Coming up in this edition of Eco Report, Agrivoltaics and Climate Resilience as Environmental Correspondent Zyro Roze brings us Part Three of his discussion with Sam Carpenter on bills opposed and backed by the Hoosier Environmental Council in the 2024 Legislative Session. The full four-part interview will be available online after the show as an E.R.X Eco Report EXTRA, to be found at WFHB.org.

This story appeared in the “Daily Journal” of Franklin. A controversial bill that would strip wetland protections in Indiana is the first to head to the governor’s desk after being fast-tracked by the Indiana General Assembly. House Bill 1383, authored by Rep. Alan Morrison, R-Versailles, clarifies various wetland definitions and eliminates certain wetland rule-making requirements. The bill would shift some Class III wetlands down to Class II, a class that already has few protections because of another state law passed in 2021. The Senate approved the bill 32-17 on Tuesday, less than a month after its first reading in the House. Some residents, environmentalists and state senators have expressed concerns that it was fast-tracked despite heavy opposition.

Environmental activists and some state legislators also questioned whether the bill would actually protect wetlands or dwindle them further. In 2021, Indiana passed another controversial bill that left nearly 80% of the state’s wetlands unprotected, with only 25% of wetlands being mitigated since then, according to the Hoosier Environmental Council, or HEC. A one-acre wetland can typically store over one million gallons of water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

This means nearly 400 million gallons of water storage has been removed without mitigation since 2021, according to data from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Indiana has also lost 85% of wetlands in the last 200 years, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the EPA, leaving the fate of wetlands in the state’s hands, Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said during the Senate vote on the bill Tuesday.

Indiana is already seeing accelerated wetland loss, said Indra Frank, environmental health and water policy director for the HEC. The continued stripping of wetland protections is “very discouraging,” she said. Sens. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, and Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, questioned how involved environmental consultants and groups were in the legislation.

During the committee hearing on the bill, 26 people — including organizations involved in drafting the bill — testified in opposition to the bill. Only three testified in support. Builders, environmental activists and consultants, including the HEC, and IDEM staff helped draft the legislation last July, Niemeyer said. Representatives from the Indiana Builders Association told the Indiana Capital Chronicle the bill was a compromise to prevent permitting delays. Profit over people! Even though the bill passed, please contact the Governor today to voice opposition to this legislation.

Last week we aired a story about olive trees. Following is more information. In a Counterpunch article by Joshua Frank, it is noted that olive trees in Palestine, in addition to being a means of economic sustenance are a long standing cultural practice. The harvesting of olives on wild trees extends back thousands of years. The razing of such groves has had disastrous results including soil erosion, and climate change. Since 1967, more than 800,000 Palestinian olive trees have been illegally uprooted by the Israeli authority accordinging to a 1921 Al Jazerra report.