WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to deliver more funding to protect the Lake Tahoe Basin with no new costs to taxpayers. Representative Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.-03) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
The original Santini-Burton Act of 1980 has shaped the preservation of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline and the surrounding area for the last 45 years. The law declared that the environmental quality of the Lake Tahoe Basin was being jeopardized by the overdevelopment of environmentally sensitive lands and that “the unique character of the Lake Tahoe Basin is of national significance deserving of further protection and management.” The Santini-Burton Act also authorized the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to use funds for the purposes of preventing, controlling, or mitigating water pollution associated with USFS lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
The California and Nevada Senators’ Santini-Burton Modernization Act would allow USFS to use Santini-Burton Act funds to manage public lands in the Tahoe Basin, with an emphasis on protecting lake clarity, reducing wildfire risk, and addressing recreation impacts. The bill would also expand the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California’s authority to manage lands in the Basin….