TVA Blows Off Its Mission in Favor of Harassing Citizens

Above is a picture of a derelict barge loaded with dock construction debris that careened between boat lifts belonging neighbors for weeks. The dock in the picture was visibly damaged by it.

As shown in the magnified image, the barge was plainly visible to the TVA employees operating the Fort Loudoun Dam since it first entered the main channel weeks before. They presumably monitor the channel for hazards to navigation and shoreline installations, at the very least to prevent intake into the turbines and lock. A TWRA agent inspecting the derelict barge onsite said that TVA has the responsibility and resources for dealing with such hazards, including both the necessary equipment as well as the authority and investigators needed to determine which barge construction firm it belongs to.

The TWRA agent said he would notify TVA. A week later, TVA had not lifted a finger to remove the derelict barge. It eventually floated back into the main channel when the wind changed.

This is yet more evidence that TVA’s priorities are misplaced. It has abdicated a key mission - expeditiously eliminating hazards to navigation and shoreline installations - instead expending resources to dispatch multiple agents and vehicles to, say, traverse private property to place a destruction notice on private property wholly on private property that had been approved by the proper TVA officials in advance that only became an issue when TVA wanted to retaliate for exercising the Constitutional right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.