Today I learned about the TVA Act of 1933 and Section 26a of the Act. 26a deals with the permitting process for approving boat docks, slips, and other facilities that landowners can construct on shoreline adjacent to TVA reservoirs. For your information, we do not refer to large bodies of water in the Tennessee Valley as lakes; they are reservoirs. The distinction is simple: lakes are natural (there is only one natural lake in all of TN), reserviors are man-made (i.e., impounded). I also learned that we can mitigate EVERYTHING and we can finalize an ROD (record of decision) for ANYTHING that undergoes the NEPA process. For those of you that don't know, NEPA is the law that requires any federal agency to undergo environmental review and public scoping when an action will "significantly" affect the biophysical and cultural resources, and socio-economic fabric in the area of consideration. Often times an action does not require NEPA since many actions are categorically excluded from that kind of review. There are many 26a permits that are categorically excluded from NEPA review, and I will spend about 1/4 of my job denying and approving 26a permits. I'll be spending a lot of time drafting NEPA documents including impact analyses, action alternatives, as well as collecting public opinion - this is good stuff. I work with a team of watershed and landuse specialists, wildlife biologists, and environmental scientists to manage TVA land, shoreline, and reservoirs. I am the recreation specialist. Together we are the Holston-Cherokee-Douglas Watershed Team and we have a large geographic scope under our "jurisdiction". I use jurisdiction loosely, because eventhough we are the Tennessee Valley AUTHORITY, we have NO authority. The state, counties, and the Army Corps are the authoritative bodies. In any event, in our jurisdiction, there are reservoirs that do and do not produce hydro-electric power; those that do not are simply storage reservoirs. TVA manages 11000 miles of shoreline and 239000 acres of land adjacent to its reservoirs in the Tennessee Valley Watershed. Me and my team manage ~20 percent of that, and our portion extends into KY, VA, NC but for the most part is in TN. Two large reservoirs are in the heart of our watershed, Cherokee and Douglas.

Tomorrow I am going on a pontoon tour of the Chickamauga Reservoir (located near Chattanooga). Yes I am going to get on a MOTORIZED boat and go through a beautiful WILD area, the Gorge on the Chickamauga. It sounds sinful, and it is, but I work for a power company and we aren't trying to save the world here. Driving a motorized boat pays my bills, and since I am here now maybe in the future TVA will: 1) zone reservoirs for non-motorized use too; b) consider crowding and recreation conflict issues; and c) consider the quality of visitor experiences in high use, motorized areas. I am still new here so I am a bit overly optimistic. More to come.