Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge Bridge

French Broad River, Knox County, Tennessee

On September 18, 2009, TVA released a final environmental assessment (FEA) and issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for a request by Knox County to construct a pedestrian bridge across the French Broad River at the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in east Knox County.  The proposed bridge would connect two areas of the refuge separated by the river and would provide easy access to the refuge to visitors located on the west bank without the need to drive an additional 45 minutes.  The request is subject to TVA approval under Section 26a of the TVA Act.

TVA released a draft environmental assessment (DEA) in October 2007, and all comments received were addressed in the FEA.  Since release of the DEA, Knox County presented a new suspension-type bridge design that would reduce the potential for adverse effects to water quality and aquatic life.  The potential environmental effects of implementing four options, including a No Action Alternative and two different bridge designs were evaluated in the FEA.

Documents

PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Finding of No Significant Impacts (74 kb)

Final Environmental Assessment (2.7 mb)

Appendix A (502 kb)
Correspondence Associated with Coordination and Consultation

Appendix B (697 kb)
Comments Received on the Draft Environmental Assessment and TVA’s Responses to those comments.

Appendix C (216 kb) and Appendix D (602 kb)
Permits

Appendix E (2.3 mb)
Design Drawings – Alternative B and C

Appendix F (26 kb)
Scenic Value Criteria for Inventory and Management

Appendix G (19 kb)
Definitions of Outstandingly Remarkable Values

Appendix H (817 kb)
Memorandum of Agreement

Contact Information

To receive a printed copy of the document, contact:
James F. Williamson, Jr., Senior NEPA Specialist
Tennessee Valley Authority
400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11D
Knoxville, Tennessee 37902
jfwilliamson@tva.gov
Phone: (865) 632-6418; fax (865) 632-3451