SOURCE: WSMV 4 Nashville
HEADLINE: 'We are listening': TVA pauses Gallatin transmission line amid outcry from historic farm, country star
BYLINE: Chasity Maynard
DATE: February 20, 2026, 8:57 AM CST
URL: https://www.wsmv.com/2026/02/20/we-are-listening-tva-pauses-gallatin-transmission-line-amid-outcry-historic-farm-country-star/
RETRIEVED: 2026-08-17
PROVENANCE NOTE: Captured via automated fetch and rendered to text. Treat quotes as
accurate-but-unverified until checked against the live page or an archived HTML copy.
WHY SAVED: TVA eminent domain, story two of two. Gallatin / Sumner County, Feb 2026,
Gregory Family Farm, John Rich's second campaign against TVA. This is the transmission
corridor on the north side of Gallatin -- the same side of town as the Meta campus.
FOLLOW-UP: By March 2026 TVA abandoned the Gregory route entirely and said it would
"more closely follow existing rights of way." Not yet pulled in.
---

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced this week that it has hit the brakes on plans for a
new transmission line in Gallatin. The utility provider reported on Thursday that it is
pausing "reliability improvement work for a new transmission line" in north Gallatin because
it wants to "learn more."

The move comes after community pushback on a proposal to run a transmission line across a
multi-generational farm, with Nashville-based country musician John Rich joining local voices
opposing the idea.

The Gregory Family Farm, which the family says has operated since the Revolutionary War era,
stated on Facebook: "THIS is what we want to save. THIS is what we don't want TVA's power line
to destroy. Children learning, playing, growing, and thriving."

The farm noted that "TVA has publicly stated they weren't aware of any opposition and didn't
know this route would cut through a historic family farm and children's educational programs.
We believe that. But now you do know."

The farm started a petition that received more than 2,500 signatures as of Friday morning.

Over the weekend, Rich posted a video supporting the Gregory Family Farm's resistance. The TVA
stated: "We've launched a new initiative to ensure community voices are heard as we work on
projects that deliver reliable, affordable electricity to the areas that need it most."

The TVA's new task force includes longtime farmers, landowners, farm association members,
electric co-op representatives serving rural areas, and union members. Rich declined an
invitation to co-chair the task force, though the TVA said his input remains welcome.

Rich shared on X (formerly Twitter) that the TVA was created in 1933 as a "Federal Energy
Company," giving it federal protections that other energy companies don't possess.

On Thursday, TVA stated it remains "focused on supporting the Administration's energy
dominance goals as we work on projects to meet the ever-growing demand for electricity from
people across the region."