Jet Ski advocates take new approach in lawsuit over ban

The new complaint, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., keeps alive attempts to derail the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's June 1999 ban on marine engines thought to pollute the Sierra lake.

"We think it's stronger because it's more focused," lawyer Jennifer Pruski said. "We'll see where it goes."

On Oct. 2, U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell Jr. dismissed most of the 1997 lawsuit challenging the ban on carbureted two-stroke engines.

He upheld the regulation, saying it was a legitimate attempt to control pollution and does not represent an unconstitutional taking of private property without compensation.

The amended lawsuit alleges TRPA's crackdown illegally discriminates against users of two-stroke engines because it does not apply to other marine engines.

The suit further contends the bistate agency violated its compact by failing to prepare an environmental impact report, and environmental analysis that was done was "based upon speculation and subjective opinions."

The suit also alleges TRPA cannot restrict access to Lake Tahoe to any boater because the agency has accepted permit fees for the construction of marinas and boat launches.

John Marshall, the agency's general counsel, said the legal dispute is likely to proceed in a more "focused, technical manner" with the amended complaint.

But he said Damrell's ruling took the heart out of the lawsuit and gave TRPA a significant victory.

TRPA targeted personal watercraft and many outboard motors because they discharge more than 25 percent of their fuel unburned into the lake.

archive