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ZEPHYR COVE, NEV. — While much of the talk from officials at the 13th annual Lake Tahoe Forum applauded improved relationships between various agencies around Lake Tahoe, a press statement released by basin environmental groups this week shows growing antipathy between the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the groups.
The statement, approved by members of nine different conservation groups, calls on officials attending the forum to require the TRPA to develop a science-based plan to ensure steady progress toward environmental goals, prioritize Environmental Improvement Program projects so that they best serve the public and approve development projects only when they significantly contribute to reaching the agency's environmental goals.
“Over $10 million spent on research tells us we need to reduce pollutant loading by 65 percent to restore the clarity level of Lake Tahoe to 100 feet — it's now about 70 feet,” Michael Donahoe, Tahoe Area Sierra Club spokesman, said in the statement. “We are still losing clarity, just not as fast. And the shoreline is a mess. Yet the TRPA continues to approve projects that contribute to clarity loss.”
The statement points to recently approved updates to ordinances regulating the development of Lake Tahoe's near shore area, the Cerulean Lake Tahoe development in Tahoe Vista and the Sierra Colina Village subdivision on the South Shore as examples of the TRPA's irresponsibility when it comes to protecting the lake.
The statement is “a gross mischaracterization,” “inflammatory,” “irresponsible” and “distorted,” TRPA spokesman Dennis Oliver said in a phone interview on Thursday.
The statement is one aspect of a strategy by the environmental groups to make TRPA the “enemy” and drum up donations, Oliver said.
“You know the TRPA and these conservation groups both want the same thing, and that is to restore lake clarity and meet the rest of the environmental thresholds,” Oliver said. “The media release in particular was an unfair, inaccurate and poorly timed attack on the agency at a time when we should be working together.”
League to Save Lake Tahoe Executive Director Rochelle Nason denied Oliver's allegations that the statement was a fundraising tool and said the three TRPA approvals mentioned in the statement show a move away from a consensus that has been built between environmentalists and business people in the Lake Tahoe Basin over the years.
“Over a period of roughly 15 years, the league filed only one court action against the TRPA, in connection with a proposed expansion of the Tahoe Keys Marina,” Nason said. “Now we have several suits pending and it's because the quality of decision-making at the agency has deteriorated dramatically. Our record speaks for itself.”
The statement, approved by members of nine different conservation groups, calls on officials attending the forum to require the TRPA to develop a science-based plan to ensure steady progress toward environmental goals, prioritize Environmental Improvement Program projects so that they best serve the public and approve development projects only when they significantly contribute to reaching the agency's environmental goals.
“Over $10 million spent on research tells us we need to reduce pollutant loading by 65 percent to restore the clarity level of Lake Tahoe to 100 feet — it's now about 70 feet,” Michael Donahoe, Tahoe Area Sierra Club spokesman, said in the statement. “We are still losing clarity, just not as fast. And the shoreline is a mess. Yet the TRPA continues to approve projects that contribute to clarity loss.”
The statement points to recently approved updates to ordinances regulating the development of Lake Tahoe's near shore area, the Cerulean Lake Tahoe development in Tahoe Vista and the Sierra Colina Village subdivision on the South Shore as examples of the TRPA's irresponsibility when it comes to protecting the lake.
The statement is “a gross mischaracterization,” “inflammatory,” “irresponsible” and “distorted,” TRPA spokesman Dennis Oliver said in a phone interview on Thursday.
The statement is one aspect of a strategy by the environmental groups to make TRPA the “enemy” and drum up donations, Oliver said.
“You know the TRPA and these conservation groups both want the same thing, and that is to restore lake clarity and meet the rest of the environmental thresholds,” Oliver said. “The media release in particular was an unfair, inaccurate and poorly timed attack on the agency at a time when we should be working together.”
League to Save Lake Tahoe Executive Director Rochelle Nason denied Oliver's allegations that the statement was a fundraising tool and said the three TRPA approvals mentioned in the statement show a move away from a consensus that has been built between environmentalists and business people in the Lake Tahoe Basin over the years.
“Over a period of roughly 15 years, the league filed only one court action against the TRPA, in connection with a proposed expansion of the Tahoe Keys Marina,” Nason said. “Now we have several suits pending and it's because the quality of decision-making at the agency has deteriorated dramatically. Our record speaks for itself.”
