By Marcia Barnes, Clay County Progress
The Tennessee Valley Authority has scheduled four meetings, which include communities in western North Carolina and north Georgia surrounding Lake Chatuge.
The TVA is amid a Chatuge Dam Safety Project and hopes to hear from the public at two virtual meetings and two public meetings, which will be held in Clay County and Towns County, Ga. A question that has come up is, has the TVA studied the economic impact per year of the construction and reservoir draw down?
Socioeconomic impacts are a standard component of National Environmental Protection Act reviews, and this analysis will inform TVA’s final decision. TVA Media Specialist, Adam May said the agency understands the economic, environmental and personal value of the dam and its reservoir to those in the nearby community as well as those downstream.
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The Chatuge Dam safety study is scheduled to be completed in 2026, and work on a potential solution could begin as early as late 2027. There are five options for completing the required work, which were detailed in a previous report.
An in-person TVA open house will be held in Hayesville from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Clay County Schools Cafeteria, behind the Hayesville Middle School gym adjacent to Hayesville High School, 205 Yellow Jacket Drive. Informational booths and materials with subject experts present to answer questions will be the format. No formal presentation is scheduled.
The TVA open house in Towns County will be held from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Town County Recreation Center, 150 Foster Park Road in Young Harris, Ga. The format is informational, with booths and materials; no formal presentation is scheduled for the open house.
From 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15, a virtual meeting format will be held, with a question-and-answer session featuring subject matter expert presenters. The live link will be available at tva.com/nepa.
A meeting was held by savelakechatuge.org on April 22 in The Ridges Resort community room that attracted so many people some had to be turned away.
Details: Visit tva.com.