of just eight states with its own wetland regulations.

"Indiana is fortunate to be in a water-rich environment," Ketzenberger explained. "We have lots of wetlands; these are a sign of our health in terms of the environment. We should protect these things."

Supporters, including housing and land-development groups, argue current regulations are onerous and expensive.

Indiana has just 15% of its historic wetlands left, and Senate Bill 389 would impact 80% of what remains that are not federally protected.

A House committee could vote early next week on the legislation.

Ketzenberger added The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has been open to a dialogue with concerned groups, but also contended negotiations on the bill haven't included factual input from experts who fully understand how wetlands function.

"The agency is trying to hold onto this important regulatory ability under threat and duress of it being repealed," Ketzenberger stated. "And the discussion has just not been fully robust and in a manner that allows for finding a solution to the alleged problem."

Wetlands provide water purification, critical wildlife habitat and flood protection. Nearly 30,000 people also have signed an online petition calling for Indiana's wetlands to be saved.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021