NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says he would "never, ever" discourage regulators from enforcing environmental rules at a fellow Republican state lawmaker's hog farm.
The governor's comments Tuesday follow a report by WTVF-TV reported last week that a state inspector who found several potential violations at Republican Rep. Andy Holt's farm said "upper management" had dissuaded him from seeking to enforce them.
Haslam told reporters after an economic development speech in Nashville that no such directive came either from his office or from the leadership of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
State records show Holt failed to submit complete permitting paperwork from the farm in 2012 and 2013. The Dresden lawmaker says he stopped raising hogs at the farm in late 2014.
Haslam has twice vetoed bills sponsored by Holt.