Tennessee Senate Bill SB0278

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/23/25

Caption

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

Summary

SB 278 amends Tennessee’s scenic rivers law in Title 11, Chapter 13 by adding several river segments in Hickman, Williamson, and Dickson counties to the list of Class II Pastoral River Areas. The bill specifically designates segments of Beaverdam Creek, the Duck River, Lick Creek, Piney River, and Swan Creek as protected scenic river areas, thereby expanding the geographic scope of the state’s scenic river program. The bill also makes a conforming change to Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 11-13-108(b)(1), replacing a reference to “that segment of Duck River” with “the segment of any river.” This broadens the statutory language so the referenced rule or requirement applies generally to any river segment covered by the scenic rivers chapter, rather than only to the Duck River.

Impact

The bill expands state scenic river protections to additional waterways and river segments, which can affect land use, development, conservation, and permitting decisions in the affected counties. By adding these segments to the Class II Pastoral River Areas list, the measure brings them under the regulatory framework of Tennessee’s scenic rivers statutes and may impose related restrictions or review standards on activities near those waters. The conforming amendment also updates statutory language to apply more broadly across scenic river segments statewide.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the measure appears to be a straightforward conservation and land-preservation bill with no documented opposition in the provided materials. The overall tone is neutral to favorable, reflecting a technical expansion of scenic river designations rather than a controversial policy shift.

Contention

No committee transcripts or vote records were provided, so there is no documented public contention in the supplied materials. Potential points of debate, if any, would likely center on the balance between environmental protection and private property or development interests in the newly designated river corridors, but those concerns are not reflected in the available record.