Final Environmental Assessment

Hallsdale-Powell Utility District

Hallsdale-Powell Reevaluation

The final environmental assessment evaluated the potential effects of a request for Section 26a approval of Hallsdale-Powell Utility District’s proposal to construct and operate a new raw water intake and pump house on Bull Run Creek embayment, Melton Hill Reservoir.  TVA completed an EA and FONSI for this original request in March, 2003.  This FONSI evaluates the potential effects of a change in the applicant's construction plans. 

Click here for the Finding of No Significant Impact (PDF, 136 kb).

Proposed Water Intake Facility, Hallsdale-Powell Utility District (HPUD)

Section 26a approvals and permits under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act

Melton Hill Reservoir, Clinch River Mile 46.3L, Bull Run Creek, Anderson County, Tennessee

The Tennessee Valley Authority, in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has prepared this final environmental assessment to evaluate the impacts of constructing and operating Hallsdale-Powell Utility District’s (HPUD) water intake pipelines and a pump house facility along the left bank of Bull Run Creek Mile 2.0, Melton Hill Reservoir at Clinch River Mile 46.3, Anderson County, Tennessee. TVA would grant approval under Section 26a of the TVA Act and USACE would approve the project under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

HPUD presently supplies potable water to about 23,500 residents and businesses in north Knox, Anderson, and Union Counties. Its entire service area is anticipating growth in residential, commercial, business, and industrial water usage. The proposed HPUD intake would initially withdraw approximately 8 million gallons per day (mgd), with a capacity of 14 mgd. As future water demand dictates, the facility would be upgraded and a third motor and pump would be added to the pump house to eventually withdraw up to 22 mgd. This would allow HPUD to continue to provide safe, potable water to meet use demands for the foreseeable future. The existing intake at Bull Run Creek Mile 3.9 would remain available as a backup unit.

The FEA includes Volumes I and II (Public Comments).

Public and Intergovernmental Review

Public participation opportunities were provided through issuance of an initial public notice, public meetings, and issuance of a draft EA for public review. TVA is making this FEA available to provide the results of its analyses and disclose the final agency decision on the project.

Impact Assessment

Under the No Action Alternative, HPUD would probably still continue to operate the existing water intake for some time into the future while maintaining current withdrawal levels. However, the utility would have to find another source of raw water or it may not be able to continue to supply current and growing needs of the area.

Under the Action Alternative, the construction and operation of a new water intake structure would occur and HPUD would be able to increase its ability to supply water to meet anticipated future demands. The impacts on noise, recreation (safety), transportation (watercraft navigation), water quality, property values and aesthetics would be minor and temporary, provided required conditions and mitigation measures are implemented. The noise and visual impacts would be mitigated. Construction and operation of the facility would not prevent or affect the use of the nearby recreational day-use area licensed to Anderson County.

The intake construction and operations would temporarily interfere with fishing and other water-oriented recreational activities. The intake is designed so that it would not trap or harm swimmers, boats, or aquatic organisms, including fish. The presence of the intake in Bull Run Creek would be marked, and the structures would have adequate water depth for water withdrawal purposes, yet at a depth sufficient to avoid being a hazard to boating. Water quality effects would be minimized by use of best management practices, including a temporary cofferdam. There would be no significant effect on the ambient water temperature or the operation of Bull Run Fossil Plant and its compliance with the thermal limits of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

Mitigation

No significant environmental effects are expected to occur from the proposed project provided the protective commitments and mitigation measures outlined in the FEA are implemented. It has been determined that the General and Standard Conditions included in TVA Section 26a and Land Use approvals (Appendix H), particularly those associated with shoreline modification, water intakes, and best management practices, will be required to prevent or minimize negative impacts. In addition, other mitigation measures found in the FEA have been developed specifically for this project. These measures eliminate or reduce the impacts of noise, recreation (safety), transportation (watercraft navigation), water quality, property values, and aesthetics to a level of insignificance.

Conclusion and Findings

After review of the EA, TVA finds that the impacts of implementing the Action Alternative and issuance of a Section 26a permit to HPUD for construction of the intake on Tract XMHR-80PT, Melton Hill Reservoir, would be insignificant. Resource impacts would be minor and temporary provided required conditions and mitigation measures are implemented.

Documents

The environmental assessment can be viewed by section, as noted below (PDF files, require Adobe Acrobat Reader):

Final environmental assessment – Volume I (456 kb)
Includes the purpose and need, decision, project description, other permit needs, issues addressed, other sites considered, approval needs, public involvement, scoping, comments on the draft environmental assessment, alternatives and comparison, preferred alternative, affected environment, environmental consequences, cumulative impacts, mitigation measures, list of preparers, agencies and others consulted, references, and appendices

Appendix A - Joint Application and Plans (1.6 mb)
Completed application form and project plans

Appendix B – External Review and Coordination (952 kb)
Letters to and from interested agencies

Appendix C – Joint Public Notice (796 kb)
Joint public notice with plans and drawings

Appendix D – Responses to Public Comments (40 kb)
Responses to comment and questions from stakeholders

Appendix E- – Public Meeting (304 kb)
Information announcing and facilitating the January 24, 2002 public meeting

Appendix F – Environmental Decision Record RLR 100330 (32 kb)
TVA environmental decision record (EDR) for documentation of resource effects not covered in detail in the FEA

Appendix G – Bowlby & Associates Inc. Noise Study (1 mb)
Bowlby & Associates Noise Study

Appendix H – General and Standard Conditions (232 kb)
General and Standard Conditions included in TVA Section 26a and Land Use approvals

Final environmental assessment – Volume II (60 kb)
Comments on the proposal were received following the public notice and after public meetings. These comments, received by TVA and USACE, are included in Volume II.

Comments on the public notice by individuals (3.2 mb)

Comments by individuals following public meetings

Part 1 (2 mb)
Part 2 (2.5 mb)
Part 3 (1.7 mb)
Part 4 (1.8 mb)

Printed copies of the entire Hallsdale-Powell Utility District water intake FEA (Volumes I and II) can be made available upon request. To provide comments, obtain more information or a copy of the document, contact Stanford E. Davis, 400 West Summit Hill Dr., WT 8C, Knoxville, TN 37902, or call 865/632-2915 or e-mail sedavis2@tva.gov or tvainfo@tva.gov (Attn: Stanford E. Davis).