$5.5 mil. will restore Tahoe Vista wetlands

Placer County’s cleanup efforts of an abandoned concrete batch plant on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe have been bolstered by the awarding of three grants, totaling $600,000, toward restoration efforts in the Snow Creek wetlands.

The restoration project, managed by the Placer County Department of Public Works Tahoe Engineering Division, will address water quality concerns in the Tahoe Vista watershed.

The property, known as the TNT Materials plant is located on Gun Club Road in Tahoe Vista and was a materials-based, concrete batch plant facility since 1948. Placer County owns the property, having acquired it in August 2008 with a $2 million grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy.

The property consists of eight parcels totaling a little more than an acre. The total restoration will be about 2 acres. Additional public easements between the parcels are owned by the Department of Public Works and create a project area of almost 3 acres.

The plant initially provided paving material for the construction of a road over Brockway Summit (Highway 267) into the Lake Tahoe Basin from Truckee. The property was developed on top of and adjacent to Snow Creek wetlands. The natural course of a tributary to Snow Creek was altered by fill material when the property was built. Cement and aggregate base rock was used to fill the wetlands on the property.

The amount of fill increased annually and the operations encroached further onto the wetlands, likely causing water quality impacts downstream to Snow Creek and Lake Tahoe.

After the removal of structures and storage tanks, the wetlands will be restored.

The three grants are from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Brownfields Grants and Land Revitalization program. Additional agencies that have given financial backing to the restoration project include the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Total project costs are expected to be about $5.5 million.