The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the government of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

, headed by the

Tennessee Commissioner of Environment and Conservation The Tennessee Commissioner of Environment and Conservation is the head of the Department of Environment and Conservation of the U.S. state of Tennessee, which is responsible for environmental protection, conservation of natural resources, and ...

. The Department of Conservation was first created in 1937 by the State Government Reorganization Act of 1937. All areas used for state parks, monuments, and recreation were brought under a Division of Parks within the department later that year. For a short while in the late 1950s and early 1960s the department existed as the Department of Conservation and Commerce, but it was soon split, with the Department of Conservation regaining its name. The modern TDEC was created in 1991, with programs in the Department of Health and Environment shifted into the new department. TDEC is legally responsible for the protection of Tennessee's air,

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

, and soil quality. As of 2006, the department had at least fourteen divisions: the Division of

Air Pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

Control, the Division of Archaeology, the Division of

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

, the Division of

Ground Water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

Protection, the Division of Internal Audit, the Division of Natural Heritage, the Division of Radiological Health, the Division of Remediation, the Division of Solid and

Hazardous A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probabi ...

Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

, the Division of

Underground Storage Tank An underground storage tank (UST) is, according to United States federal regulations, a storage tank, including any underground piping connected to the tank, that has at least 10 percent of its volume underground. Definition & Regulation in U.S. ...

s, the Division of

Water Pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. ...

Control, the Division of

Water Supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

, the

Recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...

al Services Division, and the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

Oversight Division. The department also manages Tennessee's state parks and the

Tennessee Historical Commission The Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) is the State Historic Preservation Office for the U.S. state of Tennessee. Headquartered in Nashville, it is an independent state agency, administratively attached to the Department of Environment and ...

. According to the Gubernatorial Papers housed at the

Tennessee State Library and Archives The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), established in 1854, currently operates as a unit of the Tennessee Department of State. According to the Tennessee Blue Book, the Library and Archives "collects and preserves books and records of hi ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

, the department once had a Hotel & Restaurant Division, which currently is managed by the Department of Tourist Development. The first commissioner of TDEC was J.W. Luna, who served under Governor

Ned Ray McWherter Ned Ray McWherter (October 15, 1930April 4, 2011) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee, from 1987 to 1995. Prior to that, he served as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1973 ...

Don Dills Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places * County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a ...

and Milton H. Hamilton Jr. were commissioners during the administration of Governor Don Sundquist. Jim Fyke held the position under Governor

Phil Bredesen Philip Norman Bredesen Jr. (born November 21, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 48th governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in 2002 with 50.6% of the vote and ree ...

. The current commissioner is David W. Salyers, who was appointed in 2019 by Governor Bill Lee. In 2016 the environmental watchdog group, the

Tennessee Clean Water Network The Tennessee Clean Water Network is an environmental group located in the state of Tennessee in the United States whose principal focus has been the preserving the quality of the state's public water resources including its drinking water and it ...

, published a press release directed at the department's Division of Water Resources, claiming that the division, under the direction of the state's governor, had shown a significant drop-off in the number of penalties for businesses committing clear acts of water pollution. The state issues a certain number of permits to businesses to pollute local water, and if those permit levels are exceeded, the state has the option to enforce a penalty, which it had largely decided not to do.

References

External links

*
The Tennessee Blue Book's section on the Department
{{authority control State agencies of Tennessee State environmental protection agencies of the United States

See also

References

External links