Lake Tahoe Restoration Act introduced in House

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2013 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Oct. 30 and has been referred to committees.

The Senate introduced the bill Aug. 1.

The House Agriculture, Natural Resources, Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure committees are overseeing the bill.

If it passes, the bill will fund Lake Tahoe projects with $415 million over the course of 10 years, the current bill states.

According to a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency news release, the bill would authorize federal funding for the Lake Tahoe basin water quality and environmental restoration projects. Funding also would be used for wildfire threat reduction, fund information and studies of the lake, outlaw the importation of certain invasive species and allow for land exchanges between the U.S. Forest Service and California Tahoe Conservancy.

“We received good news this year that restoration work funded by the first LTRA could be slowing Tahoe’s clarity loss,” League to Save Lake Tahoe deputy director Jesse Patterson stated in a news release. “But we still have a long way to go. A new infusion of funding is crucial to protecting Tahoe’s natural assets for all to enjoy. We applaud the two states’ Congressional leaders for uniting behind the lake for this important piece of legislation.”

The House bill was sponsored by Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei, co-sponsored by California Rep. John Garamendi, and Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, Rep. Dina Titus and Rep. Steven Horsford.