I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4001 
To provide for environmental restoration activities and forest management 
activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2009 
Mr. HELLER (for himself, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Ms. BERKLEY, and Ms. TITUS) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation 
and Infrastructure and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for environmental restoration activities and forest 
management activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lake Tahoe Restora-
tion Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act (Public Law 106– 
506; 114 Stat. 2351) is amended by striking section 2 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
‘‘(1) Lake Tahoe— 
‘‘(A) is 1 of the largest, deepest, and clear-
est lakes in the world; 
‘‘(B) has a cobalt blue color, a biologically 
diverse alpine setting, and remarkable water 
clarity; and 
‘‘(C) is recognized nationally and world-
wide as a natural resource of special signifi-
cance; 
‘‘(2) in addition to being a scenic and ecological 
treasure, the Lake Tahoe Basin is 1 of the out-
standing recreational resources of the United States, 
which— 
‘‘(A) offers skiing, water sports, biking, 
camping, and hiking to millions of visitors each 
year; and 
‘‘(B) contributes significantly to the econo-
mies of California, Nevada, and the United 
States; 
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‘‘(3) the economy in the Lake Tahoe Basin is 
dependent on the protection and restoration of the 
natural beauty and recreation opportunities in the 
area; 
‘‘(4) the Lake Tahoe Basin continues to be 
threatened by the impacts of land use and transpor-
tation patterns developed in the last century that 
damage the fragile watershed of the Basin; 
‘‘(5) the water clarity of Lake Tahoe declined 
from a visibility level of 105 feet in 1967 to only 70 
feet in 2008; 
‘‘(6) the rate of decline in water clarity of Lake 
Tahoe has decreased in recent years; 
‘‘(7) a stable water clarity level for Lake Tahoe 
could be achieved through feasible control measures 
for very fine sediment particles and nutrients; 
‘‘(8) fine sediments that cloud Lake Tahoe, and 
key nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen that 
support the growth of algae and invasive plants, con-
tinue to flow into the lake from stormwater runoff 
from developed areas, roads, turf, other disturbed 
land, and streams; 
‘‘(9) the destruction and alteration of wetland, 
wet meadows, and stream zone habitat have com-
promised the natural capacity of the watershed to 
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filter sediment, nutrients, and pollutants before 
reaching Lake Tahoe; 
‘‘(10) approximately 25 percent of the trees in 
the Lake Tahoe Basin are either dead or dying; 
‘‘(11) forests in the Tahoe Basin suffer from 
over a century of fire suppression and periodic 
drought, which have resulted in— 
‘‘(A) high tree density and mortality; 
‘‘(B) the loss of biological diversity; and 
‘‘(C) a large quantity of combustible forest 
fuels, which significantly increases the threat of 
catastrophic fire and insect infestation; 
‘‘(12) the establishment of several aquatic and 
terrestrial invasive species (including bass, milfoil, 
and Asian clam) threatens the ecosystem of the 
Lake Tahoe Basin; 
‘‘(13) there is an ongoing threat to the Lake 
Tahoe Basin of the introduction and establishment 
of other invasive species (such as the zebra mussel, 
New Zealand mud snail, and quagga mussel); 
‘‘(14) the report prepared by the University of 
California, Davis, entitled the ‘State of the Lake Re-
port’, found that conditions in the Lake Tahoe 
Basin had changed, including— 
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‘‘(A) the average surface water tempera-
ture of Lake Tahoe has risen by more than 1.5 
degrees Fahrenheit in the past 37 years; and 
‘‘(B) since 1910, the percent of precipita-
tion that has fallen as snow in the Lake Tahoe 
Basin decreased from 52 percent to 34 percent; 
‘‘(15) 75 percent of the land in the Lake Tahoe 
Basin is owned by the Federal Government, which 
makes it a Federal responsibility to restore environ-
mental health to the Basin; 
‘‘(16) the Federal Government has a long his-
tory of environmental preservation at Lake Tahoe, 
including— 
‘‘(A) congressional consent to the estab-
lishment of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agen-
cy with— 
‘‘(i) the enactment in 1969 of Public 
Law 91–148 (83 Stat. 360); and 
‘‘(ii) the enactment in 1980 of Public 
Law 96–551 (94 Stat. 3233); 
‘‘(B) the establishment of the Lake Tahoe 
Basin Management Unit in 1973; 
‘‘(C) the enactment of Public Law 96–586 
(94 Stat. 3381) in 1980 to provide for the ac-
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quisition of environmentally sensitive land and 
erosion control grants in the Lake Tahoe Basin; 
‘‘(D) the enactment of sections 341 and 
342 of the Department of the Interior and Re-
lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 (Pub-
lic Law 108–108; 117 Stat. 1317), which 
amended the Southern Nevada Public Land 
Management Act of 1998 (Public Law 105– 
263; 112 Stat. 2346) to provide payments for 
the environmental restoration projects under 
this Act; and 
‘‘(E) the enactment of section 382 of the 
Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (Pub-
lic Law 109–432; 120 Stat. 3045), which 
amended the Southern Nevada Public Land 
Management Act of 1998 (Public Law 105– 
263; 112 Stat. 2346) to authorize development 
and implementation of a comprehensive 10-year 
hazardous fuels and fire prevention plan for the 
Lake Tahoe Basin; 
‘‘(17) the Assistant Secretary of the Army for 
Civil Works was an original signatory in 1997 to the 
Agreement of Federal Departments on Protection of 
the Environment and Economic Health of the Lake 
Tahoe Basin; 
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‘‘(18) the Chief of Engineers, under direction 
from the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil 
Works, has continued to be a significant contributor 
to Lake Tahoe Basin restoration, including— 
‘‘(A) stream and wetland restoration; 
‘‘(B) urban stormwater conveyance and 
treatment; and 
‘‘(C) programmatic technical assistance; 
‘‘(19) at the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum in 
1997, the President renewed the commitment of the 
Federal Government to Lake Tahoe by— 
‘‘(A) committing to increased Federal re-
sources for environmental restoration at Lake 
Tahoe; and 
‘‘(B) establishing the Federal Interagency 
Partnership and Federal Advisory Committee to 
consult on natural resources issues concerning 
the Lake Tahoe Basin; 
‘‘(20) at the 2008 and 2009 Lake Tahoe Fo-
rums, Senator Reid, Senator Feinstein, Senator En-
sign, and Governor Gibbons— 
‘‘(A) renewed their commitment to Lake 
Tahoe; and 
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‘‘(B) expressed their desire to fund the 
Federal share of the Environmental Improve-
ment Program through 2018; 
‘‘(21) since 1997, the Federal Government, the 
States of California and Nevada, units of local gov-
ernment, and the private sector have contributed 
more than $1,430,000,000 to the Lake Tahoe 
Basin, including— 
‘‘(A) $424,000,000 from the Federal Gov-
ernment; 
‘‘(B) $612,000,000 from the State of Cali-
fornia; 
‘‘(C) $87,000,000 from the State of Ne-
vada; 
‘‘(D) $59,000,000 from units of local gov-
ernment; and 
‘‘(E) $249,000,000 from private interests; 
‘‘(22) significant additional investment from 
Federal, State, local, and private sources is nec-
essary— 
‘‘(A) to restore and sustain the environ-
mental health of the Lake Tahoe Basin; 
‘‘(B) to adapt to the impacts of changing 
climatic conditions; and 
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‘‘(C) to protect the Lake Tahoe Basin 
from the introduction and establishment of 
invasive species; and 
‘‘(23) the Secretary has indicated that the Lake 
Tahoe Basin Management Unit has the capacity for 
at least $10,000,000 and up to $20,000,000 annu-
ally for the Fire Risk Reduction and Forest Manage-
ment Program. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
‘‘(1) to enable the Chief of the Forest Service, 
the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service, and the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, in cooperation with the Planning 
Agency and the States of California and Nevada, to 
fund, plan, and implement significant new environ-
mental restoration activities and forest management 
activities to address in the Lake Tahoe Basin the 
issues described in paragraphs (4) through (14) of 
subsection (a); 
‘‘(2) to ensure that Federal, State, local, re-
gional, tribal, and private entities continue to work 
together to manage land in the Lake Tahoe Basin 
and to coordinate on other activities in a manner 
that supports achievement and maintenance of— 
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‘‘(A) the environmental threshold carrying 
capacities for the region; and 
‘‘(B) other applicable environmental stand-
ards and objectives; 
‘‘(3) to support local governments in efforts re-
lated to environmental restoration, stormwater pollu-
tion control, fire risk reduction, and forest manage-
ment activities; and 
‘‘(4) to ensure that agency and science commu-
nity representatives in the Lake Tahoe Basin work 
together— 
‘‘(A) to develop and implement a plan for 
integrated monitoring, assessment, and applied 
research to evaluate the effectiveness of the En-
vironmental Improvement Program; and 
‘‘(B) to provide objective information as a 
basis for ongoing decisionmaking, with an em-
phasis on decisionmaking relating to public and 
private land use and resource management in 
the Basin.’’. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act (Public Law 106– 
506; 114 Stat. 2351) is amended by striking section 3 
and inserting the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this Act: 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
‘‘(2) ASSISTANT
SECRETARY.—The term ‘As-
sistant Secretary’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
the Army for Civil Works. 
‘‘(3) CHAIR.—The term ‘Chair’ means the 
Chair of the Federal Partnership. 
‘‘(4) COMPACT.—The term ‘Compact’ means 
the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact included in 
the first section of Public Law 96–551 (94 Stat. 
3233). 
‘‘(5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 
the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service. 
‘‘(6) ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPROVEMENT
PRO-
GRAM.—The term ‘Environmental Improvement Pro-
gram’ means— 
‘‘(A) the Environmental Improvement Pro-
gram adopted by the Planning Agency; and 
‘‘(B) any amendments to the Program. 
‘‘(7) ENVIRONMENTAL THRESHOLD CARRYING 
CAPACITY.—The term ‘environmental threshold car-
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rying capacity’ has the meaning given the term in 
article II of the compact. 
‘‘(8) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘Fed-
eral Partnership’ means the Lake Tahoe Federal 
Interagency Partnership established by Executive 
Order 13957 (62 Fed. Reg. 41249) (or a successor 
Executive order). 
‘‘(9) FOREST
MANAGEMENT
ACTIVITY.—The 
term ‘forest management activity’ includes— 
‘‘(A) prescribed burning for ecosystem 
health and hazardous fuels reduction; 
‘‘(B) mechanical and minimum tool treat-
ment; 
‘‘(C) road decommissioning or reconstruc-
tion; 
‘‘(D) stream environment zone restoration 
and other watershed and wildlife habitat en-
hancements; 
‘‘(E) nonnative invasive species manage-
ment; and 
‘‘(F) other activities consistent with Forest 
Service practices, as the Secretary determines 
to be appropriate. 
‘‘(10) NATIONAL WILDLAND FIRE CODE.—The 
term ‘national wildland fire code’ means— 
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