Environmental Assessment of Laurel Marina Expansion Available for Public Review
September 21, 2006
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- A draft environmental assessment of the proposed expansion of the Laurel Marina on South Holston Reservoir in Sullivan County, Tennessee, is available for public review and comment.
The proposed facility expansion into King’s Cove would increase the number of double boat slips to 181 and the number of houseboat slips to 30. This expansion would create a maximum storage for 392 new vessels. The environmental assessment also evaluates the impact of constructing a 196-space parking lot using about 80,000 cubic yards of fill material dredged from the reservoir bottom in the area around the existing marina.
Under the proposal, the marina expansion would extend into the reservoir from shoreline property currently licensed to the marina operator for commercial recreation purposes.
The draft environmental assessment was jointly prepared by TVA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the affects of the proposed marina expansion on environmental resources in the area.
A commercial marina has been in existence at this location, in one form or another, since the 1950s. The marina currently houses approximately 500 vessels in Hog Hollow. Approximately 5,250 feet of shoreline within the current harbor limits are licensed to the marina operator.
The draft environmental assessment for the proposed expansion of the marina is available.
The deadline for submitting comments about the draft environmental assessment is Oct. 20. Comments can be mailed to Anne Patrick, Tennessee Valley Authority, 106 Tri-Cities Business Park Drive, Gray, TN 37615. You can also send review comments to Patrick by email at awpatrick@tva.gov. or call her at 423-467-3809.
TVA is the nation’s largest public power provider and is completely self-financed. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve approximately 8.6 million consumers in seven southeastern states. TVA also manages the Tennessee River and its tributaries to provide multiple benefits, including flood damage reduction, navigation, water quality and recreation.
Media Contact
Terry Johnson, Chattanooga, (423) 751-6875
TVA News Bureau, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000
