500-kV Transmission Line in Middle Tennessee

Cumberland-Montgomery 500-kV Transmission Line

On October 20, 2005, the Tennessee Valley Authority issued a Record of Decision for its proposal to construct and operate a new 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in northwest Middle Tennessee.  TVA has decided to implement Alternative 1, as described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and construct and operate the new transmission line between Cumberland Fossil Plant in Stewart County, and TVA’s Montgomery 500-kV Substation in Montgomery County.  The 38.5-mile transmission line will be constructed within Corridor B and on the Cumberland River South and Industrial Park Central alternative alignments.

Continued growth in Middle Tennessee, as well as the addition of new generating facilities in the western portion of the TVA system, is forecasted to exceed the capacity of the area’s high-voltage 500-kV transmission system and endanger generating equipment. The new transmission line will remedy this situation, and is targeted to be in service by November 2007.

TVA issued a Final EIS (see below) for this project in July, 2005.  The EIS evaluates the potential impacts of two action alternatives involving a new transmission line, as well as the No Action Alternative. The two action alternatives are: 1) a new transmission line between TVA’s Cumberland Fossil Plant in Stewart County and TVA’s Montgomery 500-kV Substation in northeast Montgomery County; and 2) a new transmission line between Cumberland Fossil Plant and TVA’s Davidson 500-kV Substation in southwest Davidson County. The EIS also evaluates four potential transmission line corridors, from 32 to 45 miles long, within Alternative 1, and two potential corridors, 50 and 51 miles long, within Alternative 2.  TVA’s preferred alternative, as identified in the Draft EIS (see below) issued in April 2003, is Alternative 1, the Cumberland-Montgomery area, and within that alternative, Corridors B and D.

The Final EIS supplements the analyses in the Draft EIS by adding detailed descriptions and impacts analyses of transmission line routes within Cumberland-Montgomery Corridors B and D. TVA’s preferred route is the Cumberland-Montgomery Corridor B route. This 38.5-mile route would leave Cumberland Fossil Plant on the south side, turn east and cross the Cumberland River south of Clarksville near Hurricane Creek and Muddy Branch, then turn northeast and cross Interstate 24 before entering the Montgomery 500-kV Substation.

Documents

PDF files, require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Record of Decision (PDF, 62 kb)

Final Enivironmental Impact Statement

Introduction and summary (PDF, 170 kb)
Includes abstract, summary, table of contents, and lists of tables and figures.

Chapter 1: Purpose and Need for Action (PDF, 196 kb)
Purpose, background, issues to be addressed, and other introductory material.

Chapter 2: Alternatives (PDF, 1.7 Mb)
Detailed description of each alternative, corridor and route maps, comparison of alternatives, and TVA’s preferred alternative.

Chapter 3: Affected Environment (PDF, 317 kb)
Descriptions of the existing resources and other pertinent features along study area corridors and routes.

Chapter 4: Environmental Consequences (PDF, 927 kb)
Descriptions of the potential effects of each alternative on each resource area.

Chapters 5 – 7 (PDF, 143 kb)
List of preparers, EIS recipients, references, glossary, and index.

Appendices A-H, J (PDF, 1.6 mb)
Supporting information including TVA environmental quality specifications for transmission line and substation construction.

Appendix I – Response to Public Comments (PDF, 216 kb)

Draft EIS

Introduction Summary and Table of Contents (PDF, 152 kb)
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need for Action (PDF, 628 kb)
Chapter 2: Alternatives (PDF, 1 mb)
Chapter 3: Affected Environment (PDF, 228 kb)
Chapter 4: Environmental Consequences (PDF, 144 kb)
Chapters 5 – 7 (PDF, 108 kb)
Appendices (PDF, 868 kb)

Contact

For more information, contact:

Charles P. Nicholson
Tennessee Valley Authority
400 W. Summit Hill Dr. WT 9B
Knoxville, TN 37902-1401

Phone: 865-632-3582
E-mail: cpnicholson@tva.gov