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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1925

To promote environmental restoration around the Lake Tahoe basin.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 16, 1999

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. REID, Mrs. BOXER, and Mr. BRYAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To promote environmental restoration around the Lake

Tahoe basin.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lake Tahoe Restora5 tion Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) Lake Tahoe, one of the largest, deepest,

9 and clearest lakes in the world, has a cobalt blue

10 color, a unique alpine setting, and remarkable water
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1 clarity, and is recognized nationally and worldwide

2 as a natural resource of special significance;

3 (2) in addition to being a scenic and ecological

4 treasure, Lake Tahoe is one of the outstanding rec5 reational resources of the United States, offering

6 skiing, water sports, biking, camping, and hiking to

7 millions of visitors each year, and contributing sig8 nificantly to the economies of California, Nevada,

9 and the United States;

10 (3) the economy in the Lake Tahoe basin is de11 pendent on the protection and restoration of the nat12 ural beauty and recreation opportunities in the area;

13 (4) Lake Tahoe is in the midst of an environ14 mental crisis; the Lake’s water clarity has declined

15 from a visibility level of 105 feet in 1967 to only 70

16 feet in 1999, and scientific estimates indicate that if

17 the water quality at the Lake continues to degrade,

18 Lake Tahoe will lose its famous clarity in only 30

19 years;

20 (5) sediment and algae-nourishing phosphorous

21 and nitrogen continue to flow into the Lake from a

22 variety of sources, including land erosion, fertilizers,

23 air pollution, urban runoff, highway drainage,

24 streamside erosion, land disturbance, and ground

25 water flow;
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1 (6) methyl tertiary butyl ether—

2 (A) has contaminated and closed more

than 1 3 ⁄3 of the wells in South Tahoe; and

4 (B) is advancing on the lake at a rate of

5 approximately 9 feet per day;

6 (7) destruction of wetlands, wet meadows, and

7 stream zone habitat has compromised the Lake’s

8 ability to cleanse itself of pollutants;

9 (8) approximately 40 percent of the trees in the

10 Lake Tahoe basin are either dead or dying, and the

11 increased quantity of combustible forest fuels has

12 significantly increased the risk of catastrophic forest

13 fire in the Lake Tahoe basin;

14 (9) as the largest land manager in the Lake

15 Tahoe basin, with 77 percent of the land, the Fed16 eral Government has a unique responsibility for re17 storing environmental health to Lake Tahoe;

18 (10) the Federal Government has a long history

19 of environmental preservation at Lake Tahoe,

20 including—

21 (A) congressional consent to the establish22 ment of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in

23 1969 (Public Law 91–148; 83 Stat. 360) and

24 in 1980 (Public Law 96–551; 94 Stat. 3233);
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1 (B) the establishment of the Lake Tahoe

2 Basin Management Unit in 1973; and

3 (C) the enactment of Public Law 96–586

4 (94 Stat. 3381) in 1980 to provide for the ac5 quisition of environmentally sensitive land and

6 erosion control grants;

7 (11) President Clinton renewed the Federal

8 Government’s commitment to Lake Tahoe in 1997

9 at the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum, when he

10 committed to increased Federal resources for envi11 ronmental restoration at Lake Tahoe and estab12 lished the Federal Interagency Partnership and Fed13 eral Advisory Committee to consult on natural re14 sources issues concerning the Lake Tahoe basin;

15 (12) the States of California and Nevada have

16 contributed proportionally to the effort to protect

17 and restore Lake Tahoe, including—

18 (A) expenditures—

19 (i) exceeding $200,000,000 by the

20 State of California since 1980 for land ac21 quisition, erosion control, and other envi22 ronmental projects in the Lake Tahoe

23 basin; and
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1 (ii) exceeding $30,000,000 by the

2 State of Nevada since 1980 for the pur3 poses described in clause (i); and

4 (B) the approval of a bond issue by voters

5 in the State of Nevada authorizing the expendi6 ture by that State of an additional

7 $20,000,000; and

8 (13) significant additional investment from

9 Federal, State, local, and private sources is needed

10 to stop the damage to Lake Tahoe and its forests,

11 and restore the Lake Tahoe basin to ecological

12 health.

13 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

14 (1) to enable the Forest Service to plan and im15 plement significant new environmental restoration

16 activities and forest management activities to ad17 dress the phenomena described in paragraphs (4)

18 through (8) of subsection (a) in the Lake Tahoe

19 basin;

20 (2) to ensure that Federal, State, local, re21 gional, tribal, and private agencies continue to work

22 together to improve water quality and manage Fed23 eral land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management

24 Unit; and
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1 (3) to provide funding to local governments for

2 erosion and sediment control projects on non-Fed3 eral land.

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this Act:

6 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL THRESHOLD CARRYING

7 CAPACITY.—The term ‘‘environmental threshold car8 rying capacity’’ has the meaning given the term in

9 Article II of the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact

10 set forth in the first section of Public Law 96–551

11 (94 Stat. 3235).

12 (2) FIRE RISK REDUCTION ACTIVITY.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fire risk re14 duction activity’’ means an activity that is nec15 essary to reduce the risk of wildfire to promote

16 forest management and simultaneously achieve

17 and maintain the environmental threshold car18 rying capacities established by the Planning

19 Agency in a manner consistent, where applica20 ble, with chapter 71 of the Tahoe Regional

21 Planning Agency Code of Ordinances.

22 (B) INCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—The term

23 ‘‘fire risk reduction activity’’ includes—

24 (i) prescribed burning;

25 (ii) mechanical treatment;
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1 (iii) road obliteration or reconstruc2 tion; and

3 (iv) such other activities consistent

4 with Forest Service practices as the Sec5 retary determines to be appropriate.

6 (3) PLANNING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Planning

7 Agency’’ means the Tahoe Regional Planning Agen8 cy established under Public Law 91–148 (83 Stat.

9 360) and Public Law 96–551 (94 Stat. 3233).

10 (4) PRIORITY LIST.—The term ‘‘priority list’’

11 means the environmental restoration priority list de12 veloped under section 6.

13 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

14 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the

15 Chief of the Forest Service.

16 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAKE TAHOE BASIN MAN17 AGEMENT UNIT.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Lake Tahoe Basin Manage19 ment Unit shall be administered by the Secretary in ac20 cordance with this Act and the laws applicable to the Na21 tional Forest System.

22 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITY.—

23 (1) PRIVATE OR NON-FEDERAL LAND.—Noth24 ing in this Act grants regulatory authority to the

25 Secretary over private or other non-Federal land.
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1 (2) PLANNING AGENCY.—Nothing in this Act

2 affects or increases the authority of the Planning

3 Agency.

4 (3) ACQUISITION UNDER OTHER LAW.—Noth5 ing in this Act affects the authority of the Secretary

6 to acquire land from willing sellers in the Lake

7 Tahoe basin under any other law.

8 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION WITH PLANNING AGENCY AND

9 OTHER ENTITIES.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the duties de11 scribed in subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with

12 and seek the advice and recommendations of—

13 (1) the Planning Agency;

14 (2) the Tahoe Federal Interagency Partnership

15 established by Executive Order No. 13057 (62 Fed.

16 Reg. 41249) or a successor Executive order;

17 (3) the Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory

18 Committee established by the Secretary on Decem19 ber 15, 1998 (64 Fed. Reg. 2876) (until the com20 mittee is terminated);

21 (4) Federal representatives and all political sub22 divisions of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management

23 Unit; and

24 (5) the Lake Tahoe Transportation and Water

25 Quality Coalition.
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1 (b) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall consult with and

2 seek advice and recommendations from the entities de3 scribed in subsection (a) with respect to—

4 (1) the administration of the Lake Tahoe Basin

5 Management Unit;

6 (2) the development of the priority list;

7 (3) the promotion of consistent policies and

8 strategies to address the Lake Tahoe basin’s envi9 ronmental and recreational concerns;

10 (4) the coordination of the various programs,

11 projects, and activities relating to the environment

12 and recreation in the Lake Tahoe basin to avoid un13 necessary duplication and inefficiencies of Federal,

14 State, local, tribal, and private efforts; and

15 (5) the coordination of scientific resources and

16 data, for the purpose of obtaining the best available

17 science as a basis for decisionmaking on an ongoing

18 basis.

19 SEC. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PRIORITY LIST.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop

22 a priority list of potential or proposed environmental res23 toration projects for the Lake Tahoe basin.

24 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PRIORITY LIST.—In devel25 oping the priority list, the Secretary shall—
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1 (1) use the best available science, including any

2 relevant findings and recommendations of the water3 shed assessment conducted by the Forest Service in

4 the Lake Tahoe basin; and

5 (2) include, in order of priority, potential or

6 proposed environmental restoration projects in the

7 Lake Tahoe basin that—

8 (A) are included in or are consistent with

9 the environmental improvement program adopt10 ed by the Planning Agency in February 1998

11 and amendments to the program;

12 (B) would help to achieve and maintain the

13 environmental threshold carrying capacities

14 for—

15 (i) air quality;

16 (ii) fisheries;

17 (iii) noise;

18 (iv) recreation;

19 (v) scenic resources;

20 (vi) soil conservation;

21 (vii) forest health;

22 (viii) water quality; and

23 (ix) wildlife;

24 (3) in determining the order of priority of po25 tential and proposed environmental restoration
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1 projects under paragraph (2), the focus shall ad2 dress projects (listed in no particular order)

3 involving—

4 (A) erosion and sediment control, including

5 the activities described in section 2(g) of Public

6 Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3381) (as amended by

7 section 7);

8 (B) the acquisition of environmentally sen9 sitive land from willing sellers under Public

10 Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3381) or land acquisi11 tion under any other Federal law;

12 (C) fire risk reduction activities in urban

13 areas and urban-wildland interface areas, in14 cluding high recreational use areas and urban

15 lots acquired from willing sellers under Public

16 Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3381);

17 (D) cleaning up methyl tertiary butyl ether

18 contamination; and

19 (E) the management of vehicular parking

20 and traffic in the Lake Tahoe Basin Manage21 ment Unit, especially—

22 (i) improvement of public access to

23 the Lake Tahoe basin, including the pro24 motion of alternatives to the private auto25 mobile;
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1 (ii) the Highway 28 and 89 corridors

2 and parking problems in the area; and

3 (iii) cooperation with local public

4 transportation systems, including—

5 (I) the Coordinated Transit Sys6 tem; and

7 (II) public transit systems on the

8 north shore of Lake Tahoe.

9 (c) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall provide for

10 continuous scientific research on and monitoring of the

11 implementation of projects on the priority list, including

12 the status of the achievement and maintenance of environ13 mental threshold carrying capacities.

14 (d) CONSISTENCY WITH MEMORANDUM OF UNDER15 STANDING.—A project on the priority list shall be con16 ducted in accordance with the memorandum of under17 standing signed by the Forest Supervisor and the Plan18 ning Agency on November 10, 1989, including any amend19 ments to the memorandum as long as the memorandum

20 remains in effect.

21 (e) REVIEW OF PRIORITY LIST.—Periodically, but

22 not less often than every 3 years, the Secretary shall—

23 (1) review the priority list;

24 (2) consult with—

25 (A) the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency;
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1 (B) interested political subdivisions; and

2 (C) the Lake Tahoe Water Quality and

3 Transportation Coalition; and

4 (3) make any necessary changes with respect

5 to—

6 (A) the findings of scientific research and

7 monitoring in the Lake Tahoe basin;

8 (B) any change in an environmental

9 threshold as determined by the Planning Agen10 cy;

11 (C) any change in general environmental

12 conditions in the Lake Tahoe basin; and

13 (D) submit to Congress a report on any

14 changes made.

15 (f) CLEANUP OF HYDROCARBON CONTAMINATION.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make a

17 payment of $1,000,000 to the Tahoe Regional Plan18 ning Agency and the South Tahoe Public Utility

19 District to develop and publish a plan, not later than

20 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, for

21 the prevention and cleanup of hydrocarbon contami22 nation (including contamination with MTBE) of the

23 surface water and ground water of the Lake Tahoe

24 basin.
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1 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan,

2 the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the South

3 Tahoe Public Utility District shall consult with the

4 States of California and Nevada and appropriate po5 litical subdivisions.

6 (3) WILLING SELLERS.—The plan shall not in7 clude any acquisition of land or an interest in land

8 except an acquisition from a willing seller.

9 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

10 authorized to be appropriated, for the implementation of

11 projects on the priority list, $20,000,000 for the first fis12 cal year that begins after the date of enactment of this

13 Act and for each of the 9 fiscal years thereafter.

14 SEC. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT PAYMENTS.

15 Section 2 of Public Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3381) is

16 amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(g) PAYMENTS TO LOCALITIES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri20 culture shall make annual payments to the gov21 erning bodies of each of the political subdivisions

22 (including any public utility the service area of

23 which includes any part of the Lake Tahoe basin),

24 any portion of which is located in the area depicted

25 on the final map filed under section 3(a).
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1 ‘‘(2) USE OF PAYMENTS.—Payments under this

2 subsection may be used—

3 ‘‘(A) first, for erosion control and water

4 quality projects; and

5 ‘‘(B) second, unless emergency projects

6 arise, for projects to address other threshold

7 categories after thresholds for water quality and

8 soil conservation have been achieved and main9 tained.

10 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a

12 payment under this subsection, a political sub13 division shall annually submit a priority list of

14 proposed projects to the Secretary of Agri15 culture.

16 ‘‘(B) COMPONENTS OF LIST.—A priority

17 list under subparagraph (A) shall include, for

18 each proposed project listed—

19 ‘‘(i) a description of the need for the

20 project;

21 ‘‘(ii) all projected costs and benefits;

22 and

23 ‘‘(iii) a detailed budget.

24 ‘‘(C) USE OF PAYMENTS.—A payment

25 under this subsection shall be used only to
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1 carry out a project or proposed project that is

2 part of the environmental improvement pro3 gram adopted by the Tahoe Regional Planning

4 Agency in February 1998 and amendments to

5 the program.

6 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL OBLIGATION.—All projects

7 funded under this subsection shall be part of

8 Federal obligation under the environmental im9 provement program.

10 ‘‘(4) DIVISION OF FUNDS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The total amounts ap12 propriated for payments under this subsection

13 shall be allocated by the Secretary of Agri14 culture based on the relative need for and mer15 its of projects proposed for payment under this

16 section.

17 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM.—To the maximum extent

18 practicable, for each fiscal year, the Secretary

19 of Agriculture shall ensure that each political

20 subdivision in the Lake Tahoe basin receives

21 amounts appropriated for payments under this

22 subsection.

23 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In

24 addition to the amounts authorized to be appro25 priated to carry out section 6 of the Lake Tahoe
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1 Restoration Act, there is authorized to be appro2 priated for making payments under this subsection

3 $10,000,000 for the first fiscal year that begins

4 after the date of enactment of this paragraph and

5 for each of the 9 fiscal years thereafter.’’.

6 SEC. 8. FIRE RISK REDUCTION ACTIVITIES.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In conducting fire risk reduction

8 activities in the Lake Tahoe basin, the Secretary shall, as

9 appropriate, coordinate with State and local agencies and

10 organizations, including local fire departments and volun11 teer groups.

12 (b) GROUND DISTURBANCE.—The Secretary shall, to

13 the maximum extent practicable, minimize any ground dis14 turbances caused by fire risk reduction activities.

15 SEC. 9. AVAILABILITY AND SOURCE OF FUNDS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Funds authorized under this Act

17 and the amendment made by this Act—

18 (1) shall be in addition to any other amounts

19 available to the Secretary for expenditure in the

20 Lake Tahoe basin; and

21 (2) shall not be drawn from an appropriation

22 for any other unit of the National Forest System.

23 (b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided

24 in subsection (c), funds for activities under section 6 of

25 this Act and section 2(g) of Public Law 96–586 (94 Stat.
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1 3381) shall be available for obligation on a 1-to-1 basis

2 with funding of restoration activities in the Lake Tahoe

3 basin by the States of California and Nevada.

4 (c) RELOCATION COSTS.—The Secretary shall provide 2 5 ⁄3 of necessary funding to local utility districts for

6 the costs of relocating facilities in connection with environ7 mental restoration projects under section 6 and erosion

8 control projects under section 2 of Public Law 96–586.

9 SEC. 10. AMENDMENT OF PUBLIC LAW 96–586.

10 Section 3(a) of Public Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3383)

11 is amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(5) WILLING SELLERS.—Land within the

13 Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit subject to ac14 quisition under this section that is owned by a pri15 vate person shall be acquired only from a willing

16 seller.’’.

17 SEC. 11. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.

18 Nothing in this Act exempts the Secretary from the

19 duty to comply with any applicable Federal law.

20 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

22 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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