Placer supes closer to Truckee River booze ban

Teetotaling down the Truckee may be a new mantra of rafting enthusiasts this summer.

In a vote that District 5 Supervisor Bruce Kranz called a “no-brainer,” the Placer County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning unanimously passed a resolution that could lead to a ban on consumption of alcohol during certain times of the year for people floating on the Truckee River.

The board met in Auburn for their monthly meeting at 9 a.m.

The language of the resolution cited the growing popularity of the Truckee River as the, “epicenter for various alcohol-related incidents during certain summer holiday periods,” and the doubling of rafts from 2006 to 2007, as reasons why the county should have the authority to implement a ban on alcohol consumption on the popular waterway.

The supervisors approved the proposal at the request of California Senator Dave Cox, according to Kranz.

If approved at the state level, Kranz said the board is ready to move ahead with implementing the statute.

“I hope we will have it for [this] season,” he said.

The resolution states the ban would only occur, “during specified summer holiday periods, on the Truckee River from the Highway 89 Bridge in Tahoe City, to the Alpine Meadows Road Bridge.”

Language in the proposed statue says the ban will assist county officials to resolve alcohol-related issue and minimize environmental degradation.

Kranz said the rafting companies approved of the resolution.