Tahoe agency plans new approach on Jet Ski crackdown

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency plans to scrap its June 1999 ban on two-cycle marine engines and replace it in December with a regulation reflecting California's proposed tough emission standards, said Executive Director Jim Baetge.

"We are going to go to a discharge standard," Baetge told the Reno Gazette-Journal. He said details still need to be worked out.

A regulation linked to emissions to Lake Tahoe's air and water would be easier to support scientifically and more readily enforceable than the ban on two-stroke engines, which propel most outboard motorboats and Jet Skis, he said.

The California Air Resources Board's staff has called for the nation's toughest regulations on emissions after examining the pollutants personal watercraft and two-cycle outboard engines release into the air.

They discharge about 312 tons of hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen each day - nearly a quarter of the 1,374 tons California's 25 million cars spew daily.

The goal of the proposed regulations is to reduce hydrocarbon emissions from outboard and personal watercraft engines 75 percent by the year 2025.

The regulations would affect new models starting in 2001 and would force more models to convert to cleaner technologies.

Baetge said TRPA may retain some of the toughest provisions of its original ordinance. Tahoe planners likely will stick to their June 1999 deadline for new models to comply with tougher standards.

California's proposal would allow continued use of older, dirtier watercraft until they wear out. TRPA officials would allow only cleaner models after next summer.

"We have said we won't let old motors operate, and we will continue with that position," Baetge said.

Lawyer John Fagan, who represents the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said TRPA's interest in California's discharge standards is a promising development. The association has sued the agency over its two-stroke ban.

But any deviation from California standards, such as an accelerated deadline or failure to allow continued use of older watercraft, would be grounds for continued conflict, Fagan said.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe environmental group hasn't taken a position on TRPA's plans.

"We're waiting to see precisely what the proposal will be," said Executive Director Rochelle Nason. "It would have to be at least as stringent as what's in place now."

The California Air Resources Board is expected to consider the new standards in December. The standards are even tougher than those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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