Tellico Dam is a dam built by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Loudon County, Tennessee on the Little Tennessee River, just above the main stem of the Tennessee River. Completed in 1979, it impounds the Tellico Reservoir. After a long battle, Congress finally exempted the Tellico Dam from the Endangered Species Act by passing an amendment in an unrelated bill. After the gates were closed on the dam, Tellico Lake (a reservoir) began to form in 1979. Remnant populations of the snail darter were later located in other streams.