The Lake Clarity Crediting Program for Lake TahoeMotivating Effective Action to Improve Lake Clarity The Lake Clarity Crediting Program establishes a framework that connects on-the-ground actions to the goal of restoring Lake Tahoe clarity. It defines a comprehensive and consistent accounting system administered by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection to track pollutant load reductions from urban stormwater using Lake Clarity Credits. Prioritization & FlexibilityThe Lake Clarity Crediting Program motivates effective action to improve Lake Tahoe clarity by rewarding prioritization, encouraging cooperation and enabling innovation and adaptive management. By quantifying load reductions based on local land use and meteorological conditions, the Crediting Program rewards actions that target areas with the greatest potential to achieve load reductions. Example Urban Catchments in the Tahoe Basin
Example of Prioritized Urban Catchments Based on Load Reduction Potential Further, by focusing on the actual conditions present during each year, instead of rote adherence to static maintenance plans, the Crediting Program enables stormwater managers and maintenance personnel to determine when and how to maintain the condition of treatment BMPs and roads in the most cost-effective manner possible.  The Crediting Program encourages cooperation among jurisdictions by enabling credits to be distributed. Credits generated in a catchment in one urban jurisdiction can be distributed to any urban jurisdiction in the Lake Tahoe Basin as determined appropriate by the urban jurisdictions. This enables urban jurisdiction to share equipment and expertise to reach the common goals of regulatory compliance and improved lake clarity.
Download the Crediting Program Handbook and learn more on the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board or Nevada Division of Environmental Protection web sites.
Learn MoreSee our approach to Regional Environmental Accounting Application of regional environmental accounting to stormwater accounting (video) |
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