Latest news with #TRPA
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Lake Tahoe inspectors find golden mussels in a boat in Alpine Meadows
( — Lake Tahoe watercraft inspectors identified highly invasive golden mussels on a boat on Friday at the Alpine Meadows inspection station. • Video above: Officials have no idea how Golden Mussels make their way to the region According to officials, this is the first interception of the new invasive species by Lake Tahoe watercraft inspectors since the first acknowledgment in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta back in 2024. In May, golden mussels found their way to Folsom Lake and were discovered during a boat inspection. 'Golden mussels pose an extreme threat to Lake Tahoe and the waters of the region, and it is critical that everyone stay vigilant and always Clean, Drain, and Dry all watercraft and equipment when visiting new areas,' said Dennis Zabaglo, aquatic invasive species program manager for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. 'We are fortunate to have such highly trained inspectors and committed partners at marinas and boat ramps, but protecting the waters of the Tahoe Region from the spread of aquatic invasive species takes all of us.' Defense Intelligence Agency IT Specialist arrested for allegedly sharing classified information TRPA and the Tahoe Resource Convention District manage the Lake Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program, which helped to strengthen the inspection procedures in March in response to the golden mussel discovery just a few hours away from the Tahoe Basin, according to authorities. Inspectors said that crews at the Alpine Meadows station conducted an initial decontamination of the 65-foot boat and placed it under quarantine under the California Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations until the boat is safe. The managers of the Watercraft Inspection Program have been working with the Nevada Division of Wildlife and other state agencies to share information on all detections with agencies in both states and the western U.S., officials said. 'With the support of boaters and paddlers, we have kept Lake Tahoe safe from many invasive species, but the survivability of golden mussel and their proximity to Tahoe make them a greater threat than other aquatic invasive species,' Killian said. 'The Lake Tahoe inspection program has become a national model because it is so comprehensive. The move to mandatory decontaminations this year was a crucial step to continue protecting the waters of the Tahoe Region for all to enjoy.' According to the inspectors, as new threats come to Lake Tahoe, the emphasis on following clear, drain, and dry protocol remains for all boaters, paddlers, anglers, and beachgoers. Sacramento's Track 7 Brewing Company announced its closures effective Saturday Tahoe RCD Aquatic Invasive Species Program Manager Chris Killian said that the golden mussels are not in the lake, so following the clean, drain, and dry protocol will help to lessen the risk of invasion. Authorities stated that since the discovery of golden mussels in the port of Stockton, they have been discovered as far south as Bakersfield through the connected water system. The areas outside the Tahoe Region have responded to the threat by standing up prevention programs, temporary waterbody closures, and 30-day quarantine periods in some areas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Invasive golden mussels found on boat during Lake Tahoe inspection
ALPINE MEADOWS – Invasive golden mussels were intercepted during an inspection at a Lake Tahoe-area station, making it the first time golden mussels were intercepted in the area, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency said. The golden mussels were found on a 65-foot vessel that went through the Alpine Meadows inspection station on Friday. That boat will be held under quarantine until officials deem it risk-free. "Golden mussels pose an extreme threat to Lake Tahoe and the waters of the region and it is critical that everyone stay vigilant and always Clean, Drain, and Dry all watercraft and equipment when visiting new areas," said Dennis Zabaglo, the aquatic invasive species program manager for the TRPA. TRPA Since March, all boats that enter the waters of Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf Lake and Echo Lake must go through an inspection procedure. The TRPA said if the golden mussels enter the lake, they could "irreversibly harm Lake Tahoe's recreation, water quality, and native ecosystem." This comes after golden mussels were discovered at the Port of Stockton, marking the first such discovery in North America. The TRPA says the farthest south that golden mussels have been detected in California is Bakersfield. Some areas, such as Folsom Lake, mandate that boats must go through a 30-day quarantine before entering the water.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Private governments coming to an area near you
Lake Tahoe on April 22, 2024. (Photo: Jeff Anderson/ USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) Imagine you want to create and control a large pool of capital predominantly financed by grants and other people's money. Simply define a geographic boundary, let's call it a 'district,' and get a few business colleagues to decide what mandatory fee or compulsory assessment you're going to collect to benefit your private business agendas. Next, petition a state senator and county commissioner; most are eager to curry favor with deep-pocketed business donors. Create a nonprofit to which you will funnel the dollars. Small business owners will be required to collect the fee at the point of sale in your district. You hold the cards because you've engineered the framework and set the fee percentage. Sounds a bit Sopranos-like, doesn't it? Schemes like this – blandly called Business Improvement Districts or BIDs – are undemocratic but legal ways to levy fees (effectively a sales tax when businesses pass the cost of the fees on to consumers) that benefit the few over the many. BIDs first appeared in the 1970s, but have become a controversial power grab for business interests and developers in recent years to finance tourism destination dreams and pet projects outside of public control or view. BIDs represent a particular risk for unincorporated areas because there are no elected mayors or city councils to hold public meetings or be answerable. All citizens and small business owners should be concerned. A few influential businesses or developers can band together and force new recurring costs on an entire community – tacked on at the point of sale. Worse still, the International Journal of Public Administration noted: 'BIDs have arisen as a new form of 'private government.' As they expand their menus of services, often including land-use planning, and approaching more general-purpose government status, BIDs have begun to raise issues of accountability.' Where might you begin such a monetary diversion maneuver in Nevada? Follow the play book of Nevada Democratic state Sen. Skip Daly, who, at the behest of unelected people – such as Julie Regan, executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), tourism executive Andy Chapman, now Chair of the Tahoe Transportation District, and TRPA government affairs manager Devin Middlebrook along with legal consulting firm Civitas Advisers – successfully advanced a BID proposal to a panel of his fellow legislators during an interim meeting last year. Put forward by TRPA (a bi-state agency with lots of political sway), their business cronies who will determine BID details — such as where to draw geographic boundaries, how much to levy and where to spend funds — also promoted the bill. If this is the first time you've heard about this fast-moving state legislation, Senate bill 420, that's by design. Tax-like enabling legislation that will negatively impact constituent wallets is best kept under wraps. SB420 needs state-level approval because there's no existing legal path to create a BID in unincorporated portions of a Nevada county. Existing Nevada law (like NRS 271A for Tourism Improvement Districts) focuses on cities and municipal projects. As called out in the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship plan (p. 38), 'legislation would need to be pursued' as 'there is currently no statute enabling this sort of improvement district in Nevada,' Hence, testimony from Chapman, President and CEO of Travel North Tahoe Nevada, on April 4: 'Senate Bill 420 will create the ability for local businesses within the Nevada portion of the Tahoe Basin to petition the relevant county to create a Business Improvement District (known as a BID), which could only be created with the support of the business community AND approval by the County Commission.' The goal for this improvement district mechanism is to create a long-term funding solution for issues in Nevada's Lake Tahoe area. This type of improvement district legislation exists already in California. As written SB420's BID model is funded through the levy of assessments on business. However, it's not clear what businesses this bill will encompass or exempt. Section 6.1 defines 'business' as all types of businesses, including, without limitations financial institutions and professions.' That means if a business license address lies inside the proposed boundary, that business license holder could be assessed. SB420 includes a broad scope of what activities can be undertaken, but residents don't have a voice. If signed into law, SB420 could create a template in Nevada for future quasi-governmental taxation in counties, virtually unregulated by the legislature or department of taxation. If other broadly written BIDs elsewhere are any indication, more surprises lie ahead. Residents of Rochester, New York, characterized a proposed BID there 'as a shadow government.' While told that businesses would pay for the BID, reporters learned, as residents suspected, it would be mostly taxpayers who would fund the BID managed by 17 'movers and shakers in business and political circles' — members of a nonprofit established to control the Rochester BID. BIDs are hard to undo. When formed BIDs become legal special districts, in Nevada's case, under state law. Dissolving a BID, governed by a management plan written by consultants like Civitas who obtain multi-year contracts, usually requires approval from the same body that created it. Who likes to relinquish money and power? Businesses – particularly tourism outfits with multiple locations or headquartered elsewhere – can get away with charging added fees because of high-turnover visitors. BID members can even use money generated by the fees to market themselves. Self-dealing at its worst. Residents who shop, dine or recreate within a 'district' always pay the fee. Communities effectively subsidize private agendas. Residents in San Diego revealed how Civitas' founder has a history of creating legal loopholes (p. 14). Civitas Advisors as of March 2013 had pocketed $546,016 and counting from San Diego alone; lawsuits followed. The Sacramento-based firm has expanded overseas but now wants to make Nevada its newest client. SB420 took shape August 16 at the interim Legislative Committee for the Review and Oversight of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Marlette Lake Water System. None of Northern Nevadans' public concerns about public safety and the environment are mentioned or considered in the recommendations for legislation. Instead Daly, at the sixth and final meeting along with other legislators, agreed to advance TRPA's wish list, including the BID legislation. In the meeting (1:51:24 on the recording), Civitas – the legal firm that stands to profit handsomely to administer BIDs – testified, not surprisingly, in support of it. Senator Robin Titus (minutes, p.16), however, saw the scheme for what it is: 'I am going to be a 'no' on this when it comes to a vote. I truly cannot accept—I think [it's] a taxation.' Assemblymember Ken Gray shared the concerns: 'I want to echo Senator Titus' comments as well.' Citizens (not business owners) who participated in the April 4 Senate working session opposed the BID legislation and its lack of specificity. BID activities in SB420 include promotion of events, marketing and economic development, transportation and other services that confer 'benefit upon assessed businesses in the district.' If this isn't a tax why does the state legislature need to have a bill that involves the Department of Taxation to facilitate what businesses should be managing or funding on their own. Is SB420 really in the best interests of Nevada residents? This should be a red flag for other state legislatures who've been lobbied to create similar legislation. Transportation alone is a heavy lift. Even the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration agrees. Among BID disadvantages it lists: 'BIDs are not public agencies and cannot be directed to accomplish transportation goals, services or facilities desired by elected officials and agencies. 'BIDs, as private entities, will not fund public goods or services that provide benefits outside the BID boundaries. Also due to sunset provisions, they are not typically structured to facilitate the development of large infrastructure facilities that require financing.' Many residents first read the SB420 language amendments only after the bill was advanced out of committee as one of 48 bills reviewed by the Senate Government Affairs Committee April 11. No matter; public comment was reserved for the end of the meeting after voting had ended. Two senators, Lisa Rogich and Lisa Krasner, went on record to say they reserved the right to change their vote later. Rogich went further, 'I'm hoping the parties can continue to have conversations with the community and get the residents on board.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tahoe agency seeks state funds to advance development agenda couched as environmentalism
View of Lake Tahoe in Nevada (Photo courtesy P. Tsigdinos) A sobering Lake Tahoe investigative journalism series by CalMatters arrived at an inopportune time for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). The deep dive into how public monies are used at Lake Tahoe landed as the agency comes before Nevada and California legislatures seeking millions of dollars for its operating budget. TRPA will be in Carson City on April 2. As explained in an NPR CapRadio interview, a team of reporters spent months requesting and analyzing documents from the agency and submitting public records requests to federal, state and county sources. What came to light is that the Tahoe agency and a 'myriad' of funders from both states and the five counties in the Tahoe basin along with deep-pocketed private interests (which include resort executives and developers on non-profit boards) have established a closed loop system for advancing pet projects. Items include: a consultant-generated rebranding of tourism as 'sustainable'; photo opp summits; trail construction into once pristine shorelines and forests; and, despite a court order to cease and desist: poisoning water in the Tahoe Keys to ease boat access. As one of the investigative journalists noted (audio time stamp 25.58) 'they're all giving money to each other through grants or what have you – it's this very complex interwoven web that's hard to dissect for sure.' That's not to say TRPA doesn't have annual independent financial audits of its operations. It does. The last occurred for the financial year ending June 2024. The CalMatters analysis goes beyond the agency's day-to-day operations. TRPA has been at the nexus of billions of dollars over decades. It reported: 'About $581 million — slightly more than a third of the government and private money spent in the Tahoe region since 2010 — has funded recreation, transit, paved path and trail projects. Included is $40 million for a new sports and aquatics center. Those types of expenses are growing in recent years: Since 2015, they now amount to 43% of the funding, twice the share of the previous five years.' Who are among the beneficiaries of new recreation attractions? Multinational resort operators like Vail Resorts; it offered up a vice president to join TRPA on a recent lobbying trip to Washington D.C. along with the head of the previously named North Lake Tahoe Resort Association and other Tahoe tourism representatives. Nevada Current also found a bias to recreational spending when it investigated where dollars in TRPA's Environmental Improvement Program were flowing. That reporting occurred as a bill introduced by Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei and co-sponsored by Nevada Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto made its way through Congress. Millions more became available to TRPA in September 2024 when the bill became law. Spend any time on TRPA's website and you'll find all sorts of developer goodies including a development rights marketplace with developer incentives. In its development pipeline are new amenities for an older ski resort now owned by a commercial real estate development and investment firm. The agency is also a founding partner of a cleverly devised tourism initiative designed to funnel money to private interests under the auspices of environmental improvement. Government agencies with such scope, authority and funds at their disposal would typically answer to a full-time, comprehensive Office of Inspector General or comparable independent dedicated oversight division. This ensures agencies are in routine compliance and do not engage in ineffective, unethical or unlawful operations. Full-time oversight doesn't exist for TRPA. However, it does have more 'public-private' partnerships than you can count on two hands and highly paid executives who excel at PowerPoint presentations. While the agency works to combat aggressive aquatic invasive species entering Lake Tahoe, this effort becomes more difficult with new piers offered every two years. The Tahoe Science Advisory Council peer review of the latest TRPA Environmental Threshold Evaluation called out deficiencies in data and lack of accounting for increasing wildfire activity with, among other things, 'no mention of increasing wildfires on nitrogen emissions concentrations' (excess nitrogen in lakes is a major source of pollution), and inconsistencies in evaluation methods and metrics. The academics put it this way: 'The disconnect between some standards and management activities reinforces the need (identified by previous threshold evaluation reviews) to revisit the threshold standard system for air quality, noise, recreation, vegetation preservation, and water quality. Revisiting the threshold standards and the associated data sources is needed to ensure TRPA's monitoring programs can best inform implementation actions and monitor the impacts of those investments.' Meanwhile, the Tahoe Area Group Sierra Club noted Lake Tahoe has gained 'international acclaim for its high microplastic levels, nearshore water quality severely impaired with algae and cyanobacteria blooms, toxic materials in the lake's waters surpassing the EPA-approved limit by more than 2,500 times in the lake, and a trash problem that is now infamous around the world.' TRPA has been briefed on microplastics but has initiated no action. Compliance is not TRPA's strong suit. The Tahoe Event Center in Douglas County opened in 2023 without onsite parking, meant to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Traffic count is one factor in determining VMTs, yet TRPA never followed up to see if the required vehicle counting monitors were installed (they weren't). And Tahoe infrastructure? According to the Tahoe City Public Utility District, much of Tahoe's water infrastructure was built in the 1960s and the aging pipes 'don't meet today's fire codes.' Yet that hasn't stopped TRPA from amending ordinances to allow for higher density development. Developers are already marketing their Tahoe luxury properties. Under the rubric of housing, TRPA rushed to loosen development standards for taller buildings, removed land coverage restrictions meant to filter and recharge rain and snowmelt that flow to the lake, and greenlit accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Tahoe county planners, in a moment of candor, allowed they expect ADUs will be turned into tourist accommodation units. Gotta keep the tourists happy. But impacts to the Lake? 'With all the new projected development, all of the science in the world won't save Lake Tahoe.' That was one of many serious public comments offered by a member of the Tahoe Environmental Research Council advisory board in the most recent TRPA governing board meeting. Lake Tahoe needs a truly science-based environmental enforcement and compliance agency. The Tahoe basin also needs a realistic update of the Tahoe basin's carrying capacity. It's time to amend TRPA codes to include specific modern-day thresholds such as wildfire evacuation, tourism/human capacity and traffic. Shouldn't there be an accurate determination of how much more development and human impact Tahoe can safely accommodate? Asking the same agency to both approve and police large new developments makes no sense. It cannot be both 'judge and jury' and expect that the public and environment's interests will be best served. What was the response to the investigative reporting on how far TRPA had strayed from its watchdog focus? TRPA doubled down on how much it values development and tourism. One public servant, TRPA's governing board member and Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill, dismissed the report outright as 'misinformation' and diminished the award-winning media outlet as 'quote unquote journalism.' Despite TRPA and its partners' spin, the public doggedly continue to express valid concerns to TRPA's governing board and Nevada's legislators. To share your thoughts on TRPA weigh in on the Nevada Senate committee website where it says 'submit opinion.' Lake Tahoe needs you.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency updates Watercraft Inspection Program after discovery of aquatic invasive species
( — An update to the Lake Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program was approved to protect the lake after invasive golden mussels were discovered just a few hours away from the Tahoe Basin, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Video Above: Who Determines When A Species Is Invasive TRPA said the governing board approved the update after the invasive species was found for the first time in North America last October in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of the state. The Lake Tahoe inspection program has kept golden mussels out of Lake Tahoe since beginning in 2008, as they can encrust boats, piers, rocks, and pipes, according to TRPA. TRPA along with the Tahoe Resource Conservation District enacted mandatory decontaminations for visiting motorized watercrafts going into lake Tahoe. Motorized boaters traveling into Lake Tahoe are required to have a watercraft decontamination followed by a mandatory inspection. 'Boaters and paddlers have a key role in protecting the waters they enjoy,' said Dennis Zabaglo, aquatic invasive species program manager for TRPA. 'Golden mussels are a greater threat to Tahoe than other aquatic invasive species. We appreciate the support of boaters and will continue working to keep the lake safe and accessible to all.' Tahoe National Forest seeks public feedback on multiple projects TPRA said golden mussels have been detected through connected water systems as far as Bakersfield, since being discovered in Stockton. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
