NEPA at TVA

The National Environmental Policy Act requires TVA and other federal agencies to consider the impacts of its actions on the human environment before making decisions. The NEPA process is intended to help agency official make better decisions based on an understanding of the environmental consequences, and take actions that protect, restore, and enhance the human environment.

TVA conducts three types of environmental reviews under NEPA:

• An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is prepared for major federal actions that have the potential for significant environmental impacts or significant public controversy about those impacts. The EIS has multiple opportunities for public involvement.
• An Environmental Assessment (EA) is prepared if a proposed action does not qualify for a Categorical Exclusion. TVA often prepares an EA describing anticipated environmental impacts. If the impacts are determined to be insignificant, a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is issued. If the impacts are determined to be significant, the proposed action may be rejected or modified, or TVA may decide to prepare an EIS. The majority of the projects are EAs, and many of them have opportunities for public involvement.
• Categorical Exclusions (CEs) are proposed actions that would not normally have, individually or cumulatively, a significant impact on the environment and for which no unusual or exceptional circumstances exist. These activities are listed in TVA’s NEPA procedures (PDF, 90 kb). TVA documents the review of many of these actions with a Categorical Exclusion Checklist. The projects listed on this site include those that may qualify for a CE and that have opportunities for public involvement.

Please direct questions or comments to:

Charles P. Nicholson
NEPA Program Manager
Tennessee Valley Authority
400 West Summit Hill Dr., WT 11B
Knoxville, TN 37902-1499
865-632-3592
E-mail: cpnicholson@tva.gov

Bruce L. Yeager
NEPA Program Manager
Tennessee Valley Authority
400 West Summit Hill Dr., WT 11B
Knoxville, TN 37902-1499
865-632-8041
E-mail: blyeager@tva.gov

Related Documents

Text of the National Environmental Policy Act

Council of Environmental Quality regulations for implementing NEPA

TVA procedures for implementing NEPA (PDF, 90 kb)

Council of Environmental Quality Citizen's Guide to the NEPA