16 U.S.C. § 831c

Corporate powers generally; eminent domain; construction of dams, transmission lines, etc.

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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, § 4, 48 Stat. 60; Aug. 31, 1935, ch. 836, §§ 1–3, 13, 49 Stat. 1075, 1076, 1080; July 18, 1941, ch. 309, 55 Stat. 599; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, § 205(a), 61 Stat. 501; Pub. L. 92–310, title II, § 225(b), June 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 206; Pub. L. 108–447, div. C, title VI, § 603(a)(2), Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 2966.)Editorial NotesCodification

“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, § 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

2004—Subsecs. (f), (i). Pub. L. 108–447 substituted “Board” for “board” wherever appearing.

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, § 1, inserted proviso.

Subsec. (j). Act Aug. 31, 1935, § 2, amended subsec. (j) generally.

Subsec. (k). Act Aug. 31, 1935, § 3, added subsec. (k).

Subsec. (l). Act Aug. 31, 1935, § 13, added subsec. (l).

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesChange 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.

Effective Date of 2004 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 108–447 effective on the later of the date on which at least three persons nominated under section 604(a) of Pub. L. 108–447 take office or May 18, 2005, see section 604(b) of Pub. L. 108–447, set out in an Appointments; Effective Date; Transition note under section 831a of this title.

Release of Use Restrictions

Pub. L. 113–121, title VI, § 6005(h), June 10, 2014, 128 Stat. 1360, provided that: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Tennessee Valley Authority shall, without monetary consideration, grant releases from real estate restrictions established pursuant to section 4(k)(b) of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831c(k)(b)) with respect to tracts of land identified in section 4(k)(b) of that Act, subject to the condition that such releases shall be granted in a manner consistent with applicable Tennessee Valley Authority policies.”

Executive DocumentsDelegation 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.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 124 cases (25 in the last 5 years), 1936–2026 · leading case: Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978).

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Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978). · cites it 2× “See 16 U. S. C. §§ 831c (j) and 831z (1976 ed.”

Mays v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 699 F. Supp. 2d 991 (E.D. Tenn. 2010). · cites it 7× “See 16 U.S.C. § 831c. Further, Congress has extended the protection afforded federal employees to TVA employees in other aspects, such as covering TVA employees under the Civil Service Reform Act and the Federal Employees Compensation Act.”

North Carolina Ex Rel. Cooper v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 515 F.3d 344 (4th Cir. 2008). · cites it 5× “Arguing that it is not, North Carolina points to waivers of immunity contained in the TVA Act, 16 U.S.C. § 831c, which provides that the TVA "may sue and be sued in its corporate name," and in the Clean Air Act, 42 U.”

United States v. Smith, 499 U.S. 160 (1991). · cites it 3× “Section 9 of the Act provides that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) shall be substituted as defendant in any suit against a TVA employee arising from “act[ions] within the scope of his office or employment,” 16 U. S. C. § 831c — 2(b)(1), and that an action against the TVA is…”

Thacker v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 139 S. Ct. 1435 (2019). · cites it 3× “60 , 16 U.S.C. § 831c(b). That provision serves to waive sovereign immunity from suit.”

Gary Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 868 F.3d 979 (11th Cir. 2017). · cites it 5× “1987) (citing 16 U.S.C. § 831c(b)), a corporate agency of the United States that is expressly authorized to engage in commercial, power-generating activities, among other functions, 16 U.”

Friends of Tims Ford v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 585 F.3d 955 (6th Cir. 2009). · cites it 2× “, by TVA and TDEC in their implementation of the Tims Ford Reservoir Land Management and Disposition Plan (“LMDP”), based on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”) prepared by TVA and TDEC, and for violations of the TVA Act of 1933 (“TVA Act”), 16 U.S.C. § 831c(k)(a)…”

United States Ex Rel. Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Powelson, 319 U.S. 266 (1943). · cites it 2× “[7] While respondent owned most of the lands necessary for the Appalachia reservoir, about half of those not yet acquired lay in the state of Tennessee, in which, so far as appears, it had no power of eminent domain.”

Tennessee Valley Auth. v. United States, 13 Cl. Ct. 692 (Ct. Cl. 1987). · cites it 4× “TVA has a separate corporate identity, TVA Act, § 4, 16 U.S.C. § 831c, and possesses the power to enter into binding contracts for the provision “of electric utility services.”

John H. Stevens v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 712 F.2d 1047 (6th Cir. 1983). · cites it 3× “The act creating the TVA divides the functions and powers of the TVA into those which are specifically proprietary in nature and those which are acts which can be performed by the TVA on behalf of the United States, 16 U.S.C. § 831c. Clearly, under section 831c(b), the TVA has…”

Bobo v. AGCO Corp., 981 F. Supp. 2d 1130 (N.D. Ala. 2013). · cites it 5× “2d at 1008 (citing 16 U.S.C. § 831c(h, i) (1933)) (alteration in original).”

Greg Adkisson v. Jacobs Eng'g Grp., Inc, 35 F.4th 421 (6th Cir. 2022). · cites it 2× “Jacobs cannot benefit from derivative immunity if the TVA itself is not immune. Second, if we determine that the TVA would be immune under Thacker, then we must decide whether the district court employed the proper test in determining which of Jacobs’s acts and omissions were…”

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— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(b) — 55 cases

United States v. Smith, 499 U.S. 160 (1991). “Section 9 of the Act provides that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) shall be substituted as defendant in any suit against a TVA employee arising from “act[ions] within the scope of his office or employment,” 16 U. S. C. § 831c — 2(b)(1), and that an action against the TVA is…”

Thacker v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 139 S. Ct. 1435 (2019). “60 , 16 U.S.C. § 831c(b). That provision serves to waive sovereign immunity from suit.”

North Carolina Ex Rel. Cooper v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 515 F.3d 344 (4th Cir. 2008). “Arguing that it is not, North Carolina points to waivers of immunity contained in the TVA Act, 16 U.S.C. § 831c, which provides that the TVA "may sue and be sued in its corporate name," and in the Clean Air Act, 42 U.”

Mays v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 699 F. Supp. 2d 991 (E.D. Tenn. 2010). “See 16 U.S.C. § 831c. Further, Congress has extended the protection afforded federal employees to TVA employees in other aspects, such as covering TVA employees under the Civil Service Reform Act and the Federal Employees Compensation Act.”

Greg Adkisson v. Jacobs Eng'g Grp., Inc, 35 F.4th 421 (6th Cir. 2022). “Jacobs cannot benefit from derivative immunity if the TVA itself is not immune. Second, if we determine that the TVA would be immune under Thacker, then we must decide whether the district court employed the proper test in determining which of Jacobs’s acts and omissions were…”

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(c) — 1 case

United States v. A Temp. Right to Enter upon Land in Monroe Cnty., Tennessee (E.D. Tenn. 2021).

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(d) — 2 cases

Hoke Co., Inc. & Alley-Cassetty Coal Co. v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 854 F.2d 820 (6th Cir. 1988).

Hoke Co., Inc. v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 661 F. Supp. 740 (W.D. Ky. 1987).

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(f) — 6 cases

Morgan v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 115 F.2d 990 (6th Cir. 1940).

United States ex rel. Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Russell, 87 F. Supp. 386 (E.D. Tenn. 1948).

United States ex rel. Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Susong, 87 F. Supp. 396 (E.D. Tenn. 1948).

United States ex rel. Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Easterly, 87 F. Supp. 390 (E.D. Tenn. 1948).

United States ex rel. Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Payne, 87 F. Supp. 393 (E.D. Tenn. 1948).

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(g) — 4 cases

Hoke Co., Inc. & Alley-Cassetty Coal Co. v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 854 F.2d 820 (6th Cir. 1988).

Sherwood v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 925 F. Supp. 2d 906 (E.D. Tenn. 2013).

Gold Point Marina, Inc. v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 635 F. Supp. 39 (E.D. Tenn. 1986).

United States v. Parker, 36 F. Supp. 3d 550 (W.D.N.C. 2014).

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(h) — 43 cases

Thacker v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 139 S. Ct. 1435 (2019). “60 , 16 U.S.C. § 831c(b). That provision serves to waive sovereign immunity from suit.”

McCarthy v. Middle Tennessee Elec. Membership Corp., 466 F.3d 399 (6th Cir. 2006).

Matheny Ex Rel. Matheny v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 503 F. Supp. 2d 917 (M.D. Tenn. 2007).

John H. Stevens v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 712 F.2d 1047 (6th Cir. 1983). “The act creating the TVA divides the functions and powers of the TVA into those which are specifically proprietary in nature and those which are acts which can be performed by the TVA on behalf of the United States, 16 U.S.C. § 831c. Clearly, under section 831c(b), the TVA has…”

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(i) — 17 cases

William M. Young & Faith Adams Young v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 606 F.2d 143 (6th Cir. 1979).

Gary Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 868 F.3d 979 (11th Cir. 2017). “1987) (citing 16 U.S.C. § 831c(b)), a corporate agency of the United States that is expressly authorized to engage in commercial, power-generating activities, among other functions, 16 U.”

Bobo v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 138 F. Supp. 3d 1285 (N.D. Ala. 2015).

United States ex rel. Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Welch, 150 F.2d 613 (4th Cir. 1945).

United States ex rel. Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Russell, 87 F. Supp. 386 (E.D. Tenn. 1948).

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(j) — 6 cases

Morris v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 345 F. Supp. 321 (N.D. Ala. 1972).

Smith v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 436 F. Supp. 151 (E.D. Tenn. 1977).

S. Ry. Co. v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 223 F. Supp. 1 (E.D. Tenn. 1963).

S. Ry. Co. v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 294 F.2d 491 (5th Cir. 1961).

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(k) — 2 cases

Hart v. Knox Cnty., 79 F. Supp. 654 (E.D. Tenn. 1948).

United States v. Parker, 36 F. Supp. 3d 550 (W.D.N.C. 2014).

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(k)(a) — 5 cases

Friends of Tims Ford v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 585 F.3d 955 (6th Cir. 2009). “, by TVA and TDEC in their implementation of the Tims Ford Reservoir Land Management and Disposition Plan (“LMDP”), based on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”) prepared by TVA and TDEC, and for violations of the TVA Act of 1933 (“TVA Act”), 16 U.S.C. § 831c(k)(a)…”

Gold Point Marina, Inc. v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 635 F. Supp. 39 (E.D. Tenn. 1986).

Winkler v. Petersilie, 124 F. App'x 925 (6th Cir. 2005).

Friends of Tims Ford v. TVA (6th Cir. 2009).

United States v. Parker, 36 F. Supp. 3d 550 (W.D.N.C. 2014).

— 16 U.S.C. § 831c(k)(c) — 1 case

United States v. Parker, 36 F. Supp. 3d 550 (W.D.N.C. 2014).

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