Douglas, Washoe counties and NDOT agree to Lake Tahoe sediment plan

Announced hours before the Lake Tahoe environmental summit with former vice president Al Gore as the featured guest, Nevada's Division of Environmental Protection said it has established an agreement to help protect the lake's famed clarity by limiting the amount of road sediment allowed into the water.

The agreement made between Washoe County, Douglas County and the Nevada Department of Transportation will implement the Lake Tahoe Total Maximum Daily Load, a science-based effort aimed at restoring lake clarity, said Jo Ann Kittrell, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The bi-state TMDL effort is based on findings that indicate the majority of fine sediment and phosphorous pollutants impacting clarity are delivered to the lake via stormwater runoff on developed lands. Nevada and California local governments and state transportation agencies are responsible for controlling stormwater discharges from their respective jurisdictions.

As the agency that oversees and regulates storm water discharge, the division sought to implement the TMDL using a more flexible, collaborative and efficient approach rather than issuing permits.

In consultation with the Nevada urban jurisdictions, NDEP crafted Interlocal Agreements (ILAs) that lay out the roles, commitments and actions of each signatory party to restore the Lake’s clarity. The ILAs oblige the urban jurisdictions to take actions and implement controls to achieve pollutant load reduction milestones established in the TMDL Report.

The report and more information about the Lake Tahoe watershed can be found here.
While the term of each ILA is thru August 16, 2016, the agreements are better viewed as “living commitments” that are intended to be updated on a five-year cycle in order to restore clarity to historic levels within 65 years.

According to NDEP Administrator, Colleen Cripps, “The TDML’s effort is an excellent example of collaboration. Lake Tahoe’s value as an international recreation destination, a drinking water source and an asset to the local and regional economies is inextricably linked to its extraordinary ecologic and aesthetic value.”