Opinion: Nevada can’t afford to abandon TRPA
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the March 24, 2011, Reno Gazette-Journal.
Let’s be clear: Regardless of what happens to Senate Bill 271 in the Nevada Legislature, the state will not be able to walk away from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency pact.
That’s because the compact that created the TRPA, signed in 1969 by Gov. Paul Laxalt of Nevada and Gov. Ronald Reagan of California, both Republicans, is not simply an agreement between two states. It is also an agreement with the federal government, which determined that the lake is of special national interest and has provided much of the money used for projects needed to protect the lake from the man-made and natural contamination that has reduced its famous clarity.
An attempt by Nevada to withdraw from the compact is sure to be met with opposition in Congress. If the bill is adopted, Nevada will quickly find itself in the federal court fighting legal actions that it is unlikely to win.
It’s a gamble that the state simply cannot afford.