[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 179 (Thursday, September 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57100-57102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23610]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


Natural Resource Plan

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

ACTION: Issuance of Record of Decision.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice is provided in accordance with the Council on 
Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts1500 to 1508) and 
TVA's procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act. TVA has decided to adopt the preferred alternative in its final 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Natural Resource Plan 
(NRP). The notice of availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Natural Resource Plan was published in the Federal 
Register on July 15, 2011. The TVA Board of Directors accepted the NRP 
and authorized TVA's Chief Executive Officer to implement the preferred 
alternative at its August 18, 2011, meeting. This alternative, Blended 
Management, will guide TVA's natural resource management over the next 
20 years.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles P. Nicholson, NEPA Compliance 
Manager, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 
11D, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1499, telephone 865-632-3582 or e-mail 
[email protected] ; Helen G. Rucker, Senior Manager, Land and 
Shoreline Management, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill 
Drive, WT 11B, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1499, telephone 865-632-3325 
or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TVA is an agency and instrumentality of the 
United States, established by an act of Congress in 1933, to foster the 
social and economic welfare of the people of the Tennessee Valley 
region and to promote the proper use and conservation of the region's 
natural resources. TVA's threefold mission is to provide affordable and 
reliable power, promote sustainable economic development, and act as 
the steward of the Valley's natural resources. The lands managed by TVA 
in the name of the United States of America are some of the most 
important resources of the

[[Page 57101]]

region. These lands include approximately 293,000 acres associated with 
the TVA reservoir system and approximately 9,100 acres associated with 
TVA electrical generating facilities.
    From its inception through 1998, TVA received federal 
appropriations for its natural resource management activities. Since 
then, the Energy and Water Development Act of 1998 has required TVA to 
fund its ``essential stewardship activities,'' including natural 
resource management, with its revenues from the sale of power and other 
funds. The TVA Act requires the TVA power system to be self-supporting 
and operating on a nonprofit basis and directs TVA to sell power at 
rates as low as are feasible.
    The TVA Environmental Policy adopted in 2008 established six 
strategic objectives and associated critical success factors. Three of 
these strategic objectives, Water Resource Protection and Improvement, 
Sustainable Land Use, and Natural Resource Management, are the focus of 
the NRP. The goals of the NRP are to: (1) Align TVA's natural resource 
stewardship programs and plans with the Environmental Policy; (2) 
provide a strategic plan that guides TVA's resource management 
decisions and actions, integrates stewardship objectives for optimum 
public benefits while developing efficiencies for natural resources, 
and strikes a balance between the competing and sometimes conflicting 
resource uses on TVA-managed lands; (3) increase the efficiency of 
environmental reviews of TVA actions; (4) provide TVA staff with a 
reference manual to guide implementation activities; and (5) provide 
clarity and transparency to the public. The NRP addresses current and 
proposed TVA programs and activities for the management of biological, 
cultural, and water resources, recreation, reservoir lands planning, 
and public engagement.

Alternatives Considered

    Four alternatives for TVA's management of natural resources were 
evaluated in the NRP EIS. These alternatives consist of different 
combinations and levels of implementation of resource management 
programs and activities and approaches to planning the use of TVA 
reservoir lands.
    Alternative A--No Action Alternative: Under this alternative, TVA 
would continue to implement the existing programs and activities and 
would continue to use the current reservoir land planning methods.
    Alternative B--Custodial Management: Under this alternative, TVA 
would implement the programs and activities necessary for compliance 
with TVA's mission and applicable laws, regulations, executive orders, 
and TVA policies. In those areas in which TVA would discontinue 
programs or activities, existing contractual agreements relating to 
those programs and activities would be honored. In addition, TVA would 
transfer the management of some recreational facilities to other 
parties or would close the facilities. Relative to Alternative A, this 
alternative would reduce TVA's level of effort in some areas and 
increase it in others. TVA would continue to use the current reservoir 
land planning methods.
    Alternative C--Flagship Management: Under this alternative, TVA 
would aggressively explore, pilot test, and implement existing and new 
programs and activities to increase its resource management to the 
``gold standard.'' TVA's proactive management of biological, cultural, 
and water resources would be greatly enhanced. Recreation management 
activities would focus on enhancements of existing facilities while 
emphasizing sustainable technologies, development of trails, greenways, 
and access areas, and repair of heavily impacted areas. Reservoir lands 
planning would be based on a Comprehensive Valleywide Land Plan that 
sets systemwide ranges for the proportion of TVA lands allocated to 
various uses.
    Alternative D--Blended Management: Under this alternative, TVA 
would emphasize key programs that are integral toward enhancing future 
implementation efforts while maintaining activities and projects that 
address safety and comply with TVA's mission and applicable laws, 
regulations, executive orders, and TVA policies. The level of effort in 
many program areas would be greater than that of Alternatives A and B, 
and some program and activities would be implemented at the same level 
as Alternative C. Reservoir lands planning would be the same as under 
Alternative C. Alternative D was identified as the preferred 
alternative in the final EIS.

Public Involvement

    On June 15, 2009, TVA published a notice of intent to prepare an 
EIS and to conduct a comprehensive study of its future energy and 
environmental stewardship needs known as the Integrated Resource Plan 
(IRP; Federal Register 76:39470-39472). The IRP had two major 
objectives--to develop a plan for meeting the energy needs of the TVA 
region over the next 20 years and to develop implementation plans for 
achieving the objectives of the Environmental Policy, including those 
focusing on management of natural resources. TVA accepted public 
comments on the scope of the IRP during a 60-day scoping period. 
Shortly after the public scoping period began, TVA decided it would be 
better to address natural resource management activities in a separate 
process and therefore decided to separate the IRP and NRP. TVA held an 
additional 30-day public scoping period for the NRP beginning October 
2, 2009.
    In addition to the public scoping, TVA directly solicited input 
from 11 federal and state natural resource agencies. TVA also used its 
Regional Resource Stewardship Council throughout the development of the 
NRP as an advisory and review group. TVA established the Council in 
1999 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to provide advice to TVA 
on its stewardship activities.
    The notice of availability of the draft NRP and EIS was published 
in the Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(USEPA) on April 1, 2011. TVA accepted comments on the draft NRP and 
EIS until May 16, 2011. During the comment period, TVA held three 
public meetings to describe the project and accept comments. TVA 
received 151 comment submissions on the draft NRP and EIS. After 
careful consideration of and response to all substantive comments, 
refinement of the programs and activities and their levels of intensity 
in the various alternatives, and additional review by the Council, TVA 
issued the final NRP and EIS. The notice of availability for the final 
NRP and EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2011.

Environmentally Preferred Alternative

    Alternative C--Flagship Management is the environmentally preferred 
alternative. This alternative is comprised of the broadest range and 
highest levels of implementation of natural resource management 
programs and activities. Although this alternative would result in the 
greatest level of short-term adverse impacts caused by the various 
management activities, it would result in the greatest beneficial 
impacts and improved conditions for numerous resource areas.

Comments on the Final EIS

    The U.S. Department of Interior (USDOI) and USEPA commented on the 
final NRP and EIS. The USDOI continued to support Alternative C--
Flagship Management for providing greater opportunities for natural 
resource management, recovery, and

[[Page 57102]]

protection. USDOI also encouraged TVA to provide greater transparency 
on future resource stewardship funding. USEPA continued to support 
Alternative C, but accepted TVA's preference for Alternative D. USEPA 
also requested that TVA better engage minority and low-income 
communities during the implementation of the NRP.

Decision

    On August 18, 2011, the TVA Board of Directors determined that the 
preferred Alternative D--Blended Management was in the best interest of 
TVA and approved its implementation. This decision was based on that 
alternative's alignment with TVA's Environmental Policy, its focus on 
certain key programs that establish a baseline for future enhanced 
implementation efforts, and the flexibility it provides for the use of 
partnerships, volunteers, and other sources of funding to leverage 
programs to their full potential while working within resource and 
staff constraints.

Mitigation Measures

    The natural resource management programs and activities associated 
with Alternative D have been designed to result in minimal adverse 
environmental impacts during their implementation and to result in 
long-term beneficial impacts. TVA will conduct site and/or activity-
specific environmental reviews of its actions to implement the NRP and 
incorporate appropriate measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate 
adverse impacts. TVA has developed a programmatic agreement (PA) for 
the management of historic properties affected by the NRP. This PA was 
signed by TVA on July 29, 2011, and by the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation on August 5, 2011. The PA requires that TVA develop and 
implement a Cultural Resources Management Plan within three years. This 
plan will address both TVA's compliance with Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act when implementing the various NRP 
activities and TVA's implementation of the cultural resource management 
programs and activities included in NRP Alternative D--Blended 
Management.

    Dated: September 6, 2011.
Anda A. Ray,
Senior Vice President, Environment and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2011-23610 Filed 9-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P