TVA Release on Aquatic Plant Management (Nick and Gunny)

Chattanooga Fishing Forum

Help Support Chattanooga Fishing Forum:

team-d

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
819
Location
Chattanooga
This came out today in the TVA bulletin...</p>

<font size="2">TVA Revises Aquatic-Plant Management on Two Reservoirs
</font>
Beginning in summer of 2009, TVA will no longer provide herbicide treatments or use mechanical harvesting methods to manage aquatic plants along private and commercially developed shoreline on Nickajack Reservoir near Chattanooga and Guntersville Reservoir in northeastern Alabama.

TVA will continue to treat reservoir areas the general public uses for recreation, such as boat ramps, parks and swimming beaches.

TVA continues to look for ways to minimize the impact of rising energy costs on ratepayers. One of the ways that has been identified is to discontinue certain aquatic-plant-management activities that support private interests.

“To focus TVA’s resources on achieving the greatest benefit for the public, we will no longer be able to fund this courtesy service for private and commercial facilities,” says TVA’s Office of Environment & Research Senior Vice President Anda Ray. “However, we recognize that the affected homeowners and businesses will need time to make other arrangements so that they, too, can continue to enjoy the benefits of these manmade reservoirs.”

TVA will continue to work in partnership with local stakeholders to help develop options to manage aquatic weeds around private docks in residential areas and commercial facilities.

Working with stakeholder groups around Guntersville and Nickajack reservoirs, TVA will determine where and how much treatment is needed around public-access and recreation areas. Mechanical harvester and herbicide treatments of aquatic plants typically begin in June and end in September.

Regulating the application of herbicides in public waters is a state responsibility. However, TVA will continue to provide technical assistance for aquatic-plant management to support use of appropriate herbicides and application methods.

Each state maintains a list of applicators that are licensed to apply herbicides in aquatic environments. TVA suggests that persons or groups with private and commercial interests work with the appropriate state agency to determine the rules for application of approved herbicides to manage aquatic weeds.
</p>
 
Guy's I am a grass fisherman, seldom do I fish the Chick, I am however torn on this isuue, I grew up fishing Bennett and mullins cove, for last 30 years. I have never seen as much grass as there are now. I have seen vegitation actually choke a lake out down in Florida. Orange Lake use to be a good lake, look at it now. I will be the first to tell you I don't know what the answer is. I just wish it would come back on the chick, but I don't think anyone wants to see it like it was before it was all kiiled out. This may now have to become a State government issue.
 
Possum - 11/17/2008 12:09 PM

Guy's I am a grass fisherman, seldom do I fish the Chick, I am however torn on this isuue, I grew up fishing Bennett and mullins cove, for last 30 years. I have never seen as much grass as there are now. I have seen vegitation actually choke a lake out down in Florida. Orange Lake use to be a good lake, look at it now. I will be the first to tell you I don't know what the answer is. I just wish it would come back on the chick, but I don't think anyone wants to see it like it was before it was all kiiled out. This may now have to become a State government issue.

You are right in that there can be to much grass. I think TVA needs to rethink this issue and not give 500,000.00 dollar bonuses to the CEO. TVA needs to fulfill it's charter and maintain the waterways for travel and recreation.
 
"You are right in that there can be to much grass. I think TVA needs to rethink this issue and not give 500,000.00 dollar bonuses to the CEO. TVA needs to fulfill it's charter and maintain the waterways for travel and recreation."


Agree completely.
 
These private companies that will be paid by property owners, to spray the grass, do not have a vested interest in the waterway like TVA does. As stakeholders ( we all are) we need to keep a close eye on these companies and make sure they follow regs. Dont be mistaken that this is news that TVA is cutting out spraying because they love bass. They are simply cutting cost.
 
churly - 11/17/2008 4:33 PM

These private companies that will be paid by property owners, to spray the grass, do not have a vested interest in the waterway like TVA does. As stakeholders ( we all are) we need to keep a close eye on these companies and make sure they follow regs. Dont be mistaken that this is news that TVA is cutting out spraying because they love bass. They are simply cutting cost.

Churly... I think the businesses really do have a "vested interest" in doing it correctly. In Tennessee the landowners must obtain a permit from the state before they can hire one of the contractors. Spray areas must be prominently marked, etc. Anyone can review the list of permit holders and regulations on the Internet. Read more here:
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_138586.asp

Now apparently the laws are different in Alabama and it is unclear how the process will work there. But still, I don't worry so much about the bona fide, licensed contractors as I do about individual landowners who take it upon themselves to try and spray illegally.
 
Richard, I have loooked over the permit list......what is the difference between the permits on the top list (24 Permitees) and the list of 2 at the bottom (TWRA region 3 and Marion County)?? I see that the word "active" is listed with the top list and not with the bottom list!
 
When I read about this last year, Alabama did not require a permit for herbicide spraying.

I would still attend the meetings just to make sure anglers concerns are being represented.
 
xroadsbasser - 11/17/2008 9:40 PM

Richard, I have loooked over the permit list......what is the difference between the permits on the top list (24 Permitees) and the list of 2 at the bottom (TWRA region 3 and Marion County)?? I see that the word "active" is listed with the top list and not with the bottom list!

I'm not absolutely sure, but I believe it has something to do with permits issued to other government entities which don't necessarily have to be renewed on an annual basis???

I know for sure that in the case of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, they obtained a permit in order to conduct aerial spraying of the massive amounts of "cut grass" that has taken over on some of their WMA's such as McKinley's Branch. However they have not had the funding to actually conduct the spraying, although the permit is still active.

I think (great emphasis on "THINK") that the Marion County government obtained a permit to provide for their own spraying on Nickajack. As noted on permit, permit is good from Mile 424 to 444, which encompasses everything from the Dam upstream to Raccoon Mountain. Of course they must still pay private contractors to do any spraying and adhere to all the other "state-mandated regulations such as posting areas sprayed, etc. I have absolutely no idea if, when or how much they have conducted.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top