Proposed Amendment to the Watts Bar Reservoir Land Management Plan

TVA proposes to change the land use allocations for six parcels of public land on Watts Bar Reservoir, affecting a total of 226 acres of TVA land in Rhea and Roane counties in east Tennessee

Update March 29, 2019

TVA has released a final Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) that considers the environmental impacts associated with proposed changes to the land use allocations on six parcels of TVA public land affecting 226 acres on Watts Bar Reservoir.

Now that the environmental review is complete, the next step is for TVA executive management and the TVA Board of Directors to review and approve the final Watts Bar Reservoir Land Plan Amendment (Amendment).

The draft Amendment included updated parcel descriptions for the 10 parcels associated with the proposed allocation changes (Parcels 89, 89a, 144, 153, 197, 197a, 256, 256a, 271, 271a) described below. The final Amendment will include updated parcel descriptions for all 367 Watts Bar Reservoir parcels.

Proposed Allocation Changes

TVA-managed public lands on Watts Bar Reservoir are within Loudon, Meigs, Rhea, and Roane counties in east Tennessee and the proposed allocation changes are on parcels within Rhea and Roane counties. The final SEA considers the environmental impacts associated with the proposed modifications to the land use allocations for the following parcels in the table below. Click on the parcel number below for additional information.

Parcel
Acreage
Current Allocation
Proposed Allocation Change Description
8935.0Zone 4—Natural Resource ConservationChange 0.4-acre portion of the 35.0-acre parcel to Zone 7—Shoreline Access
144172.3Zone 3—Sensitive Resource ManagementChange 172.3 acres to Zone 2—Project Operations
15340.6Excluded from 2009 RLMP

Change entire 40.6-acre parcel to Zone 7 - Shoreline Access

19736.8Zone 7—Shoreline AccessChange 10.2-acre portion (new Parcel 197a) of the 36.8-acre Parcel 197 to Zone 6 - Developed Recreation
25634.2Zone 7—Shoreline AccessChange 0.1-acre portion (new Parcel 256a) of the 34.2-acre Parcel 256 to Zone 4 – Natural Resource Conservation
27114.0Zone 4—Natural Resource Conservation   Change 2.4-acre portion (new Parcel 271a) of the 14.0-acre Parcel 271 to Zone 6 – Developed Recreation

The proposed land use allocation changes are consistent with the land use allocation ranges in the Comprehensive Valleywide Land Plan (CVLP). The CVLP allocates a certain percentage of land for each of the seven land use zones (with the exception of Zone 1, Non-TVA Shoreland) across the entire Valley.

Environmental Review

After reviewing and considering the public’s input, TVA has prepared a final SEA to analyze the environmental consequences of the proposed allocation changes. This environmental review is a supplement to the 2009 Watts Bar Reservoir Land Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.

Watts Bar Land Plan Amendment Final Supplemental EA:

Watts Bar Land Plan Amendment

Now that the environmental review is complete, the next step is for TVA executive management and the TVA Board of Directors to review and approve the final Amendment. Upon approval, the final Amendment will be posted on this Webpage.

The draft Amendment below includes updated parcel descriptions for the 10 parcels associated with the proposed allocation changes. The final Amendment will include updated parcel descriptions for all 367 Watts Bar Reservoir parcels.

Maps

Individual parcel allocations can be examined on the maps below:

Contacts

For more information about reservoir lands planning, please contact:

Kelly R. Baxter
Senior Specialist, Reservoir Lands Planning
Tennessee Valley Authority
400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11A
Knoxville, Tenn. 37902
(865) 632-2444
krbaxter@tva.gov

For more information about the environmental review, please contact:

Douglas White
NEPA Program and Valley Projects
Tennessee Valley Authority
400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11B
Knoxville, Tennessee 37902
(865) 632-2252
wdwhite0@tva.gov