TRPA buoy deadline Oct. 15

Lake Tahoe, CA/NV – Orange notice tags will begin showing up on buoys around Lake Tahoe over the next four weeks as part of an effort by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) to get the word out that a permitting and registration deadline is approaching for all Lake Tahoe moorings such as buoys and boatlifts.

TRPA’s Watercraft Enforcement Team started attaching the notices to buoys and other moorings such as boatlifts and boathouses this week. Buoy and mooring owners have until October 15 to begin the permitting and registration process, required under the Agency’s shorezone ordinances.

The permitting and registration program will help fund much-needed enforcement on the Lake to address the proliferation of unauthorized buoys in Tahoe. The Agency’s rules on boat mooring were updated in December of 2008 in part to create an effective, locally operated buoy enforcement program.

An October 15 deadline has been set for mooring owners to begin the process. Those who fail to meet the deadline risk penalties that could include buoy removal. The orange tags now being attached to buoys are a follow-up notification to buoy owners of the October 15 deadline. Two notifications were mailed to lakefront property owners, one last November and one this July.

“We are here to help walk buoy owners through the process and customers who contact us have been impressed with what we are doing to assist them,” TRPA Community Liaison Jeff Cowen said.

The buoy permit application process was modified in July removing the need in most cases for site surveying. Additionally, permitting and registration may be completed over-the-counter and applicants with minimum requirements are usually issued TRPA registration tags the same day. Latitude and longitude coordinates for buoys are one requirement of the application which TRPA customer service staff can help property owners gather.

“Most important right now is for buoy owners to not delay or ignore the notice,” Cowen said. “What we don’t want is for legitimate buoy owners to potentially lose their moorings because they didn’t meet the deadline.”

There are approximately 4,400 mooring buoys in Lake Tahoe and, until this year, administering them has been a challenge for TRPA as well as state and federal agencies with permitting authority over buoys. New registration and mitigation fees for buoys will help fund the watercraft enforcement program, buoy enforcement as well as scientific monitoring programs.

Owners of buoys and other moorings such as boatlifts and boathouses can access electronic forms at www.trpa.org and may submit the appropriate forms by mail or in person at the TRPA office at 128 Market Street in Stateline, NV.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency cooperatively leads the effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region now and in the future. For additional information, call Dennis Oliver at (775) 589-5235 or email todoliver@trpa.org.