color, a unique alpine setting, and remarkable water
clarity, and is recognized nationally and worldwide
as a natural resource of special significance;
(2) in addition to being a scenic and ecological
treasure, Lake Tahoe is one of the outstanding rec-
reational resources of the United States, offering
skiing, water sports, biking, camping, and hiking to
millions of visitors each year, and contributing sig-
nificantly to the economies of California, Nevada,
and the United States;
(3) the economy in the Lake Tahoe basin is de-
pendent on the protection and restoration of the nat-
ural beauty and recreation opportunities in the area;
(4) Lake Tahoe is in the midst of an environ-
mental crisis; the Lake’s water clarity has declined
from a visibility level of 105 feet in 1967 to only 70
feet in 1999, and scientific estimates indicate that if
the water quality at the Lake continues to degrade,
Lake Tahoe will lose its famous clarity in only 30
years;
(5) sediment and algae-nourishing phosphorous
and nitrogen continue to flow into the Lake from a
variety of sources, including land erosion, fertilizers,
air pollution, urban runoff, highway drainage,
streamside erosion, land disturbance, and ground
water flow;
(6) methyl tertiary butyl ether—
(A) has contaminated and closed more
than 1⁄3 of the wells in South Tahoe; and
(B) is advancing on the lake at a rate of
approximately 9 feet per day;
(7) destruction of wetlands, wet meadows, and
stream zone habitat has compromised the Lake’s
ability to cleanse itself of pollutants;
(8) approximately 40 percent of the trees in the
Lake Tahoe basin are either dead or dying, and the
increased quantity of combustible forest fuels has
significantly increased the risk of catastrophic forest
fire in the Lake Tahoe basin;
(9) as the largest land manager in the Lake
Tahoe basin, with 77 percent of the land, the Fed-
eral Government has a unique responsibility for re-
storing environmental health to Lake Tahoe;
(10) the Federal Government has a long history
of environmental preservation at Lake Tahoe,
including—
(A) congressional consent to the establish-
ment of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in
1969 (Public Law 91–148; 83 Stat. 360) and
in 1980 (Public Law 96–551; 94 Stat. 3233);
(B) the establishment of the Lake Tahoe
Basin Management Unit in 1973; and
(C) the enactment of Public Law 96–586
(94 Stat. 3381) in 1980 to provide for the ac-
quisition of environmentally sensitive land and
erosion control grants;
(11) President Clinton renewed the Federal
Government’s commitment to Lake Tahoe in 1997
at the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum, when he
committed to increased Federal resources for envi-
ronmental restoration at Lake Tahoe and estab-
lished the Federal Interagency Partnership and Fed-
eral Advisory Committee to consult on natural re-
sources issues concerning the Lake Tahoe basin;
(12) the States of California and Nevada have
contributed proportionally to the effort to protect
and restore Lake Tahoe, including—
(A) expenditures—
(i) exceeding $200,000,000 by the
State of California since 1980 for land ac-
quisition, erosion control, and other envi-
ronmental projects in the Lake Tahoe
basin; and
(ii) exceeding $30,000,000 by the
State of Nevada since 1980 for the pur-
poses described in clause (i); and
(B) the approval of a bond issue by voters
in the State of Nevada authorizing the expendi-
ture 
by 
that 
State 
of 
an 
additional
$20,000,000; and
(13) significant additional investment from
Federal, State, local, and private sources is needed
to stop the damage to Lake Tahoe and its forests,
and restore the Lake Tahoe basin to ecological
health.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to enable the Forest Service to plan and im-
plement significant new environmental restoration
activities and forest management activities to ad-
dress the phenomena described in paragraphs (4)
through (8) of subsection (a) in the Lake Tahoe
basin;
(2) to ensure that Federal, State, local, re-
gional, tribal, and private agencies continue to work
together to improve water quality and manage Fed-
eral land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management
Unit; and
(3) to provide funding to local governments for
erosion and sediment control projects on non-Fed-
eral land.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ENVIRONMENTAL
THRESHOLD
CARRYING
CAPACITY.—The term ‘‘environmental threshold car-
rying capacity’’ has the meaning given the term in
Article II of the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact
set forth in the first section of Public Law 96–551
(94 Stat. 3235).
(2) FIRE RISK REDUCTION ACTIVITY.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fire risk re-
duction activity’’ means an activity that is nec-
essary to reduce the risk of wildfire to promote
forest management and simultaneously achieve
and maintain the environmental threshold car-
rying capacities established by the Planning
Agency in a manner consistent, where applica-
ble, with chapter 71 of the Tahoe Regional
Planning Agency Code of Ordinances.
(B) INCLUDED
ACTIVITIES.—The term
‘‘fire risk reduction activity’’ includes—
(i) prescribed burning;
(ii) mechanical treatment;
(iii) road obliteration or reconstruc-
tion; and
(iv) such other activities consistent
with Forest Service practices as the Sec-
retary determines to be appropriate.
(3) PLANNING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Planning
Agency’’ means the Tahoe Regional Planning Agen-
cy established under Public Law 91–148 (83 Stat.
360) and Public Law 96–551 (94 Stat. 3233).
(4) PRIORITY LIST.—The term ‘‘priority list’’
means the environmental restoration priority list de-
veloped under section 6.
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the
Chief of the Forest Service.
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAKE TAHOE BASIN MAN-
AGEMENT UNIT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Lake Tahoe Basin Manage-
ment Unit shall be administered by the Secretary in ac-
cordance with this Act and the laws applicable to the Na-
tional Forest System.
(b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITY.—
(1) PRIVATE OR NON-FEDERAL LAND.—Noth-
ing in this Act grants regulatory authority to the
Secretary over private or other non-Federal land.
(2) PLANNING AGENCY.—Nothing in this Act
affects or increases the authority of the Planning
Agency.
(3) ACQUISITION UNDER OTHER LAW.—Noth-
ing in this Act affects the authority of the Secretary
to acquire land from willing sellers in the Lake
Tahoe basin under any other law.
SEC. 5. CONSULTATION WITH PLANNING AGENCY AND
OTHER ENTITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the duties de-
scribed in subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with
and seek the advice and recommendations of—
(1) the Planning Agency;
(2) the Tahoe Federal Interagency Partnership
established by Executive Order No. 13057 (62 Fed.
Reg. 41249) or a successor Executive order;
(3) the Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory
Committee established by the Secretary on Decem-
ber 15, 1998 (64 Fed. Reg. 2876) (until the com-
mittee is terminated);
(4) Federal representatives and all political sub-
divisions of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management
Unit; and
(5) the Lake Tahoe Transportation and Water
Quality Coalition.
(b) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall consult with and
seek advice and recommendations from the entities de-
scribed in subsection (a) with respect to—
(1) the administration of the Lake Tahoe Basin
Management Unit;
(2) the development of the priority list;
(3) the promotion of consistent policies and
strategies to address the Lake Tahoe basin’s envi-
ronmental and recreational concerns;
(4) the coordination of the various programs,
projects, and activities relating to the environment
and recreation in the Lake Tahoe basin to avoid un-
necessary duplication and inefficiencies of Federal,
State, local, tribal, and private efforts; and
(5) the coordination of scientific resources and
data, for the purpose of obtaining the best available
science as a basis for decisionmaking on an ongoing
basis.
SEC. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PRIORITY LIST.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop
a priority list of potential or proposed environmental res-
toration projects for the Lake Tahoe basin.
(b) DEVELOPMENT OF PRIORITY LIST.—In devel-
oping the priority list, the Secretary shall—
(1) use the best available science, including any
relevant findings and recommendations of the water-
shed assessment conducted by the Forest Service in
the Lake Tahoe basin; and
(2) include, in order of priority, potential or
proposed environmental restoration projects in the
Lake Tahoe basin that—
(A) are included in or are consistent with
the environmental improvement program adopt-
ed by the Planning Agency in February 1998
and amendments to the program;
(B) would help to achieve and maintain the
environmental threshold carrying capacities
for—
(i) air quality;
(ii) fisheries;
(iii) noise;
(iv) recreation;
(v) scenic resources;
(vi) soil conservation;
(vii) forest health;
(viii) water quality; and
(ix) wildlife;
(3) in determining the order of priority of po-
tential and proposed environmental restoration
projects under paragraph (2), the focus shall ad-
dress projects (listed in no particular order)
involving—
(A) erosion and sediment control, including
the activities described in section 2(g) of Public
Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3381) (as amended by
section 7);
(B) the acquisition of environmentally sen-
sitive land from willing sellers under Public
Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3381) or land acquisi-
tion under any other Federal law;
(C) fire risk reduction activities in urban
areas and urban-wildland interface areas, in-
cluding high recreational use areas and urban
lots acquired from willing sellers under Public
Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3381);
(D) cleaning up methyl tertiary butyl ether
contamination; and
(E) the management of vehicular parking
and traffic in the Lake Tahoe Basin Manage-
ment Unit, especially—
(i) improvement of public access to
the Lake Tahoe basin, including the pro-
motion of alternatives to the private auto-
mobile;
(ii) the Highway 28 and 89 corridors
and parking problems in the area;
(iii) cooperation with local public
transportation systems, including—
(I) the Coordinated Transit Sys-
tem; and
(II) public transit systems on the
north shore of Lake Tahoe.
(c) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall provide for
continuous scientific research on and monitoring of the
implementation of projects on the priority list, including
the status of the achievement and maintenance of environ-
mental threshold carrying capacities.
(d) CONSISTENCY WITH MEMORANDUM OF UNDER-
STANDING.—A project on the priority list shall be con-
ducted in accordance with the memorandum of under-
standing signed by the Forest Supervisor and the Plan-
ning Agency on November 10, 1989, including any amend-
ments to the memorandum as long as the memorandum
remains in effect.
(e) REVIEW OF PRIORITY LIST.—Periodically, but
not less often than every 3 years, the Secretary shall—
(1) review the priority list;
(2) consult with—
(A) the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency;
(B) interested political subdivisions; and
(C) the Lake Tahoe Water Quality and
Transportation Coalition; and
(3) make any necessary changes with respect
to—
(A) the findings of scientific research and
monitoring in the Lake Tahoe basin;
(B) any change in an environmental
threshold as determined by the Planning Agen-
cy;
(C) any change in general environmental
conditions in the Lake Tahoe basin; and
(D) submit to Congress a report on any
changes made.
(f) CLEANUP OF HYDROCARBON CONTAMINATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make a
payment of $1,000,000 to the Tahoe Regional Plan-
ning Agency and the South Tahoe Public Utility
District to develop and publish a plan, not later than
1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, for
the prevention and cleanup of hydrocarbon contami-
nation (including contamination with MTBE) of the
surface water and ground water of the Lake Tahoe
basin.
(2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan,
the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the South
Tahoe Public Utility District shall consult with the
States of California and Nevada and appropriate po-
litical subdivisions.
(3) WILLING SELLERS.—The plan shall not in-
clude any acquisition of land or an interest in land
except an acquisition from a willing seller.
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated, for the implementation of
projects on the priority list, $20,000,000 for the first fis-
cal year that begins after the date of enactment of this
Act and for each of the 9 fiscal years thereafter.
SEC. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT PAYMENTS.
Section 2 of Public Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3381) is
amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(g) PAYMENTS TO LOCALITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture shall make annual payments to the gov-
erning bodies of each of the political subdivisions
(including any public utility the service area of
which includes any part of the Lake Tahoe basin),
any portion of which is located in the area depicted
on the final map filed under section 3(a).