Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

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The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is a cabinet-level state agency in Tennessee. It protects the state's air, water, and soil quality, and it also runs the state parks and the Tennessee Historical Commission. Its headquarters are in the James K. Polk State Office Building in Nashville. The agency’s website is tdec.tn.gov. The commissioner is David Salyers, P.E., who was appointed in 2019 by Governor Bill Lee.

History: TDEC traces its roots to 1937, when the Department of Conservation was created. That year, state parks, monuments, and recreation were placed under a Division of Parks within the department. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the department was briefly the Department of Conservation and Commerce, before being split again. The modern TDEC was created in 1991, with health and environment programs moved into the new department.

What it does: TDEC is responsible for protecting Tennessee’s air, water, and soil quality. In 2006 it had at least fourteen divisions, including Air Pollution Control, Water Pollution Control, Water Supply, Ground Water Protection, Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, Underground Storage Tanks, Radiological Health, Remediation, Archaeology, Geology, Natural Heritage, Internal Audit, Recreational Services, and Energy Oversight. It also manages Tennessee’s state parks and the Tennessee Historical Commission. A Hotel & Restaurant Division once existed but is now managed by the Department of Tourist Development.

Leadership: The first commissioner was J.W. Luna, serving under Governor Ned Ray McWherter. Other commissioners included Don Dills, Milton H. Hamilton Jr., and Jim Fyke. The current commissioner, as noted, is David W. Salyers.

Controversy: In 2016, the Tennessee Clean Water Network criticized the Division of Water Resources for issuing fewer penalties for water pollution violations, suggesting enforcement had declined even when permits allowed pollution.