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TVAENDS FREE WATER FOR EVENTS On Ocoee
Willthe Teva Whitewater National Championships
Bethe Last Event Held on the Upper Ocoee?
In October, when American Whitewaterhosts the Teva Whitewater National Championships on the Upper Ocoee RiverOlympic Course, it may well be the last event ever held at this premierwhitewater venue. After the national championships, unless event organizers orlocal outfitters pay to have water put in the river, the $26 million OcoeeWhitewater Center, built with public funds for the 1996 Olympics, will sit on adry river bed.
A five year agreement developedat the time of the Olympics, in which the Tennessee Valley Authority agreed toprovide water for competitions each of those five years, has expired. This year’s National Championships would notbe taking place if a slalom event in 2001 hadn’t been canceled because of theSeptember 11 tragedy, leaving “event days” of water available for use thisyear. The TVA has laid claim to thewater and will not release it unless paid at a cost event organizers findprohibitive.
“The Ocoee Olympic Course is apremier venue for whitewater competition,” said Karen V’Soske, EventCoordinator, “and not being able to hold future events here is a serious lossto the world of whitewater sports. It’san even greater loss to the local river corridor community that benefitseconomically from the recreational and competitive use of the Ocoee River. To have the Ocoee Whitewater Center sit on adry river bed is unfathomable.”
In recognition of the loss ofthis important venue, American Whitewater, a nonprofit organization dedicatedto the conservation and preservation of American’s whitewater resources, selectedthe Ocoee site to host its first National Championships, part of a reorganized whitewatercompetition series, the Teva Tour.
The Problem
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA),contrary to the Public Trust Doctrine, has
claimed ownership of the water and isrefusing to put it back in the river without
payment. This payment is intended to offsetany loses to TVA from lost power
generation. However, According to the Public TrustDoctrine, water in rivers is owned by the public and should not be inequitablywithheld from the public. While power generation is certainly important, theeconomic impact to the community from recreational boating and whitewaterevents, is too great to be ignored.
SomeBackground
For the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, with thesupport of TVA, the Ocoee Whitewater Center, now managed by the US ForestService, was built and a section of the river was reconfigured specifically forwhitewater competition. At that time, TVA signed the five-year use agreementwhich allowed 10 days of free water for whitewater events each year. That agreement ended in 2001.
In addition to whitewater competitions, asignificant commercial rafting business has developed around both the Upper andMiddle sections of the Ocoee. A 30 yearagreement developed in 19XX allows for another XX years of XX water releaseseach year for recreational use on the Middle Ocoee. For the Upper Ocoee, however, the TVA is holding the river’swater hostage, demanding user fees that run in the neighborhood of $262,000 for20 days of recreational use water. This is the amount of money that areaoutfitters must pay the TVA to have water. On top of the TVA’s fees, PolkCounty and the Forest Service also charge fees and the State of Tennessee mayalso tack on a fee. The combined fees add approximately $12 per person to thecost of a raft trip down the Upper Ocoee. These fees discourage outfitters fromdoing business on that part of the river yet the revenue generated for thecommunity through Upper Ocoee rafting and kayaking is significant. Outfittersare not opposed to paying a fee but feel the current fees are prohibitive.
TVA’s charter states regional economicdevelopment as a priority. Eachrecreational release on the Upper Ocoee brings approximately $210,000 directlyinto the Ocoee River Corridor and this does not include the indirect revenuefrom recreational use of the river. Thesame release costs TVA less than $7,000 in foregone power generation. The local economic impact of water used forwhitewater recreation on the Ocoee outweighs the value of water used for powerproduction by more than 30 to 1. Furthermore, water releases on the Upper Ocoeewould cost TVA ratepayers only $.0008 cents per release or $.02 cents annuallyassuming 20 days of whitewater releases.
Furthermore, putting water in the riverhas no effect on lake levels. The TVAcurrently operates its hydroelectric systems on the Ocoee at maximum capacity,generating electricity at least 95% of the year. The Ocoee dams can either release water into the river or run itthrough the turbines but cannot do both simultaneously. Since water release quantities are the sameeither way, the drawdown effect on the reservoir is the same for either use.
All privately owned federally regulatedhydro facilities in this country are required to give downstream uses equalconsideration to power generation through relicensing programs which provide aforum for public comment. TVA has nosuch requirement. TVA’s operations fall outside of FERC regulations so that thepublic has traditionally not been given input regarding the use of the OcoeeRiver’s water.
However, the TVA recently initiated a2-year Reservoir Operations Study (ROS) to examine “the policies that guideflood control, navigation, water quality, and other aspects of rivermanagement.” As part of this process, the public has a chance to formallycomment on how the TVA uses or should use/share Ocoee River water. Through thisopportunity for comment, there is a chance to achieve free recreationalreleases on the Upper Ocoee and bring the associated revenue into thisotherwise economically depressed area.
There will only be two opportunities forpublic comment on the ROS. The first(Scoping) took place this past spring (2002) and the second (DraftEnvironmental Impact Statement Comments) will begin in spring of 2003. Thepurpose of scoping is to determine what topics TVA should study and with whatemphasis. American Whitewater and its members are hoping that enough input wasreceived from whitewater enthusiasts and effected businesses that the TVA willconsider providing as many free releases as possible. AW supports a UnitedStates Forest 1997 Environmental Impact Study which recommended 74 annualreleases on the Upper Ocoee.
River enthusiasts are encouraged toattend the Teva Tour National Championships, October 11-13. If the TVA cannotbe convinced to grant free water releases for events, this whitewatercompetition may be the last event held on the 6 year old Olympic whitewatercourse. Show your support for whitewater recreational use of the river – comeand bring your friends to the Teva Whitewater National Championships.
For moreinformation, contact:
Kevin Colburn
American Whitewater
20 Battery Park Ave, Suite 302
Asheville, NC 28801
E-mail: Kevin@amwhitewater.org
Phone: 828-252-6482
Fax: 828-254-4429