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Sierra Club Tahoe Group Hopeful For Lake Tahoe Restoration Act
Contact
Amy Dominguez, 801-928-9157, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org
Olivia Tanager, 504-400-3113, olivia.tanager@sierraclub.org
Tobi Tyler, 510-427-5662, tylertahoe1@gmail.com
Lake Tahoe — During the evening of July 10th, the U.S. Senate passed the Lake Tahoe Restoration Reauthorization Act. Originally passed in 2016, the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act gave $114 million in federal dollars to protect Lake Tahoe from wildfires, plastic pollution, and traffic congestion. Now, the Senate has approved the reauthorization of those funds, to be allocated to the same place as the 2016 law. The legislation will now move to the U.S. House of Representatives, being co-sponsored by representatives from Nevada and California.
While the funding is much needed, the Sierra Club’s Tahoe Area Group is hoping for more transparency and better accountability on how the money is spent. The funding will help the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), the body tasked with oversight of planning, development, and environmental restoration programs for Lake Tahoe. In recent years, concerns have been raised over TRPA’s ability to protect the lake from overtourism, developer interests, and serious environmental threats like climate change.
“We are thrilled at the prospect that Lake Tahoe will continue to get the funding it deserves, and thank our Senators who have worked to shepherd this critical funding bill through the Senate.” said Olivia Tanager, Toiyabe Chapter Director. “We hope that, should the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act be signed into law, the funds will be used wisely and transparently to improve the lake’s clarity and resilience against environmental harm.”
“While we support the additional funding for this national treasure, Lake Tahoe, we hope that, in addition to more transparency, the funding is used for much more thorough, scientifically-based environmental analyses, including cumulative impacts on the lake and its surrounding forests.” said Tobi Tyler, Tahoe Area Group’s vice chair. “TRPA needs its focus to be back on the lake water quality and forestry health. Over the last several years, we have seen unnecessary focus on economic development in the form of increased luxury development and out-of-control tourism that is killing the lake- from massive microplastic pollution and near-shore algae and invasive weed growth.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
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