TRPA board approves 2012 boat inspection fees

Fees are changing at Lake Tahoe for boats needing to be inspected.

The TRPA Governing Board at its meeting this month voted to not alter the Tahoe Only boat fee, while increasing watercraft inspection fees for boats coming from other water bodies or have never been inspected.

Another change is the addition of a new decontamination charge for those boats not clean, drained, and dry when they arrive at the Lake.

The inspections were implemented a few years ago to prevent anymore aquatic invasive species from entering Tahoe.

Officials want the program to get closer to being self-sustaining. Federal funds help subsidize inspections and that money will be running out in the next couple year.

Fees in 2011 covered 29 percent of the cost of this program. The new fee schedule is estimated to cover 47 percent of the program for the 2012 season, with the remainder coming from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

More information on the Lake Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program and fees are online.