Tennessee House Bill HB0205

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/16/25
• Refer: 2/3/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 11, Chapter 13, relative to scenic rivers.

Summary

HB0205 amends Tennessee’s scenic rivers law in Title 11, Chapter 13 by expanding the list of designated Class II Pastoral River Areas. The bill adds specific segments of Beaverdam Creek, Duck River, Lick Creek, Piney River, and Swan Creek to the scenic river protections, with each segment defined by named confluences and county boundaries in Hickman, Williamson, and Dickson counties. The bill also makes a conforming change to the enforcement or regulatory language in Tennessee Code Annotated § 11-13-108(b)(1), broadening a reference from “that segment of Duck River” to “the segment of any river.” This change appears intended to ensure that the applicable rule or restriction applies more generally to all scenic river segments covered under the chapter, not just Duck River.

Impact

The bill would expand state scenic river protections to additional river segments and likely subject those waterways to the land-use, development, and environmental restrictions associated with Tennessee’s scenic river program. It would affect property owners, local governments, developers, and conservation interests along the newly designated segments in Hickman, Williamson, and Dickson counties, while also updating statutory language to apply a provision across any covered river segment rather than only Duck River.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the available record. Based on the bill’s content, the measure appears conservation-oriented and likely to have been viewed favorably by supporters of river protection and scenic preservation. The absence of recorded controversy suggests the bill may have been relatively noncontroversial in the materials provided.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is the expansion of scenic river designation, which can limit development, alter land-use expectations, and impose additional regulatory constraints on affected river corridors. Property owners, local officials, or development interests in the listed counties could be concerned about the practical effects of the new designations, while environmental and preservation advocates would likely support the added protections. The conforming change to apply the provision to “any river” may also raise questions about the breadth of regulatory authority, though no specific objections are documented in the provided materials.