Battle 'not over' in Maury Co. as Gov. Lee signs bill protecting Duck River

After a long community battle since last fall, Gov. Bill Lee put his final stamp of approval Wednesday on legislation that will expand the Duck River's Class II Pastoral River designation from Maury County to the Hickman County line.

Efforts to ensure the bill's passage included over 2,000 Maury County constituents writing letters to the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee and over 100 constituents attending legislative meetings in Nashville several times to speak in favor of the bill. The push culminated last month when the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee approved House Bill 0447 that will extend river protections.

Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, led the charge as sponsor of the bill in the House, while Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, sponsored the companion bill in the Senate and Rep. Kip Capley, R-Summertown, also supported the bill.

Cepicky advocated to keep drinking water uncontaminated and for the river to be used for recreational use as one of the most biodiverse rivers in the world.

"I have never seen such widespread support from constituents on a bill," Cepicky said.

Preservationists, business leaders, local farmers, elected leaders and constituents from Maury County banded together in support of protecting the river, leading to the bipartisan support of the legislation.

Seven-generation farmer Sam Kennedy, III, whose farm surrounds the Duck River, attended committee meetings and spent weeks speaking with legislators along with Columbia broker Dan McEwen and other landowners.

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Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, a member of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee, even visited the Duck River in Maury County ahead of the bill's passage, spending hours along the banks.

As a result of the groundswell of community support and interest in preserving the Duck River, grassroots group Save the Duck formed, now in the process of becoming a 501(c)3.

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Preservationist and advocate Gale Moore, a Columbia resident who will serve on the Save the Duck board, said that she is pleased and relieved that the bill passed.

"I am grateful for the bipartisan support in the passage of the bill. Many residents spent days attending the legislative meetings, with the final meeting drawing over 200 supporters, which made a difference," she said.

"However, the battle is not over."

Moore refers to three pending permit applications submitted to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation by Louisiana-based Trinity Business Group last summer, seeking to develop solid waste landfills and processing sites over 1,300 acres at the former Monsanto property in Columbia, just miles from the Duck River.

The proposal would include a tire processing facility, energy compost processing, energy recovery, metal salvage and wood waste processing from construction.

The pending permits were the catalyst for constituents to take action last fall to protect the river's natural resources such as fresh water for drinking and recreation as well as preserving aquatic life. The Duck River is one of the most biodiverse rivers in the world, containing an array of rare species of fish.

Moore helped to organize a community meeting in October to raise awareness about the landfill proposal. The meeting drew dozens of constituents, leaders from TDEC and locally-elected officials.

Maury leaders and supporters of Save the Duck believe that the new legislation will thwart landfill development. But as an added measure, the Maury County Commission voted late last year to approve a state statute, dubbed The Jackson Law, that would prohibit the formation of landfills without the approval of local city councils and county commissions.

In added layer of protection, the newly appointed Maury-Marshall Solid Waste Regional Planning Board also voted earlier this month to deny Trinity Business Group's development of landfill operations at the old Monsanto property during a meeting at Henry Horton State Park located in Chapel Hill.

"We hopped yet another hurdle yesterday, thanks in part to your emails, presentations, letters, postcards, hand-outs in mailboxes, recorded calls, video downloads, and presence at the meeting," Moore wrote to supporters after the waste board's April 10 vote.

"Thank you all for letting the board know the will of the people."

During the legislative session, Trinity Business Group legal counsel alluded to launching a lawsuit if the landfill development was blocked.

In the meantime, Trinity Business Group's three original permits are still labeled as "pending" on the TDEC website.

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This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Gov. signs bill protecting scenic status of Duck River in Maury Co.