ICC Calls on Governor Holcomb to Veto SEA389

TO: Governor Eric Holcomb 
FROM: Angela Espada, Executive Director, Indiana Catholic Conference
DATE: April 20, 2021
RE:  Veto of SEA389  

The Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC), on behalf of the Roman Catholic Bishops and the Church’s faithful within Indiana, urges your veto of SEA389 concerning Indiana’s regulation of isolated wetlands.  

SEA389 elicited a significant amount of debate among legislators and stakeholders during the 2021 session. The ICC took a position of opposition to SEA389, arguing that a complete repeal of the state’s isolated wetlands law would negatively impact environmental health, wildlife habitat, and human health. The amended version of SEA389, while better than the original, still repeals a portion of wetland protections without adequate deliberation and input from the scientific community’s wetland experts. For this reason, the ICC maintains its opposition to the version of SEA389 now awaiting your decision.  

The ICC’s principal concern is the moral and theological implications of this legislation. The Catholic Church has long espoused humanity’s responsibility to care for all Creation and exercise proper dominion over it. Pope Francis’s document Laudato Si (2015), addressed not only to Catholics but to all people of good will, emphasizes a need for courageous discourse on the environment that places long term needs of thriving ecosystems above economic benefit.  

With due regard for the protection of wetlands and our common responsibility for God’s Creation, the Indiana Catholic Conference urges you to veto SEA389 and encourage the General Assembly to further study this issue to arrive at a balanced approach between environmental protection and economic development.  

Sincerely,   

 Angela Espada 

Executive Director