Lawsuit leads to fireworks sponsorship change
By Kathryn Reed
The Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority is now the lead agency behind the fireworks that are shot off twice a year on the South Shore.
For several years the pyrotechnic display has come under the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority purview.
“The LTVA board received legal counsel advising that the best course of action would be to seek another sponsor, thus the TDVA. It makes sense, since the TDVA is a Nevada entity and the fireworks displays are being executed in Nevada and the oversight is being performed by a Nevada authority, the [Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District],” Carol Chaplin, who is executive director of the LTVA and TDVA, told Lake Tahoe News.
The Nevada Legislature formed the TDVA in 1999. It is guaranteed funding through the transient occupancy tax collected by Douglas County. TDVA had been giving the LTVA money for the fireworks, so funding is not an issue.
A lawsuit filed last year by a Marla Bay couple cited the federal Clean Water Act. The suit was filed in Sacramento and settled this spring. The settlement calls for better cleanup of beaches, which is already taking place by volunteers. Changes are also being made to some of the shells and the immediate cleanup procedures.
“Yes, like any other organization, the TDVA could be sued,” Chaplin said.
What will change is that it will be harder for anyone to gain traction with a lawsuit in Nevada compared to California.
The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, a California agency, is tasked with regulating water issues in this area. But it has no power across the state line.
Nevada does not have a similar governing body. This means any future lawsuit regarding the South Shore fireworks would have to be filed in federal court in Reno, with the Environmental Protection Agency being the overseer.
well now that’s a good way to deal with the issue – make it harder to be accountable?
Wouldn’t want to drive away any customers just because of a few tons of garbage in the lake….
Lew Feldman wins again… Why clean up the trash when you can just skip across the border?
NDEP would be really interested to find out they have no authority over the Clean Water Act, somebody should give them a call and let them know.
Nevada does not have a similar governing body. This means any future lawsuit regarding the South Shore fireworks would have to be filed in federal court in Reno, with the Environmental Protection Agency being the overseer.
This is so completely wrong its comical.
I am confused, the original lawsuit was a federal lawsuit covered by the EPA. If any new lawsuit does show up it would still be in federal court under the EPA. No Change here as far as law suits are concerned. The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board did not really have any thing to do with the original lawsuit, and when it was settled one of the terms was that the barge was moved to the Nevada side so that it would be in the jurisdiction of the only agency that was willing to issue permits(which Lahontan said was not needed).
So all of these commits about accountability and trash ect. don’t add up. Still can be sued in Federal court and covered by the Clean Water Act.
Don’t be confused Reloman, you understand it perfectly. The story is just wrong.
The difference is a lawsuit could or must be filed in Reno federal court instead of the federal court in Sacramento.