Water Quality Workshop Agenda

Tallac Historic Site
June 18, 1997

Workshop Agenda

1:00 Call to Order by EPA and Army Corps Officials

Traditional Washoe Tribe Invocation

Welcoming remarks by U.S. EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner

Welcoming remarks by Assistant Secretary of the Army (CW), H. Martin Lancaster

1:15 - 1:45 "Four Decades of Lake Tahoe Research: Moving Beyond Conflict" - Dr. Charles Goldman, UC Davis.

1:45 Divide into Breakout Sessions

2:00 - 3:30 Breakout Sessions:

• Stream Environment Zones and Wetlands restoration
• Watershed Management
• Water Clarity and Lake Uses

3:45 - 5:00 Report back to Plenary Session

Workshop Theme

Healing the Lake - Managing the Lake Tahoe Watershed through Shared Commitment and Obligation.

Workshop Objectives

Expand the management models, knowledge base, public-private partnerships to a national level.

Reaffirm commitment to on-going programs and identify new opportunities for cooperation.

Present priority proposals to achieve environmental goals necessary to restore the health of the Lake and its watershed.

Develop implementation strategies

Educate participants about the successes achieved by the partners in the Tahoe Basin and the challenges they face in improving Tahoe's economy and environment.

Identify water quality issues/problems/solutions to discuss with the Vice President and President during their July 25^th and 26^th meetings.

Issues to be discussed

Stream Environment Zones (SEZ's) and Watershed Restoration

The challenge of how to protect and enhance wetland areas in the Lake Tahoe Basin involves balancing many interrelated demands. The goals of preservation and restoration of natural processes related to wetlands and stream environment zones for purposes of water quality, wildlife management, and flood attenuation involve resolving issues associated with land use, land management, and resources available to accomplish them. A number of tools and strategies have been used to date, each with their own set of implications and outcomes. The question is where do we go from here?

Watershed Management

The challenge of strategic planning is to focus collaborative effort on the tools and approaches that will yield the best results in the Basin. Market mechanisms, incentives, education, and regulatory approaches need to facilitate and promote best management practices, forest and meadow management and restoration, redevelopment, sustainable development, active participation by individual property owners, erosion control, land acquisition, and responsible recreation. Urban stormwater management and wastewater management are also key components of the planning framework.

Water Clarity and Lake Uses

Management of any watershed and water body needs to have a sound scientific basis from which reasonable policy decisions can be made. At Lake Tahoe this is particularly pertinent. Long term data collection and analysis is important and much is known about the Lake and its watersheds, but a number of questions remain to be answered. Equally important is evaluation of environmental progress and effectiveness of management measures.