An amendment that would let Georgia use the Tennessee River as a water source has been taken out of a transportation bill, just two days after it was added.
The change Friday morning returned House Bill 131 to its original goal: strip away the fines the state Department of Transportation pays when its projects pollute rivers, lakes and streams.
The bill would drop daily fines from $50,000 to $5,000, and only after giving the department 30 days to make fixes. Environmental groups have argued the change will invite federal oversight and lead to greater downstream problems.
The House Rules Committee is expected to decide Monday whether to put the bill up for a vote Wednesday, the last day for any measure to clear a chamber for consideration across the Capitol this session.
Rep. Tom McCall’s amendment, to exempt any water transfers out of the Chickamauga Valley and Lookout Mountain areas, lives on elsewhere. The same language is in House Bill 400, which has not moved out of committee.
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