Posted on 06/26/2011 3:20:21 PM PDT by SmithL
The state line cuts through the middle of Lake Tahoe, and for 40 years, California and Nevada have worked closely to protect the lake's world-famous clarity and alpine beauty.
Now the Silver State has adopted a new law that may rub out all that cooperation.
The law, Senate Bill 271, was signed by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval on June 17. Unless certain conditions are met, it directs Nevada in 2015 to withdraw from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the powerful government entity that has long united the two states to manage urban development, the leading threat to water quality.
Those conditions in the new law are far from trivial.
To avoid Nevada's withdrawal, California must agree to amend the TRPA bylaws in a way that could give Nevada more voting power, and also force it to consider economic effects. This would require legislation in California and in Congress.
"The consequences are very grave," said Rochelle Nason, executive director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe, the environmental group that has long served as a TRPA watchdog. "Lake Tahoe is a single watershed. It's not really possible to protect it effectively without strong cooperation."
The law is a manifestation of Nevada's mounting frustration with Tahoe development restrictions. Though critics say TRPA has rarely balked at any major development project at the lake, cumbersome regulations often produce years of delay and extra compliance costs.
"It's an issue about the pace of work that gets done," said Maureen McCarthy, executive director of the Tahoe Science Consortium. "Nevada's position is driven heavily by the economic climate. The state is broke, and by comparison to California, Nevada is really broke."
McCarthy's group helps government officials understand the science that affects Tahoe. She said TRPA has been invaluable in that regard because it welcomes that science...
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Nevada may be broke, but they don't face nearly the upcoming liabilities as California.
Development around the lake is very lopsided, in favor of Kalifornia.
TRPA regulations get to be insane, can’t cut down dead trees, then they deny responsibility when homes and trees go up in explosive wildfires fueled by, DEAD TREES!
TRPA controls private property, even dictating the colors homes may be painted.
They micromanage everything in the area, weather it has any actual effect on the lake or not.
Their long standing bias in favor of Kalifornia also led to this, which should have been done a long time ago.
The other solution would be to restore the old state line, returning ALL of the lake to Nevada.
Never occurred to me how much of Tahoe was in CA.
You are exactly right.
Did a quick search on what happened a few years back when there were some terrible fires at the lake that spread because the residents weren’t allowed to clear their property of fire hazards. http://articles.sfgate.com/2007-07-03/bay-area/17254863_1_tahoe-regional-planning-agency-fire-hazards-angora-fire
Nevada's requests are reasonable. I would prefer they pull out. I live on the lake and the biggest danger to the lake is the TRPA.
Nevada should invade and take all the lake.
Really,
Can’t imagine all the worthless gub mint employees who are retiring and what their sorry worthless rear will cost California.
By comparison Nevada has had few employees
BZZZTTT!!! Wrongo! The reason Tahoe was so clear in the past is that it was logged and burned (see Mark Twain's hilarious description in Roughing It). The resulting young forest consumed nitrogen. Since then, an overstocked, decaying forest is producing many tons of nitrate-laden detritus that flows into the lake, by far the largest source of nutrient for algae. If TRPA really cared about water quality, they would thin, burn, and replant that forest.
Please see post 9.
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