Judge bars new Lake Tahoe piers

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A federal judge is blocking construction of new boating facilities on Lake Tahoe while he resolves an environmental lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed by the League to Save Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Club, challenges new regulations that would allow more than 100 new private piers, 10 new public piers, new boat ramps, mooring buoys and hundreds of slips.

The regulations were adopted last year by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency after years of controversy. Environmentalists argue that new piers and ramps will increase motorized boating and the pollution that goes with it.

In a Thursday ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence K. Karlton issued a preliminary injunction. It bars construction of the new piers and ramps but allows the planning agency to move ahead with processing permits for the facilities.
Still, boaters might want to hold off.

‘The court notes that its independent review indicates that plaintiffs have shown some likelihood of success,’ Karlton wrote.

-- Bettina Boxall