This issue is so hot that no governing board has wanted to touch it for decades, said Jeff Cowen, community liaison for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). Just announced is that the issue is to remain in the fire for a bit longer.
Cowen is referring to the TRPA Shorezone program, which is known to most people as the guidelines that dictate the permissible number of piers, buoys, ramps, and slips allowed on Lake Tahoe. Among a slew of other directives, the currently proposed Shorezone policy allows 230 new piers, 1,862 new buoys and 235 new slips. A final vote was originally slated for Jan. 31, then Feb. 28, but has been postponed yet again because TRPA needs more time to address some recent inquiries.
‘We were forwarded some questions from California state agencies, so we decided to remove the item from February agendas,’ Cowen said. The earliest the final vote will come is March 28, but at this time, TRPA is not sure when it will be before the governing board, he said.
Also slated to come from the TRPA in upcoming months is crucial information that many critics have been asking for – 2006 Threshold Evaluations. These evaluations, required by law every five years, analyze nine determined thresholds (ex. air quality, water quality) to see if each threshold is being achieved, and then makes recommendations to address problem areas. The last evaluation was done in 2001. Many have questioned the TRPA in finalizing the Shorezone plan when the 2006 evaluations are not yet completed.
‘Science indicates it is possible to restore the lake’s clarity if pollutants are reduced 30 to 40 percent,’ said Carl Young, program coordinator for the League to Save Lake Tahoe. ‘Millions of dollars are being spent to protect this lake…how are we doing with the thresholds that were set?’
The Threshold Evaluation will be released in late March or April, Cowen said.
Another common criticism of the plan says there is a lack of clear mitigation measures. The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (LRWQCB), in a Jan. 16 letter wrote, the ‘primary concern is the lack of specificity in the description of the water quality mitigation and monitoring program elements.’
The TRPA’s answer is the ‘Blue Boating Program’ which the agency unveiled on Jan. 31. The ‘boat pollution reduction program’ is designed to mitigate the impacts of boats on the lake by ‘encouraging the use of cleaner boat engines’ and also providing ‘increased boater services,’ such as free sewage pump-out options and boat washing stations. The program will also generate funds that can be used to mitigate increased particulates in other ways, such as paying for increased street sweeping, Cowen said.
The program includes a year of surveying to determine the current status of the boats on the lake, Cowen said.
And that is a problem, Young said. ‘The Blue Boating Program is not slated to be implemented until 2009. Are we doing enough for the lake? Is it healthy now?’
The answer may be coming… stay tuned.
~ Look for an investigative report on the Shorezone plan in upcoming editions of Moonshine Ink.
~ To contact the TRPA, call 775-588-4547 or visit trpa.org.
~ To contact the League to Save Lake Tahoe, call 530-541-5388 or visit keeptahoeblue.org.
