This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, June 12th, 2024.

Later in the program, WFHB News continues its fourth and final installment of its series on the deregulation of Indiana wetlands on the latest episode of Deep Dive: WFHB and Limestone Post Investigate. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, “Spanish Prisoner Game” on Better Beware – your weekly consumer-watchdog segment on the WFHB Local News. More following today’s feature. But first, the latest episode of Deep Dive.

Feature Report:

This is Deep Dive: WFHB and Limestone Post Investigate where we look into issues regarding Health, Housing, and the Environment that directly impact residents of Monroe County. We look into Indiana’s wetlands, and the wetlands we have right here in Monroe County. Our deep dive is prompted by the legislation Indiana has passed to decrease the protection of wetlands, and environmental concerns that have arisen as a result.

In 2021, Hoosier lawmakers passed Senate Enrolled Act 389 – despite strong opposition from environmental advocates. The policy amended the State Regulated Wetland Law which gutted protections for the state’s wetlands.

A 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision loosened the federal regulations of wetlands, which then in turn allowed the states to decide how to enforce wetland protections. Some states took the opportunity to increase their wetland protections. Indiana, however, loosened them further and it is what enabled the State of Indiana to pass House Enrolled Act 1383 this February.

To learn more about Indiana’s efforts to rollback protections for wetlands, WFHB News spoke with Indiana Senator Shelli Yoder – a representative for District 40, which encompasses a majority of Monroe County. Yoder gave us an overview of the legislation she has seen during her time as Senator that has involved wetlands and how they are enforced.

You’ve been listening to Deep Dive WFHB and Limestone Post Investigate. That concludes our series on Indiana’s wetlands. To read the full article, What’s at Stake in the Debate Over Indiana’s Wetlands?, written and photographed by Anne Kibbler, visit Limestone Post.

Up next, “Spanish Prisoner Game on Better Beware” – your weekly consumer-watchdog segment on WFHB. We turn to host and producer Richard Fish for more.

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