Sierra Colina Village
P. O. Box 129
Lake Tahoe, NV 89448

Planning for...
LEED* Green Certification
Energy Star Rating
Pedestrian & Bike Trails
All Fire Sprinklered Homes
Preserving Open Space
Moderate Income Homes

Although calculations to determine TMDL allocations for local jurisdictions have been completed, they are not yet finalized nor have they been released for public review. Therefore, the TMDL requirements are not yet policy in the Tahoe Basin at this time but are expected to become policy in the near future (pers. comm., Larsen 2008).

The status of the TMDL effort is explained in the Sierra Colina Village Stormwater Management Plan discussion in Appendix F of the DEIS. The Stormwater Management Plan written by nhc in 2006 specifically states, “It should be noted that future water quality regulations in the Lake Tahoe Basin will likely move away from the current concentration-based regulations and toward a more load-based approach known as the Lake Tahoe Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Research has shown that it is the load, or mass, of pollutants that affect the long-term clarity trend of Lake Tahoe. The science-based TMDL effort may supersede the concentration-based regulations in the future, but it is not presently known how this will affect individual project design. For the purposes of this storm water management approach, measures that control both runoff volume and pollutant concentrations are considered to be the most effective in meeting existing standards and potential future load reduction targets, and have been included in the approach to the extent practicable.”

Discussions with Lahontan RWQCB staff indicate that TMDL targets will be issued for each governmental jurisdiction rather than for individual projects or properties.  Once TMDL targets are adopted, local jurisdictions will decide how to meet load reduction targets in their jurisdictions and what requirements will be placed on individual projects or properties. For the purposes of the stormwater management plan for Sierra Colina, measures that control both runoff volume and pollutant concentrations are considered to be effective in meeting existing standards and potential future load reduction targets, and have been included in the plan.

Although it is likely that TMDL allocations for pollutant  load reduction targets for local jurisdictions will be adopted in the near future, it would be speculative to assume what the TMDL allocations would be and how TRPA, NDEP, and/or Douglas County would translate the allocations into permit requirements for a particular project, such as the Sierra Colina project.

The Sierra Colina Village Project EIS analysis is, therefore, based on current regulations. For hydrology and water quality, these include the TRPA Code of Ordinances, 208 Plan policies, and TRPA environmental thresholds for water quality, TRPA Volume II, Handbook of Best Management Practices, Douglas County Design Criteria and Improvement Standards, NDEP requirements, and NDEP BMP Handbook, which are consistently used by TRPA for EIS analyses for projects in Nevada. These regulations are described in Section 4.7, Hydrology and Water Quality, Subsection 4.7.1, Regulatory Background of the Sierra Colina DEIS.

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