Tellico Dam
Encyclopedia
Tellico Dam is a dam
built by the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) in Loudon County, Tennessee on the Little Tennessee River
just above the main stem of the Tennessee River
. It impounds the Tellico Reservoir
.
Construction of the Tellico Dam was controversial and marks a turning point in American
attitudes toward dam construction. Until the 1960s and 1970s few questioned the value of building a dam; indeed, dams were considered to represent progress and technological prowess. During the twentieth century the United States built thousands of dams. By the 1950s most of the best potential dam sites in the United States had been utilized and it became increasingly difficult to justify new dams, but government agencies such as TVA, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Army Corps of Engineers continued to construct new dams. In the 1970s, the era of dam-building ended. The Tellico Dam case illustrates America's changing attitudes toward dams and the environment.
Construction of the dam was delayed when a small endangered
fish called the snail darter
was discovered on the Little Tennessee River. Dam opponents brought a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act
. The case, Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill
, 437 U.S. 153
(1978), made it to the Supreme Court of the United States
. In Hill, the Supreme Court affirmed, by a 6-3 vote, an injunction
issued by a lower court to stop construction of the dam. Citing explicit wording of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) ensuring habitat
for listed species
is not disrupted, the Court said "it is clear that the TVA's proposed operation of the dam will have precisely the opposite effect, namely the eradication of an endangered species." In the ensuing controversy
, the Endangered Species Committee (also known as the "God Squad") was convened to issue a waiver for ESA protection of the snail darter. In a unanimous decision, the Committee refused an exemption of the Tellico Dam project. Charles Schulze, the chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers
, later cited economic assessments that despite the Tellico Dam being 95% complete, "if one takes just the cost of finishing it against the benefits and does it properly, it doesn't pay, which says something about the original design."
After a long battle Congress finally exempted the Tellico Dam from the Endangered Species Act as an amendment in an unrelated bill. The gates were closed on the dam and Tellico Lake (a reservoir) began to form in 1979. Remnant populations of the snail darter were later located in other streams.
The dam flooded the locations of the 18th century Overhill Cherokee
towns of Chota
, Tanasi
, Toqua
, Tomotley
, Citico
, Mialoquo
and Tuskegee
, as well as several prehistoric sites dating to as early as the Archaic period. The port of Morganton
was also submerged. Fort Loudoun
was excavated; dirt was deposited to raise the site 17 feet (5 m), and the fort was rebuilt in its original location.
Tellico Dam does not produce any electricity. However, the Tellico Dam complex directs almost all of the flow of the Little Tennessee River into a canal
that enters the Tennessee River on the upstream side of Fort Loudoun Dam
, thus adding 23 MW to the hydropower
capacity at that dam.
Tellico Village and other lakefront residential communities have been built along the shores of Tellico Lake.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
built by the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
(TVA) in Loudon County, Tennessee on the Little Tennessee River
Little Tennessee River
The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles long, in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.-Geography:...
just above the main stem of the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
. It impounds the Tellico Reservoir
Tellico Reservoir
Tellico Reservoir, also known as Tellico Lake, is a reservoir in Tennessee, created by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1979 upon the completion of Tellico Dam. The dam impounds the Little Tennessee River and the lower Tellico River...
.
Construction of the Tellico Dam was controversial and marks a turning point in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attitudes toward dam construction. Until the 1960s and 1970s few questioned the value of building a dam; indeed, dams were considered to represent progress and technological prowess. During the twentieth century the United States built thousands of dams. By the 1950s most of the best potential dam sites in the United States had been utilized and it became increasingly difficult to justify new dams, but government agencies such as TVA, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Army Corps of Engineers continued to construct new dams. In the 1970s, the era of dam-building ended. The Tellico Dam case illustrates America's changing attitudes toward dams and the environment.
Construction of the dam was delayed when a small endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
fish called the snail darter
Snail darter
The snail darter is a small , rare fish found in the waters of East Tennessee. It is a variety of darter which feeds primarily on aquatic snails....
was discovered on the Little Tennessee River. Dam opponents brought a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
. The case, Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill
Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill
Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al., or TVA v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 , was a United States Supreme Court case. It is a commonly cited example of the canon of construction expressio unius est exclusio alterius .- Background :The Tennessee Valley Authority started the building of the Tellico Dam...
, 437 U.S. 153
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1978), made it to the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. In Hill, the Supreme Court affirmed, by a 6-3 vote, an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
issued by a lower court to stop construction of the dam. Citing explicit wording of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) ensuring habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
for listed species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
is not disrupted, the Court said "it is clear that the TVA's proposed operation of the dam will have precisely the opposite effect, namely the eradication of an endangered species." In the ensuing controversy
Snail darter controversy
The snail darter controversy involved the delay of the construction of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in 1973. On August 12, 1973, University of Tennessee biologist and professor David Etnier discovered the snail darter in the Little Tennessee River while doing research related to a...
, the Endangered Species Committee (also known as the "God Squad") was convened to issue a waiver for ESA protection of the snail darter. In a unanimous decision, the Committee refused an exemption of the Tellico Dam project. Charles Schulze, the chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers
Council of Economic Advisers
The Council of Economic Advisers is an agency within the Executive Office of the President that advises the President of the United States on economic policy...
, later cited economic assessments that despite the Tellico Dam being 95% complete, "if one takes just the cost of finishing it against the benefits and does it properly, it doesn't pay, which says something about the original design."
After a long battle Congress finally exempted the Tellico Dam from the Endangered Species Act as an amendment in an unrelated bill. The gates were closed on the dam and Tellico Lake (a reservoir) began to form in 1979. Remnant populations of the snail darter were later located in other streams.
The dam flooded the locations of the 18th century Overhill Cherokee
Overhill Cherokee
The term Overhill Cherokee refers to the former Cherokee settlements located in what is now Tennessee in the southeastern United States. The name was given by 18th century European traders and explorers who had to cross the Appalachian Mountains to reach these settlements when traveling from...
towns of Chota
Chota (Cherokee town)
Chota is a historic Overhill Cherokee site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. For much of its history, Chota was the most important of the Overhill towns, serving as the de facto capital of the Cherokee people from the late 1740s until 1788...
, Tanasi
Tanasi
Tanasi is a historic Overhill Cherokee village site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The village is best known as the namesake for the state of Tennessee...
, Toqua
Toqua (Tennessee)
Toqua is a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Monroe County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. Along with the Overhill Cherokee village for which the site was named, Toqua was home to a substantial pre-Cherokee town that thrived during the Mississippian period...
, Tomotley
Tomotley
Tomotley is a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Occupied as early as the Archaic period, the Tomotley site had the most substantial periods of habitation during the Mississippian period, likely when the earthwork mounds...
, Citico
Citico (Tellico archaeological site)
Citico is a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The site's namesake Cherokee village was the largest of the Overhill towns, housing an estimated population of 1,000 by the mid-18th century...
, Mialoquo
Mialoquo
Mialoquo is a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The site saw significant periods of occupation during the Mississippian period and later as a Cherokee refugee village...
and Tuskegee
Tuskegee, Tennessee
Tuskegee was an Overhill Cherokee village originally on the bank of the Little Tennessee River at the mouth of the Tellico River. Today the site lies under the artificial lake, Tellico Reservoir, created by Tellico Dam....
, as well as several prehistoric sites dating to as early as the Archaic period. The port of Morganton
Morganton, Tennessee
Morganton was a community once located in Loudon County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Although now submerged by Tellico Lake, during its heyday in the 19th century Morganton thrived as a flatboat port and regional business center...
was also submerged. Fort Loudoun
Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)
Fort Loudoun was a British colonial fort in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, near the towns of the Overhill Cherokee. The fort was reconstructed during the Great Depression and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.-History:...
was excavated; dirt was deposited to raise the site 17 feet (5 m), and the fort was rebuilt in its original location.
Tellico Dam does not produce any electricity. However, the Tellico Dam complex directs almost all of the flow of the Little Tennessee River into a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
that enters the Tennessee River on the upstream side of Fort Loudoun Dam
Fort Loudoun Dam
Fort Loudoun Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Loudon County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority , which built the dam in the early 1940s as part of a unified plan to provide electricity and flood control in the...
, thus adding 23 MW to the hydropower
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
capacity at that dam.
Tellico Village and other lakefront residential communities have been built along the shores of Tellico Lake.