Study supports banning two-stroke engines at Lake Tahoe

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Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998 | 9:22 a.m.

John Reuter, a researcher at the University of California, said the study "fairly clearly supports" the concern of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency about pollution caused by the engines.

The TRPA last year passed an approved an ordinance to ban watercraft and boats powered by two-stroke engines from the lake beginning next June.

The bistate agency charged with protecting the lake's environment had considered adopting regulations based on emission standards, but the latest study underscores its resolve to ban the engines, said Jim Baetge, TRPA executive director.

"We're saying let's stick as close as we can to the ordinance we already have on the books because it accomplishes what we want," Baetge said. "The reality is two-stroke engines, no matter how they're used, are inappropriate for the lake."

The study is an analysis of scientific work conducted during the 1998 boating season by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Nevada, University of California and others.

It concluded that two-stroke engines contribute more than 70 percent of gasoline pollution in the lake.