KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ― The Tennessee Valley Authority has released the draft vegetation management environmental assessment for fiscal year 2024 and is accepting public comments regarding the activities on its transmission rights-of-way through September 25. 

TVA uses an Integrated Vegetation Management approach to promote the establishment of a meadow-like environment along its ROWs with vegetation that does not interfere with the safe and reliable operation of the transmission system. This IVM approach uses a mix of EPA-approved herbicides applied selectively to incompatible vegetation, mechanical clearing and manual clearing.

The TVA power service area offers a great diversity of vegetation which can interfere with electric power flow, pose safety issues for TVA and members of the public, or interfere with TVA’s ability to maintain its transmission system. To ensure that electric service to the public is not disrupted by outages on its transmission lines, TVA must keep vegetation away from the electric power facilities.

Routine, periodic vegetation management of the transmission system rights-of-way allows low-growing compatible vegetation to establish and propagate while reducing the presence of woody species. Compatible trees and shrubs would be allowed in areas maintained actively by landowners (such as residential lands, orchards, forest plantations, agricultural lands, or other similar areas).

The draft Environmental Assessment is available on the TVA website at tva.com/nepa or from TVA National Environmental Policy Act, 1101 Market Street, BR 2C, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37402. Contact  Anita Masters, TVA NEPA Compliance Project Manager for more information at [email protected].

TVA is investing over $15 billion over the next three years and building 3,800 megawatts of new generation by 2028 to meet the region’s growth. Proper right-of-way maintenance helps ensure power reliability as TVA and builds the energy grid of the future that will continue to provide clean, low-cost power.