Land Clearing in Roane County, TN

On a lot that will use septic, TDEC's soil evaluation comes before any dozer: bush-hog the spot, but don't dig, cut, or fill. After that come the county building permit, TDEC's construction permit once an acre is disturbed, floodplain limits on low ground, the drive, and the debris. The guide puts them in order and covers cost.

Plenty of lake lots end at a strip of land TVA owns, and TVA says written approval is always needed to trim or remove vegetation on its property. The guide explains TVA-owned shoreland versus flowage easement, the 50-foot shoreline management zone, the 20-foot access corridor, vegetation management plans, and what you can do on your own side of the line.

Under Walden Ridge and along the long ridges between the valleys, lots tilt hard and the soil runs from red cherty clay to thin layers over shale. Bare slopes wash quickly. The guide covers clearing in stages, leaving roots in banks you aren't building on, driveways that follow the contour, erosion control, and how slope shows up in a price.

A tracked mulcher chews brush, Virginia pine thickets, and small trees into chips where they stand and leaves the roots holding the ground. Chert in the soil is hard on the teeth, and privet and autumn olive come back from the roots. The guide covers where mulching fits, where it falls short, follow-up, and published per-acre and hourly prices.

Fence rows and woods edges fill up with Chinese privet, bush honeysuckle, autumn olive, multiflora rose, and kudzu, and most come back after one cutting. The guide covers what UT Extension says about each, cut-stump and follow-up treatment, clearing along wire you're keeping, property lines and neighbors, and calling 811 before new posts go in.

Grind stumps below the surface where you'll mow; dig them out where a footing, slab, or drive will sit. The guide covers chert and rock in the hole, privet and autumn olive stumps that sprout again, a Tennessee 811 ticket before the grinder starts, staying off septic fields and TVA land, and HomeAdvisor's per-inch prices worked out.

From October 15 to May 15, a free Division of Forestry permit is needed to burn within 500 feet of woods or grassland. Kingston wants its own permit every day of the year, and the City of Loudon won't permit land-development burns without an air curtain unit. The guide also covers what TDEC allows on the fire and the alternatives.

Sorted by the job: building a house, putting in septic, disturbing an acre or more, working near a creek, touching TVA shoreline, or burning. Each rule comes with its threshold, the office that decides it, a phone number, and a link, all checked in October 2026 for Roane County and western Loudon County.

If TVA owns the shoreline strip

TVA's shoreline FAQ says written approval "is always needed to trim or remove any vegetation on TVA property," through a vegetation management plan filed with a Section 26a application. Federal rules set a 50-foot shoreline management zone where trees stay, apart from an access corridor no more than 20 feet wide.

If your deed runs to the water

On private land under a TVA flowage easement, the rules say removing or planting vegetation "generally does not require approval by TVA." Docks, fill, and other structures still go through Section 26a. TVA's Public Land Information Center, 1-800-882-5263, can tell you which case your lot is.