The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) recently announced $968,000 in grants for parks and recreation planning for 18 communities across the state. Part of the Local Parks and Recreation Fund, the grant program provides state funding to match local government investments for communities who want to create or update a parks and recreation systemwide plan. The state will contribute 80% of funding for project completion. “We appreciate all the communities who have gone through the process to receive these grants,” said Greer Tidwell, deputy director of conservation for TDEC. “We look forward to seeing the plans that come from this assistance.” Learn more on the TDEC website.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC), with Ascendium, Frontline Justice and Quarles & Brady, will unveil its new Rural Justice Task Force Report via a livestream tomorrow, Wednesday, from 2-6 p.m. CDT. The program, “Rural Reach: Access to Justice That Meets People Where They Are,” will explore innovative ways to close the rural justice gap. Join the livestream here. Learn more about the task force's work.

Save the date for the Tennessee Environmental Network Show of the South 2026 (TENSOS), taking place May 13-15, 2026, in Chattanooga. Billed as the largest, most comprehensive and diverse environmental education opportunity in Tennessee, the program provides lawyers and professionals timely updates on the state’s environmental concerns. Learn more here.

This year’s Environmental Law Forum will take place Dec. 5 at the Nashville office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. This staple for Tennessee lawyers and environmental professionals features timely topics relevant to the practice area including nuclear energy concerns, recent developments in state and federal environmental law, brownfields, and more. Section members receive a discounted rate to attend. Register now.

The TBA Environmental Law Section hosted an ethics session Oct. 27 focused on attorney-government communications. Led by TBA Environmental Law Section Chair Payton Bradford, the discussion considered the distinction between lobbying and practicing law, to petition and matters where counsel must communicate through government lawyers. Panelists included Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) General Counsel Jenny Howard, Associate Director of Law for Metro Nashville Lora Fox and attorney lobbyist Tom Lee of Nelson Mullins. Stay tuned for more events to come from the section.

On Nov. 5, the Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for its November docket in Jackson. The proceedings will take place at the Supreme Court building and be livestreamed on the court’s YouTube page. Beginning at 1:30 p.m. CST, the court will hear arguments in two cases: Jamesway Construction Inc. v. David W. Salyers P.E. and State v. James R. Holley. A third case, Fred C. Dance v. Board of Professional Responsibility, will be submitted to the court on briefs. Read more about the cases in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Tennesseans who took advantage of the extra time provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to file their 2024 tax returns are now running out of time, the Nashville Banner reports. The deadline to file is 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 3. On April 14, the IRS offered relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which included all 95 Tennessee counties after storms on April 2 produced widespread tornadoes and flooding. The extension applies to individual tax returns normally due on April 15, quarterly estimated tax payments normally due in April, June and September, and more. Those who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed losses also have the option to claim the losses on their 2024 or 2025 tax returns.

An electrocardiogram monitoring Tennessee inmate Byron Black’s heart showed “sustained cardiac activity” for nearly two minutes after he was pronounced dead from a lethal injection, the Associated Press reports. The comments by his attorney, federal Public Defender Kelley Henry, came in a filing requesting that attorneys for Black and other death row inmates be allowed to depose key people who carry out executions as part of a lawsuit challenging the state’s lethal injection protocol. The state opposes making those individuals available for depositions, arguing it will risk the identities of the execution team. Instead, the state proposed that officials with the Tennessee Department of Correction testify.

President Donald Trump announced last week he is backing the reelection bid of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, Axios Nashville reports. Ogles, who won the newly drawn House seat in 2022, is expected to face challengers from the right and left. He also is dealing with a federal campaign finance investigation. Trump posted on social media that Ogles is a "conservative warrior" who is "fighting tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A. and American Energy DOMINANCE, Safeguard our Elections, Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment."

October 20, 2025 - October 24, 2025.