Land and Shorelines

The Tennessee River system, developed by TVA, is a network of dams and reservoirs that generates power, controls flooding, provides recreational opportunities and boosts the regional and national economies.

The river system has 11,000 miles of public shoreline, and under Section 26a of the TVA Act, TVA has the authority to regulate land use and development along that shoreline. Access to the resources of the Tennessee River system will remain a valuable attraction only as long as those resources are properly managed and protected.

In September 2006, the TVA Board proposed a new policy that would govern planning, retention and disposal of lands under its stewardship. See the TVA Land Policy.

TVA carries out its management responsibilities through the following means:

• A network of regional watershed offices handle questions about the use of TVA-managed land.
• A system for gathering public comments on requests for private or public use of TVA lands: See Public Notices.
• A series of fact sheets on Riparian Restoration to help shoreline property owners create landscaping that is attractive and also helps control erosion and pollution. A new feature of the site is the native plant selector, a guide to plants suitable for landscaping in the Tennessee Valley region.
• The work of the TVA Cultural Resources staff to protect more than 9,000 archaeological sites on TVA land.

For general information about shoreline property and public land, send an e-mail message to eic@tva.gov.