NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
Hundreds of trees are coming down in Nashville and other parts of the state as the Tennessee Valley Authority begins its policy of clear-cutting trees near its power lines.
But a local doctor said the utility has gone beyond federal standards and is now destroying beauty and property values across Tennessee.
Dr. Roger Jackson worked for years as a highly regarded specialist who had to stay on top of the latest developments. Now, he is staying on top of the TVA's right of way policy.
He said the policy is not the recognized standard of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which he said does not sanction or even suggest clear-cutting.
"FERC did not authorize the clear cutting," he said.
When a Channel 4 News crew showed up with a camera to see the cutting in action Wednesday, the TVA crews stopped working, got in their vehicles and drove away. It was a short break in an act that many believe is devastating the beauty in places such as Forest Hills and elsewhere across the state.
FERC allows for cutting some trees within 10 feet of power lines, but the TVA policy is cutting 75 feet on either side of the lines.
It doesn't matter if you have two mature pecan trees right in the middle of your front yard. If they are within 75 feet of the TVA lines, they could be gone.
"If it's in the TVA right of way, it's a potential hazard," said TVA spokesman Scott Brooks in an interview last week.
That means some 16,000 miles of trees will be clear-cut, all because of something that happened in 2003 hundreds of miles from Middle Tennessee.
"A blackout affected the Northeast, and 50 million people were without power all because of one tree in Ohio," Brooks said.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Knoxville where the TVA policy began.
Click on the TVA link to learn more about the right of way policy:
http://www.tva.com/power/rightofway/index.htm
Copyright WSMV 2012 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
