Proposed Revision to the Tims Ford Reservoir Land Management Plan

Note: The Public Scoping Comment Period closed August 9th, 2024.  Another public comment period will be available (anticipated in 2025) when the draft Reservoir Land Management Plan will be available for review and an in-person meeting is planned as part of that public comment period.  

TVA proposes to revise the 2000 Tims Ford Reservoir Land Management Plan (RLMP) by reviewing all existing allocations of TVA land in order to address legacy issues such as Zone 8s, grandfathered docks, and the transfer of lands between the State of Tennessee and TVA as well as update the lands plan to current standards and respond to changes in conditions and circumstances.  See the sidebar for links to the current RLMP, including the environmental review and the Board-approved maps.  Please note that you will also see the 2000 RLMP referred to as the 2000 Reservoir Land Management and Disposition Plan.  These are the same documents but the updated version will be referred to as a RLMP. 

The proposed revision would be consistent with the TVA Land Policy, Natural Resource Plan (NRP), Comprehensive Valleywide Land Plan, and TVA’s goals for managing natural resources on public lands. RLMPs guide land use approvals, private water-use facility permitting, and resource management decisions on TVA-managed public land.

Proposed Changes

Zone 8s - Tims Ford is the only reservoir that has the Zone 8 allocation.  Zone 8 criteria and permitting restrictions are complex and often poorly understood by potential applicants.  Due to historical issues or existing conditions, some parcels may never meet the criteria or permitting restrictions necessary for TVA to permit a community facility on the parcel, as originally envisioned.  To address these issues, TVA would like to consider changes to Zone 8s.  Possible options include considering the reallocation of portions or whole parcels that never met the RLMP Zone 8 criteria to Zone 4 (Natural Resource Conservation), consider removal of the conservation easement requirement, and/or consider more flexibility in the size and type of permissible facilities (including where grandfathered facilities exist on the parcel). Please note this is not a full list of options and more options may be considered depending on public input.  For more information about Zone 8s, please reference the 2000 RLMP and EIS or the Zone 8 FAQs here.

Grandfathered docks - Grandfathered docks are existing facilities that were permitted prior to the lands plan and are currently fronting land allocated for use other than Zone 7 (Shoreline Access or Residential Access).  New water-use facilities cannot be permitted in those zones, but TVA honors previous permits as long as the facilities are constructed in accordance with the previous permit.  On other reservoirs, holders of grandfathered dock permits may request modifications to their permits in accordance with Section 26a regulations.  Tims Ford is the only reservoir that restricts grandfathered docks to the size at which they were originally permitted.  TVA is considering whether or not to update the language in the lands plan to allow some flexibility in the permitting of the grandfathered docks; however, if approved, all grandfathered docks would be subject to Section 26a regulations and should not exceed 1,000 square feet in footprint.  For more information about Grandfathered docks, please reference the 2000 RLMP and EIS or the Grandfathered Dock FAQs here. 

Other proposed changes - TVA is also proposing to 1) Update lands planning maps to reflect the changes in ownership due to the transfer of lands that occurred between the State of Tennessee and TVA in 2010; 2) Update allocations in accordance with current seven-zone allocation system (with Zone 8s yet to be determined); 3) Update parcel allocations in accordance with current planning standards including, but not limited to, allocating existing roads and transmission lines to Zone 2 (Project Operations) and updating Zone 3 (Sensitive Resource Management) and Zone 4 (Natural Resource Conservation) parcels to reflect the level of sensitive resources currently documented; and 4) Allocating lands, where appropriate, to Zone 6 (Developed Recreation) to facilitate public recreation development.  Additional changes may be considered based on public input submitted to TVA during the scoping period.

Tims Ford RLMP FAQs

Environmental Scoping

TVA intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) addressing the environmental impacts of the proposed revision to the Tims Ford RLMP. TVA invited the public from June 10th through August 9th, 2024, to review the proposed changes and to submit comments, questions, or suggestions on the proposal. Action Alternative(s) may be developed based on public input submitted to TVA during the scoping period. 

Interactive Map

Use the GIS Viewer Map to find individual parcels and land use allocations for TVA reservoir property.  Click on individual parcels to find out more information about a piece of TVA property.  Please note that parcel descriptions are included in the interactive map viewer for convenience but may have been altered from the original description due to character length restrictions.  Please see the Tims Ford RLMP in the sidebar for the complete parcel descriptions.  Also, please note that parcel descriptions are representative of the time in which the plan was written; some information may be out of date such as available facilities or names of commercial operations.

Please note that many tracts of land in the Tims Ford RLMP do not have parcel numbers or parcel descriptions.  These areas were planned with unique allocation types such as “Deeded Access Subdivisions” and “Parks (State and Local)” due to the partnership effort with TDEC.  However, these unique allocation types have been interpreted for the public’s convenience using TVA’s current allocation system.

View Larger Map

How to Use the Viewer Map (PDF)

Contacts

For more information about reservoir lands planning, please contact:

Lesley M. Webb
Senior Specialist
Tennessee Valley Authority
2835-A East Wood Street

Paris, Tennessee 38242
[email protected]

For more information about the environmental review, please contact:

Kelly Baxter
NEPA Compliance Specialist
[email protected]

For information related to other TVA matters, please contact:

TVA Public Lands Information Center
800-882-5263
[email protected]