Chairman says TVA lakeshores should be treated as a park

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The new chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority says the federal utility should avoid rushing into any land sales for short-term profits.

Meeting with the editorial board of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, TVA chief William Sansom said his agency should treat its shoreline as "kind of like a national park."

TVA operates power-generating lakes in seven states, including three in northeast Georgia - Nottely, Blue Ridge and Chatuge.

In the conversation Wednesday, Sansom said the current TVA board adopted a moratorium on further land sales or leases just six weeks after being sworn in.

TVA manages about 293,000 acres in the seven states.

The utility's previous directors approved major land swaps in the last few years that allowed two developers to build more than a (b) billion dollars worth of lakefront resorts and golf courses on its Tellico and Nickajack reservoirs.

It's being asked to to allow similar projects on Watts Bar Lake.