1.4

of preparing the environmental document and all other agencies with jurisdiction by law, permitting or
funding authority, or special expertise in an area of the document are cooperating agencies. For this project,
NPS is the lead agency and FHWA, TVA, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are
cooperating agencies.
FHWA is a cooperating agency because it manages the Federal Lands Highway Program. TVA is a
cooperating agency because it owns properiy below elevation ],710 feet (ft) (521 meters [m]), which would
be affected by several alternatives, and because permits would be needed for road crossings and shoreline
facilities under Section 26a of the TVA Act. Also, TVA was a signatory to the 1943 Agreement. USACE is
a cooperating agency because of its permitting jurisdiction under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
(CWA).
1.4 Project History and Background
1.4.1 Legislative History
The 1943 Agreement, described in Section 1.1, stated that the obligation of the DOI to construct the road was
subject to and contingent on the appropriation by Congress of all funds necessary for tbe road's construction.
The United States was at war when the 1943 Agreement was executed, and no funds were appropriated for
construction at that time. After the war, between l 948 and 1970, the DOI, through the NPS, built 7.2 mi
(11.6 km) of the proposed road. (Approximately 30 mi [483 km] remain to be constructed.)
In October 2000, Congress budgeted $16 million of U. S. Department of Transportation appropriations "for
construction of, and improvements to, North Shore Road in Swain County, North Carolina." Because the
road would be constructed on federal land with federal money, the Federal Highway Ad�ninistration-Eastern
Federal Lands Highway Division (FHWA-EFLHD) and the NPS are preparing an EIS in accordance with
Section l 02(2)(C) of the NEPA.
1.4.2 Project History
Construction of North Shore Road began in 1947, witb roughly 7.2 mi (11.6 km) completed (l mi [1.6 km]
on the Fontana Dam side of GSMNP and 6.2 mi [ 10 km] on the Bryson City side of GSMNP). Due to
environmental concerns and funding issues, the project ended in 1972 after completion of a tunnel on the
Bryson City side of GSMNP. Today, the two completed segments of North Shore Road are known as Lake
View Road (also known as Lakeview Drive).
The North Shore Road Project has a long and contested history, spanning more than six decades. Advocates
of building a road maintain that the government has an obligation to uphold its part of the 1943 Agreement
as a matter of principle and credibiliry. Families that lived along the north shore of the Little Tennessee
River prior to the flooding of the river and the transfer of land to GSMNP feel that the road would allow
access to old home sites and family cemeteries. Other proponents believe the road would provide economic
benefits to Swain Counry in the form of increased tourism. Local and national environmental groups oppose
the road because they contend that construction and use of the road would harm both terrestrial and aquatic
species. Some support a cash settlement in lieu of the road to boost Swain County's economy.
Introduction —1-3
North Shore Road Final Environmental Impact Statement