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Proposed Elk River Marina
Project
This is a proposal for a privately owned
marina on 91-acres of primitive TVA land on the west bank of the
Elk River just north of the Tennessee River. The proposal calls for
four docks with 40 covered boat slips and 10 uncovered boat slips for
sailboats. Also proposed are a concrete wave break, a concrete trash
break with fuel dock, two fishing-mooring piers, dredging and a
retaining wall, launching ramp and a possible future 50 additional boat
slips. Plans for the upland property include the construction of roads,
an RV park (potential of 200 campsites), "nature trails", a marina
store, restaurant, and boat dry storage facility.
9/27/07 TVA Board of Directors approve new TVA Land Policy for Zone-6 Recreation
The Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Elk River Resort (Marina) was released on 3/17/06. See them at http://www.tva.com/environment/reports/elkriver/
As expected, they ignore most of the community objections described in
the many comments sent to them over the past several months. This paves
the way for TVA to approve this project. But it's not too late to stop
it. The final decision is up to the TVA Board of Directors. They can
choose to respect the opinions of the community. Write to the TVA
Board and your elected representatives ( see Write to the TVA Board of Directors below). Let them know what you think and how you feel.
8/15/06: Letter to Gov. Riley Re: Elk River Marina Project
8/14/06: Letters to TVA Community Relations Committee Re: Land Use Policy
6/1/06: Letter from WildLaw Sandra Nichols to TVA Board of Directors Re: Elk River Resort
Recent News Article Re: Elk River Marina
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060618/land.shtml
http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/11458701185440.xml?huntsvilletimes?nlocal&coll=1
http://timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/NEWS/604030310/-1/ARCHIVES30
http://www.enewscourier.com/local/local_story_082200517.html
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060322/tva.shtml
http://timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051017/NEWS/510170336/1011
What you can do:
o Read the objections compiled by WildLaw attorneys Jason Totoiu and Sandra Nichols here.
Help us prepare for a legal challenge to the proposed project by
making a tax deductible contribution to the WildSouth Elk River Legal
Defense Fund.
o Read the excellent comments by John Crowder, Tom Haggerty and the comments of neighbors in Compendium of
Objections to get an
overview of why many people oppose it.
o Write to the TVA Board of Directors
and let them know how you feel
about the project. The final and ultimate decision is up to them. They
can decide to deny the application simply because they do not consider
it to be in the public interest. Their address is: Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 W. Summit
Hill Dr, Knoxville, TN 37902-1499. See TVA sample letters. Note:
these letters are the most important contribution you can make to this
effort. Please help by writing. This will most likely be the last
chance to voice your objection to the marina. There is no time
limit on sending letters to the TVA Board of Directors. The existing
directors at the time the decision is made will make the final
decision. Also consider contacting Senators Richard Shelby, Jeff Sessions and Congressman Bud Cramer whose
district encompasses the project. Let them know that you consider them
accountable for TVA depredations in their districts. Read Other Sample Letters . Read the comments of Lamar Marshal, Executive Director of Wild South.
o Join
the Shoals Environmental Alliance.
On the line for "INTERESTS" indicate the Rogersville
Special Interest Group or Elk River Marina.
o Check back here
frequently for updates and action items. Contact us
at ShoalsEnvironmentalAlliance@yahoo.com with
questions & comments.
o Spread the word about
this project. Tell you friends and neighbors.
View photos of an area that will soon be gone if we don't act now. Here
are the photos of the proposed site:
erm009a.jpg
erm010a.jpg erm011a.jpg erm012a.jpg
erm013a.jpg erm020a.jpg erm022a.jpg
erm023a.jpg .
erm024a.jpg
erm025a.jpg erm030a.jpg erm033a.jpg erm027a.jpg
erm028a.jpg erm029a.jpg
erm034a.jpg .
Here are photos of the road leading to the proposed site entrance going
from the entrance north toward U.S.72:
road02.jpg
road03.jpg road04.jpg
road05.jpg road06.jpg
road07.jpg road08.jpg
road09.jpg .
Here are photos of shore erosion
that will be worsened by the increased boat activity resulting from the
proposed project:
erro01.jpg
erro02.jpg erro03.jpg erro04.jpg
erro05.jpg erro06.jpg erro07.jpg
erro08.jpg .
Here are photos of children playing in the road leading to the proposed site:
kids001.jpg kids002.jpg kids003.jpg kids004.jpg kids005.jpg
Here are photos of ginseng plants
at the proposed site. We found thirty plants in less than an hour. They
are a protected species of plant.
gins01.jpg
gins05.jpg gins06.jpg
gins07.jpg gins08.jpg
gins09.jpg gins10.jpg
gins11.jpg gins12.jpg
.
o An underwater
survey of the riverbed at site dredging site for the marina found
several species of mussels. Does TVA care? See the photos here:
Mussel024.jpg Mussel039.jpg Mussel042.jpg Mussel064.jpg Mussel157.jpg Mussel160.jpg Mussel174.jpg Mussel192.jpg
o Browse the Draft
Environmental Assessment for the project, available here. For a general location overview see this map .
Lastest Press Release:
Apr.23: Covered Dish Rally and Spring Nature Walk This is probably one of the last
opportunities to see this area in spring bloom in its current
undisturbed state.
Past Press Releases
Other Information:
Read about American Bald Eagles sighted
at the proposed
marina site. Read a letter and the affidavits here. (88k)
The initial public notice for this project, made available to the public
on the TVA web site can be found at:
Elk River Marina JPN However, this .pdf document does
not include any of the exhibits included with the printed copy. It is
therefor not possible for the public to understand the scope of
the proposed project without the exhibits. We have scanned those four
exhibits and include them here: Exhibit-A
Exhibit-B Exhibit-C
Exhibit-D Please view them while
reading the public notice. For a general location overview see this map. If you have trouble accessing the
Elk River Marina JPN directly, click here
for a version that you can read directly in your browser.
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