Removal of decades-old telecom cables from Lake Tahoe

Two submarine telecommunications cables were installed in Lake Tahoe’s waters decades ago. Over several weeks in November 2024, AT&T and their specialty marine contractor, J.F. Brennan Company, removed the cables from Lake Tahoe with help from the League to Save Lake Tahoe.

The cable removal is a major milestone in the movement to Keep Tahoe Blue.

Under three weeks. AT&T and its contractors began removing the cables in early November 2024, after all permits and regulatory approvals were complete.

The primary contractor for the work in the Lake was J.F. Brennan Company, a specialty marine contractor with extensive experience in submarine cable projects. 

J.F. Brennan Company, a specialty marine contractor, used barges to winch and remove the cables from the Lake. Once on board and out of the water, the cables were cut into segments then transported out of the Tahoe Basin to be recycled. The cables were removed safely, working with appropriate agencies and in accordance with all required permits and approvals. Water quality experts perform water testing during the removal project. The League monitored the operation, as well.

The cables were transported out of the Tahoe Basin to be recycled in the US by Fortune Metal Group, a national metal and plastics recycler.

The Lake and nearshore environment remained healthy throughout the project.

The League is proud to have served as both environmental watchdog and partner to AT&T in the removal process.

Our staff have been working behind the scenes with AT&T, their environmental consultants, and others over several years to push the removal operation forward. The League connected with AT&T’s leadership to push for action and prioritize the work in Lake Tahoe. We funded an underwater survey of the cables, accelerated the permitting process by working with our contacts at the local, state and federal agencies who oversee Tahoe, and secured a staging area for the operation’s equipment at the Tahoe Keys Marina. We also monitored the operation while it was underway in the Lake.

The environmental non-profit organization Below the Blue flagged the cables’ presence. The League and Below the Blue worked together to map the extent of the lead cables in Lake Tahoe. A legal settlement between the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and AT&T built momentum toward the cable removal. The local group Tahoe Lead rallied community support and explored alternative options for removal when the project was delayed in the summer of 2023.

The League coordinated with local, state, and federal agencies to help secure permits and approvals for the cable removal, including the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Lahontan Water Quality Control Board, California State Parks, California State Lands Commission, USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

There is a small segment of cable above the high water line near Baldwin Beach on the Lake’s South Shore that will be removed next spring to protect the endemic Tahoe Yellow Cress, in line with USDA Forest Service policy. The League is continuing to work with AT&T, their contractors, and the agencies to make sure that the section of cable is removed safely and without any impacts to people, animals, or the environment.