Nevada, California AG’s team up on Tahoe, gas prices

Sandra Chereb

Friday, May 21, 1999 | 9:11 a.m.

ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. - Nevada and California attorneys general are joining forces on a number of issues common to both states, including environmental concerns at Lake Tahoe and rising gas prices.

Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer met here on Thursday to discuss water and environmental concerns plaguing the lake that straddles the two states in the Sierra.

They spoke with reporters on a pier before embarking on a short trip aboard a research vessel owned by the University of California, Davis, to get a first-hand look at the declining clarity of the famed lake and a briefing by scientists on efforts to stem its demise.

"There's a lot of cooperation between our two states," said Del Papa, who plans to announce a U.S. Senate bid on June 2.

"We're always privileged when California steps up to the plate because they're 11 percent of the population. There's strength in standing together," she said.

A 1997 presidential summit on Lake Tahoe brought heightened attention to the lake and forged a spirit of cooperation among state, local and federal governments, as well as business groups and environmentalists.

Lockyer said the challenge now is to see that efforts designed to protect the lake from environmental harm are carried out.

"There is a need for aggressive enforcement of the agreements to try to curtail pollution," he said.

To make the point, the attorneys general previewed one of 29 signs that will be going up around Lake Tahoe advising of a ban against most two-stroke engines on the lake beginning June 1.

Two-stroke engines, which power most Jet Skis, small boats and other personal watercraft, release up to a quarter of their fuel unburned into the water.

On Friday, Del Papa and Lockyer will join other attorneys general from Western states and officials with the Federal Trade Commission in Reno to discuss rising gas prices and antitrust issues.

Nevada and California are cooperating in an investigation into soaring gasoline prices that has fueled anger among motorists who have paid around $2 a gallon for premium fuel in some locations.

Production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries contributed to the price increase, and analysts say fires at two refineries in Northern California cut into supplies.

But service station dealers and other oil company critics discount industry explanations, saying world crude oil price increases would not account for the retail spike and that reported supplies are higher than previous years.

Lockyer said profits taken by refineries soared from 27 cents per gallon in January to 70 cents per gallon two months later.

"That suggests there was excessive profit taking," he told reporters.

Lockyer said the investigation could take months, but added that if evidence of unfair trade practices is found, the states are prepared to pursue court action on behalf of consumers against the oil companies.