Lake Tahoe Group Considers Settlement with California City

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is considering requiring the city of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., to boost its erosion control efforts and restore thousands of acres at the local airport in lieu of paying fines for cutting down hundreds of trees.

TRPA and city staff have drafted a settlement which states that South Lake Tahoe would have to permanently remove a 13- by 1,300-ft section of pavement along the airport runway, an environmentally sensitive area recognized as a stream environment zone, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Under the proposed agreement, the city would also replace a 15,600-sq-ft area of pavement with pervious concrete to help reduce storm water runoff and promote groundwater recharge.

The measures, according to a TRPA staff memo, present an "unprecedented opportunity to reduce the impact of runoff and, therefore, sedimentation into the Upper Truckee River." The Upper Truckee is Lake Tahoe's greatest source of fine sediment.

In 2006, when the city cut 387 trees larger than 6 in. in diameter in 2006 without a valid TRPA permit, the agency offered a $500,000 settlement. TRPA regulations allowed a fine of up to $1.9 million, but the agency lowered the amount, noting that government entities typically pay penalties using public funds.

Source: The Associated Press