[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 105 (Friday, June 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30657-30659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10637]


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


Environmental Impact Statement--Mountain Reservoirs Land 
Management Plan, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) addressing the impacts of various 
alternatives for managing project lands on nine TVA reservoirs in 
southeastern Tennessee, southwest North Carolina, and northwest 
Georgia. Public comment is invited concerning both the scope of the EIS 
and environmental issues that should be addressed as a part of this 
EIS.

DATES: Comments on the scope of the EIS should be received on or before 
June 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Kenneth P. Parr, 
Environmental Stewardship and Policy, Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101 
Market Street, LP 5U-C, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402-2801. Comments may 
be e-mailed to [email protected] or submitted by fax at (423) 751-3230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura M. Duncan, Tennessee Valley 
Authority, 1101 Market St. PSC 1E-C, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402-2801. 
Telephone (423) 876-6706. E-mail may be sent to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This notice is provided in accordance with the Council on 
Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 to 1503), TVA's 
procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(NHPA) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR part 800).
    The Mountain Reservoirs Land Management Plan (Plan) will address 
lands on the following reservoirs: Ocoee 1 (Parksville), Ocoee 2, and 
Ocoee 3 in Polk County, Tennessee; Apalachia in Polk County, Tennessee 
and Cherokee County, North Carolina; Hiwassee in Cherokee County, North 
Carolina; Fontana in Swain and Graham Counties, North Carolina; Chatuge 
in Clay County, North Carolina and Towns County, Georgia; Blue Ridge in 
Fannin County, Georgia; and Nottely in Union County, Georgia. These 
reservoirs were completed between 1911 and 1944. All of these 
reservoirs are operated for

[[Page 30658]]

power production and recreation, and several of them also provide flood 
control and other benefits. The length of the reservoir pools range 
from 0 miles for the run-of-river Ocoee 2 to 29 miles for Fontana.
    TVA originally acquired a total of 104,375 acres of land above 
normal summer pool for the nine reservoirs and their associated 
hydroelectric generating facilities. Over the years, TVA has 
transferred to other public agencies, primarily the National Park 
Service and the U.S. Forest Service, or sold to various public and 
private entities the majority of this land. TVA presently owns a total 
of 6,274 acres of land on these reservoirs that is the subject of this 
Plan.
    TVA manages its public lands for conservation, recreation, and 
economic development. The Plan will allocate lands to various 
categories of uses, which will then be used to guide the types of 
activities that will be considered on each parcel of land. This 
allocation will take into account past land use allocations, current 
land uses, public needs, the presence of sensitive environmental 
resources, and TVA policies. By providing a clear statement of how TVA 
intends to manage public lands and by identifying land for specific 
uses, TVA hopes to provide a blueprint for the management of its 
mountain reservoir lands. Plans are submitted to the TVA Board of 
Directors for approval and adopted as guidelines for management of TVA 
public land consistent with the agency's responsibilities under the 
1933 TVA Act.

Potential Alternatives

    The EIS will analyze a range of alternative approaches to land 
allocation. The No Action alternative would continue to rely on the 
Forecast System adopted by TVA in 1965 and subsequently updated for all 
of the subject reservoirs except Fontana, which has never been planned. 
Planned uses under the Forecast System are Dam Reservation, Powerhouse 
Reservation, Public Recreation, Agricultural Research, Industry, 
Construction and Maintenance, Reservoir Operations, and Commercial 
Recreation.
    One or more Action Alternatives are anticipated depending on the 
results of the public scoping. Under any Action Alternative, TVA 
contemplates allocating lands into the following zones: Non-TVA 
Shoreland/Flowage Easement, TVA Project Operations, Sensitive Resource 
Management, Natural Resource Conservation, Industrial, Recreation, and 
Shoreline Access. If there are multiple Action Alternatives, they would 
likely differ in the amount of land they allocate to these zones.
    Under all alternatives, TVA anticipates that lands currently 
committed to a specific use would be allocated to that current use; 
however, changes that support TVA goals and objectives can be 
considered. Committed lands include those with existing long term 
easements, leases, licenses, and contracts; lands with outstanding land 
rights; and lands that are necessary for TVA project operations. The 
committed lands total 5,194 acres or 83 percent of the 6,274 acres 
being planned. The TVA dam reservations and generating facilities make 
up about 47 percent of the committed lands. Uncommitted lands total 
1,080 acres. The uncommitted lands are on Chatuge, Nottely, Hiwassee, 
and Blue Ridge Reservoirs.
    This EIS will tier from TVA's Final EIS, Shoreline Management 
Initiative: An Assessment of Residential Shoreline Development Impacts 
in the Tennessee Valley (November 1998). That EIS evaluated alternative 
policies for managing residential shoreline development on TVA 
reservoirs. Residential shoreline occurs on Chatuge, Hiwassee, Blue 
Ridge, Fontana and Nottely Reservoirs, and the Plan will not affect the 
policies for its management.

Proposed Issues To Be Addressed

    The EIS will contain descriptions of the existing environmental and 
socioeconomic resources within the area that would be affected by the 
Plan. TVA's evaluation of potential impacts to these resources will 
include, but not necessarily be limited to, the potential impacts on 
water quality, water supply, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, 
endangered and threatened species, wetlands, floodplains, recreation, 
aesthetics and visual resources, land use, historic and archaeological 
resources, and socioeconomic resources.

Scoping Process

    Scoping, which is integral to the process for implementing the 
NEPA, is a procedure that solicits public input to the EIS process to 
ensure that: (1) Issues are identified early and properly studied; (2) 
issues of little significance do not consume substantial time and 
effort; (3) the draft EIS is thorough and balanced; and (4) delays 
caused by an inadequate EIS are avoided. TVA's NEPA procedures require 
that the scoping process commence soon after a decision has been 
reached to prepare an EIS in order to provide an early and open process 
for determining the scope and for identifying the significant issues 
related to a proposed action. The range of alternatives and the issues 
to be addressed in the draft EIS will be determined, in part, from 
written comments submitted by mail or e-mail, and comments presented 
orally or in writing at any public meetings. The preliminary 
identification of reasonable alternatives and environmental issues in 
this notice is not meant to be exhaustive or final.
    Additional information on the planning process is available on the 
TVA Web site at http://www.tva.com/environment/reports/mtnres/. This 
material includes a questionnaire that scoping participants are 
requested to complete in order to assist TVA in the planning process.
    The participation of affected Federal, State, and local agencies 
and Indian tribes, as well as other interested persons, is invited. 
Pursuant to the regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation implementing Section 106 of the NHPA, TVA also solicits 
comments on the potential of the proposed Plan to affect historic 
properties. This notice also provides an opportunity under Executive 
Orders 11990 and 11988 for early public review of the potential for 
TVA's Plan to affect wetlands and floodplains, respectively.
    Comments on the scope of this EIS should be submitted no later than 
the date given under the DATES section of this notice. Any comments 
received, including names and addresses, will become part of the 
administrative record and will be available for public inspection.
    TVA will hold a public scoping meeting on June 21, 2007. The open-
house style meeting will be held at the Blairsville Campus of the North 
Georgia Technical College, 434 Meeks Avenue, Blairsville, Georgia.
    Upon consideration of the scoping comments, TVA will develop 
alternatives and identify environmental issues to be addressed in the 
EIS. These will be described in a report that will be available to the 
public. Following analysis of the environmental consequences of each 
alternative, TVA will prepare a draft EIS for public review and 
comment. Notice of availability of the draft EIS will be published by 
the Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal Register. TVA will 
solicit comments on the draft EIS in writing and at public meetings to 
be held in the project area. TVA expects to release the draft EIS in 
the winter of 2008 and the final EIS in the summer of 2008.


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    Dated: May 25, 2007.
Bridgette K. Ellis,
Senior Vice President, Office of Environment and Research.
[FR Doc. E7-10637 Filed 5-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P