§ 831c. — Corporate powers generally; eminent domain; construction of dams, transmission lines, etc.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC831c]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 12A--TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Sec. 831c. Corporate powers generally; eminent domain;
construction of dams, transmission lines, etc.
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, the
Corporation--
(a) Shall have succession in its corporate name.
(b) May sue and be sued in its corporate name.
(c) May adopt and use a corporate seal, which shall be judicially
noticed.
(d) May make contracts, as herein authorized.
(e) May adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws.
(f) May purchase or lease and hold such real and personal property
as it deems necessary or convenient in the transaction of its business,
and may dispose of any such personal property held by it.
The board shall select a treasurer and as many assistant treasurers
as it deems proper: Provided, That any member of said board may be
removed from office at any time by a concurrent resolution of the Senate
and the House of Representatives.
(g) Shall have such powers as may be necessary or appropriate for
the exercise of the powers herein specifically conferred upon the
Corporation.
(h) Shall have power in the name of the United States of America to
exercise the right of eminent domain, and in the purchase of any real
estate or the acquisition of real estate by condemnation proceedings,
the title to such real estate shall be taken in the name of the United
States of America, and thereupon all such real estate shall be entrusted
to the Corporation as the agent of the United States to accomplish the
purposes of this chapter.
(i) Shall have power to acquire real estate for the construction of
dams, reservoirs, transmission lines, power houses, and other
structures, and navigation projects at any point along the Tennessee
River, or any of its tributaries, and in the event that the owner or
owners of such property shall fail and refuse to sell to the Corporation
at a price deemed fair and reasonable by the board, then the Corporation
may proceed to exercise the right of eminent domain, and to condemn all
property that it deems necessary for carrying out the purposes of this
chapter, and all such condemnation proceedings shall be had pursuant to
the provisions and requirements hereinafter specified, with reference to
any and all condemnation proceedings: Provided, That nothing contained
herein or elsewhere in this chapter shall be construed to deprive the
Corporation of the rights conferred by sections 3114, 3115, and 3118 of
title 40.
(j) Shall have power to construct such dams, and reservoirs, in the
Tennessee River and its tributaries, as in conjunction with Wilson Dam,
and Norris, Wheeler, and Pickwick Landing Dams, now under construction,
will provide a nine-foot channel in the said river and maintain a water
supply for the same, from Knoxville to its mouth, and will best serve to
promote navigation on the Tennessee River and its tributaries and
control destructive flood waters in the Tennessee and Mississippi River
drainage basins; and shall have power to acquire or construct power
houses, power structures, transmission lines, navigation projects, and
incidental works in the Tennessee River and its tributaries, and to
unite the various power installations into one or more systems by
transmission lines.
(k) Shall have power in the name of the United States--
(a) to convey by deed, lease, or otherwise, any real property in
the possession of or under the control of the Corporation to any
person or persons, for the purpose of recreation or use as a summer
residence, or for the operation on such premises of pleasure resorts
for boating, fishing, bathing, or any similar purpose;
(b) to convey by deed, lease, or otherwise, the possession and
control of any such real property to any corporation, partnership,
person, or persons for the purpose of erecting thereon docks and
buildings for shipping purposes or the manufacture or storage
thereon of products for the purpose of trading or shipping in
transportation: Provided, That no transfer authorized herein in (b)
shall be made without the approval of Congress: And provided
further, That said corporation, without further action of Congress,
shall have power to convey by deed, lease, or otherwise, to the
Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, a tract or tracts of land at or
near Decatur, Alabama, and to the Commercial Barge Lines, Inc., a
tract or tracts of land at or near Guntersville, Alabama;
(c) to transfer any part of the possession and control of the
real estate now in possession of and under the control of said
Corporation to any other department, agency, or instrumentality of
the United States: Provided, however, That no land shall be
conveyed, leased, or transferred, upon which there is located any
permanent dam, hydroelectric power plant, or munitions plant
heretofore or hereafter built by or for the United States or for the
Authority, except that this prohibition shall not apply to the
transfer of Nitrate Plant Numbered 1, at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, or
to Waco Quarry: And provided further, That no transfer authorized
herein in (a) or (c) except leases for terms of less than twenty
years, shall be made without the approval of the President of the
United States, if the property to be conveyed exceeds $500 in value;
and
(d) to convey by warranty deed, or otherwise, lands, easements,
and rights-of-way to States, counties, municipalities, school
districts, railroad companies, telephone, telegraph, water, and
power companies, where any such conveyance is necessary in order to
replace any such lands, easements, or rights-of-way to be flooded or
destroyed as the result of the construction of any dam or reservoir
now under construction by the Corporation, or subsequently
authorized by Congress, and easements and rights-of-way upon which
are located transmission or distribution lines. The Corporation
shall also have power to convey or lease Nitrate Plant Numbered 1,
at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and Waco Quarry, with the approval of the
Department of the Army and the President.
(l) Shall have power to advise and cooperate in the readjustment of
the population displaced by the construction of dams, the acquisition of
reservoir areas, the protection of watersheds, the acquisition of
rights-of-way, and other necessary acquisitions of land, in order to
effectuate the purposes of the chapter; and may cooperate with Federal,
State, and local agencies to that end.
(May 18, 1933, ch. 32, Sec. 4, 48 Stat. 60; Aug. 31, 1935, ch. 836,
Secs. 1-3, 13, 49 Stat. 1075, 1076, 1080; July 18, 1941, ch. 309, 55
Stat. 599; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, Sec. 205(a), 61 Stat. 501;
Pub. L. 92-310, title II, Sec. 225(b), June 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 206.)
Codification
``Sections 3114, 3115, and 3118 of title 40'' substituted in subsec.
(i) for ``the Act of February 26, 1931 (46 Stat. 1422, ch. 307, secs. 1
to 5, inclusive), as now compiled in section 258a to 258e, inclusive, of
Title 40 of the United States Code'' on authority of Pub. L. 107-217,
Sec. 5(c), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1303, the first section of which
enacted Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works.
Subsec. (j), last sentence, directed the directors of the Authority
to report their recommendations to Congress not later than April 1,
1936, and has been omitted as executed.
Amendments
1972--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 92-310 struck out provisions which
required the treasurer and assistant treasurers to give bonds for the
safekeeping of securities and moneys of the Corporation.
1941--Subsec. (k). Act July 18, 1941, amended subsec. (k) generally.
1935--Subsec. (i). Act Aug. 31, 1935, Sec. 1, inserted proviso.
Subsec. (j). Act Aug. 31, 1935, Sec. 2, amended subsec. (j)
generally.
Subsec. (k). Act Aug. 31, 1935, Sec. 3, added subsec. (k).
Subsec. (l). Act Aug. 31, 1935, Sec. 13, added subsec. (l).
Change of Name
Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of
Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of
act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. Section 205(a) of
act July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch.
1041, 70A Stat. 641. Section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted ``Title 10,
Armed Forces'' which in sections 3010 to 3013 continued military
Department of the Army under administrative supervision of Secretary of
the Army.
Delegation of Functions
Authority of President under subsec. (k) of this section to approve
transfers under subsecs. (a) and (c) of this section, other than leases
for terms of less than 20 years and conveyances of property having a
value not in excess of $500, delegated to Administrator of General
Services, see section 1(16) of Ex. Ord. No. 11609, July 22, 1971, 36
F.R. 13747, set out as a note under section 301 of Title 3, The
President.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 831c-2 of this title.
