pollution

For the first time since 1987, Lake Tahoe has a new regional plan for development and land use.
Twelve of the 14 voting members of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's governing board voted in favor of the new plan, with one member voting against it and another abstaining, according to TRPA spokesman Jeff Cowan.

Business interests say the plan is an overdue overhaul of regulations that will jump-start Tahoe's tourism economy while also protecting its environment.

A Plumas County court recently sentenced two people for illegally dumping waste fuel on a northern California highway.
The crimes occurred during production of a television series called “Hell on the Highway: Highway Heroes.”
A co-star of the show, William Earnest Slade III, of Stockton, pleaded guilty to one felony and one misdemeanor pollution charge and was sentenced on Nov. 2 to 45 days in Plumas County jail.
He was also ordered to pay more than $1,700 in fines and $4,600 in restitution.
In addition, he will be on probation for three years.

Sustainable industries and the future of energy-savings for businesses and companies will be the focus of a luncheon for regional industry and corporate leaders on Wednesday in Reno.

Public transportation has become a form of entertainmet on the North Lake Tahoe Water Shuttle.
After years of planning, the North Lake Tahoe Water Shuttle was launched last month as a pilot program to provide visitors with an alternative means of public transportation in addition to the region’s bus and transfer services. Many visitors, however, are taking the shuttle for the sheer pleasure of being on the water, rather than a means to get from one side of the North Shore to another.

CARSON CITY – With U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s 5^th annual National Clean Energy Summit set to kick off today in Las Vegas, the debate over alternative energy development and the government’s role in its future rages on.

Muscle Powered and BikeCarson.com would like to thank our 2012 Carson City Bike to Work Week sponsors for their support! Generous donations by our sponsors helped us put on successful events, gave incentives to the challengers, and helped Muscle Powered raise money for future projects in Carson City.

More than 350 scientists, environmental policy makers and economic stakeholders will discuss Lake Tahoe and its environmental and economic future at the annual Tahoe Science Conference “Environmental Restoration in a Changing Climate” May 22 to 24 at Incline Village.
The conference, this year being held at Sierra Nevada College, features a scientific poster session and the opening of “Visualizing Change, a photographic exhibition,” on Tuesday evening followed by two full days of seminars and workshops covering more than 20 topics in three main areas:

On Feb. 15, 2012, Humboldt County Attorney Kenneth Bareilles was convicted of violating his felony probation, resulting from prior land use violations in 2011.
The case was prosecuted in two days by Deputy District Attorney Christa McKimmy of the Consumer and Environmental Protection unit.   

On March 14, the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens partnered with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Eradication Team (MET), the California Air National Guard’s Pavehawk helicopter team, San Francisco Water Company, Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department, and Mid Peninsula Open Space District to clean up the environmental damage and mitigate wildlife habitat destruction at several sensitive watersheds throughout Santa Clara County.

The year of 2011 was anything but quiet for the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG).
Pesky bears, a roaming gray wolf, significant poaching arrests, tsunami relief work and dramatic wildlife rescues were among the stories that captured the public’s attention.
DFG also welcomed new Director Charlton H. Bonham, who was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in August.

To a packed house of observers, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board voted to approve Phase 1 of the Homewood Mountain Resort Ski Area Master Plan at their monthly meeting on Wednesday, December 14.

By Sam Bauman
First time I went to Burning Man on the Black Rock playa, I slept in my SUV. Not bad but second and third it was in my tent, a very gritty and uncomfortable week. Fourth I weaseled my way into a friend's a fold-out trailer, which was better. But from then on I teamed up with a retired airline pilot, who had a nice 27-foot Winnebago. Four of us the first three times, just two the last.

Nevada's Division of Environmental Protection has received $1 million in federal money to fund grants that prevent orcontrol nonpoint source water pollution.Nonpoint source water pollution occurs w...

By the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Through late spring snow and cold temperatures, more than 300 people around Lake Tahoe rode in the 2011 Tahoe Bike Challenge, logging over 3,000 commuter bike or pedestrian trips and 10,000 miles of zero-emission travel. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that 1.9 pounds of CO2 is prevented by every bicycle mile traveled.

By Steven R. Lasco
As many of you know, May is National Bike Month. Here in Carson City, several events and rides were held, capped by Bike To Work Week from May 16-20 and the celebration on the 20th outside the Firkin & Fox. As reported, about 150 people came by to visit, enjoy others’ bikes, and get a chance to win a raffle prize. The Nevada Legislature passed two bills in its current session that benefit cyclists (see sidebar below).

NEWS RELEASE — In a board room still crowded following a 12-hour hearing, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board voted to approve the Boulder Bay Community Enhancement Project. Four years in the planning, the project will replace the aging Tahoe Biltmore Casino in Crystal Bay, NV with an eco-friendly, mixed-use resort that will significantly reduce stormwater pollution and vehicle emissions associated with the site.

Federal regulators who've spent a decade assessing the uranium and other toxic wastes seeping into the water table at an old Anaconda copper mine near Yerington say the pollution can't be cleaned up without adding the abandoned site to the U.S. Superfund's National Priority List.
Click here to read the story.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Legislators were asked yesterday to imagine an odor so rancid and vile that it requires evacuating the Legislature.
“You would not be able to work in this building,” Donna German, who lives near Fallon, told legislators at a Senate committee.
That is the type of stench residents near Fallon say they have lived with for years.

PRESS RELEASE — The League to Save Lake Tahoe is voicing its opposition to the size and scale of a large hotel project on Tahoe's North Shore called Boulder Bay, which is slated for a final vote before the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency on March 23.

The project violates the intent of the bi-state Tahoe Regional Planning Compact, which is a Congressionally-approved agreement between California and Nevada to strongly protect Lake Tahoe from the increasing urbanization that is threatening the region's environmental values.

By Nicoletta Florio /Big George Green Consulting
Traveling green is no mean feat. We can walk, cycle, skateboard or even pogo to a destination. Getting in our accustomed vehicles however, presents a challenge when we are trying to minimize our carbon footprint.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
Southern sea otters recently passed two grim milestones, report wildlife officials, demonstrating that the threatened marine mammal is not faring well in California waters.

According to a preliminary summary, 2010 broke the record for the number of southern sea otter carcasses recovered in one year, with a total of 304.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
From nuisance black bears and increasing salmon numbers to automated license sales and poaching arrests, 2010 was a busy year for the California Department of Fish and Game.

A popular new reality show airing on the National Geographic Channel, “Wild Justice,” is capturing some of the department’s doings, but far more happens behind the scenes.

While newly sworn-in Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval hasn't yet named his appointee to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, before he left office, appointed Ronald Slaven to the governing board.

Ronald Slaven, 47, of Carmichael, Calif., has been appointed to the TRPA, where he previously served as a member from 2001 to 2004.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board has agreed to appeal to the 9th Circuit District Court a September federal district court ruling that struck down updated ordinances for the shorezone of Lake Tahoe, according to its website.