The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is reminding residents and contractors that the annual grading and digging season for permitted projects will end on today, Friday, Oct. 15, after which all construction sites must be appropriately winterized to protect Lake Tahoe’s famed water quality.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency requires all construction sites to be winterized by Oct. 15 to help prevent sediment from washing into streams and the lake and to prevent soil compaction and disturbance during the region’s historic period of wet weather. Site winterization requirements are available on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency website.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency can approve grading season exceptions for projects on a case-by-case basis if a public health, safety, or water quality emergency exists. It is expected that suppression repair work in support of Caldor Fire recovery will be ongoing, and the public may see work in the South Shore area continuing after Oct. 15 to protect public safety and water quality from ash and debris.

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Some limited activities do not require Tahoe Regional Planning Agency approval, even outside the grading season, including:

• Paving, if all grading and base compaction is already complete.

• Up to 3 cubic yards of soil disturbance that is not part of a larger project, if completed within 48 hours and if the site is stabilized to prevent erosion. This exemption applies to:

Residential home landscaping and gardening projects, including irrigation work.

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Exempt residential fences up to 6 feet in height.

Projects that create or relocate impervious surfaces, also called land coverage, require a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency permit. The grading and digging season for permitted projects at Lake Tahoe will open again May 1, 2022.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency leads the cooperative effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region, while improving local communities, and people’s interactions with our irreplaceable environment.

Source: Tahoe Regional Planning Agency