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In 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt first
proposed the idea of TVA, he called for an agency “to be charged
with the broadest duty of planning for the proper use, conservation,
and development of the natural resources of the Tennessee River drainage
basin and its adjoining territory.” The language of the TVA Act
reflects a deep respect for the natural world, describing the “unity
with which nature herself regards her resources—the waters, the
land, and the forests together, a ‘seamless web’ . . . of
which one strand cannot be touched without affecting every other strand
for good or ill.”
These words describing the principles of sustainable development have
guided TVA for 67 years, and today we remain as committed as ever to
the values they express. In the 1930s, TVA’s challenge was to reclaim
the Valley’s eroded farmlands and forests, control devastating
floods, establish a navigable waterway to connect the region to faraway
markets, and to provide low-cost electric power to rural areas that
until that time had none. TVA became a pioneer in integrated resource
stewardship, creating a balance among the recreational, environmental,
and industrial uses of the reservoir water behind its dams.
TVA’s challenge in the 21st century lies in maintaining the balance
between our mission of supplying low-cost, reliable electric power and
our duties as conservators of the region’s natural resources. As
you read this first Annual Environmental Report, we hope you’ll
agree that TVA’s overall efforts in recent years have been commendable.
At the same time, we recognize that there is still much to be done.
Emissions are among the top concerns for all power providers. As the
nation’s largest single producer of electric power, we recognize
that TVA is part of the problem—but it’s also a key part of
the solution. Over the years the agency has spent $2.5 billion to reduce
air emissions, and we’re continually working to find cost-effective
ways of further improving air quality. Reports on TVA’s approach
to these kinds of key environmental issues include the Environmental
Protection Agency’s air-quality enforcement initiative, reportable
environmental events, auditing
and compliance, and the Toxics
Release Inventory.
As a place-centered public power enterprise, TVA has always embraced
its responsibility to serve and protect the public interest. Since the
agency’s founding, we’ve taken pride in our mission to integrate
the management of the Tennessee Valley’s natural resources and
protect them for the benefit of generations to come. We know that the
consequences of what we do today will be felt tomorrow by our friends,
our families, our neighbors, and ourselves. In the coming era of a restructured
electric-utility industry, we believe that TVA will play a valuable
role in ensuring that utilities, public and private, put as much emphasis
on environmental responsibility as they do on the bottom line.
Craven
Crowell, Chairman, Board of Directors
Skila Harris, Board of Directors
Glenn L. McCullough Jr., Board of Directors
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Director Skila Harris,
Chairman Craven Crowell, Director Glenn McCullough Jr.
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