KNOXVILLE, TN – The Tennessee Valley Authority is inviting the public to get involved in updating its 2011 Natural Resource Plan, which guides how TVA manages public lands and waters in its seven-state service area.
The 2011 plan organized TVA’s work into six resource areas, but did not include all of TVA’s Natural Resource efforts. In the 2020 Natural Resource Plan, TVA proposes 10 focus areas that encompass all the Natural Resource functions. These focus areas include:
Reservoir Lands Planning, Section 26a & Land Use Agreements, Public Land Protection, Land & Habitat Stewardship, Nuisance & Invasive Species Management, Cultural Resource Management, Water Resource Stewardship, Recreation, Ecotourism and Public Outreach & Information.
The proposed update features more clearly defined strategies, including objectives and programs for each focus area and a flexible approach for long-term planning, which will help TVA prioritize funding and support its mission of environmental stewardship. TVA will complete an environmental impact statement to analyze the potential effects of these changes.
To guide the development of the 2020 Natural Resource Plan, TVA is hosting four open house public scoping meetings and a webinar to obtain public input, answer questions and receive comments. The sessions will be from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. local time at the following locations:
- July 25, 2018 at Pellissippi State Community College in the College Center Room, 10915 Hardin Valley Rd., Knoxville, Tennessee
- July 26, 2018 at Chattanooga State Community College in Rooms 124-126, 4501 Amnicola Highway, Chattanooga, Tennessee
- August 1, 2018 in the TVA Multi-Purpose Building, Room MPB 01202, 101 Reservation Road, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
- August 2, 2018 at Paris Landing State Park in Conference Room A, 400 Lodge Road, Buchanan, Tennessee
- August 6, 2018 – Webinar. Please register in advance of the webinar at www.tva.gov/nrp.
NOTE: Those with special needs who wish to attend any open house should contact TVA at least a week in advance at 1-865-632-6113.
TVA is seeking public input to identify issues and concerns that should be considered during the environmental review. TVA invites the public to visit www.tva.com/nrp for more information about the proposed update. Comments may be submitted at the public meetings, by mail or email. Any comments received, including names and addresses, will become part of the administrative record, and will be available for public inspection. Please submit comments by August 20, 2018.
Written comments should be sent to Matthew Higdon, NEPA Compliance, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11D, Knoxville, TN 37902-1499. Comments also may be submitted on the project website at www.tva.gov/nrp or by email at NRP@tva.gov.
For more information about TVA and its 85-year mission of service to the Tennessee Valley, click here.
media Release/Jim Hopson/TVA Public Relations, Knoxville
