Water quality award presented to Roland Westergard

 

Allen Biaggi, DCNR director, and former Director Roland Westergard

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Longtime water resource advocate Roland Westergard was recognized today by the State of Nevada for his lifetime of dedication to the protection of the state’s precious water resources.

 

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) presented its 2008 Wendell McCurry Excellence in Water Quality Award to Westergard at a ceremony at the offices of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) in Carson City, with members of his family and many friends and colleagues in attendance. The award recognizes his nearly 50 years of work in water quality protection and water conservation education, especially relating to Lake Tahoe.

Westergard is past director of DCNR and played a key role in the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA), which was signed last month after 20 years of negotiation. A major focus of TROA is water quality.

As a member of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) governing board from 1983 to 1998, including being chair for two years, Westergard was instrumental in the development of several milestone water policies, including the bi-state compact with California and the development of water quality standards that establish beneficial uses of the lake and criteria to protect those uses. The compact was approved Congress and signed into law in 1990.

Governor Appoints Members to Panel Overseeing Implementation of Fire Commission Report

CARSON CITY, Nev. –- Fulfilling one of the recommendations of the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission, Governor Jim Gibbons today announced the appointment of three Nevadans to oversee implementation of the commission’s work.

Appointed are former Tahoe Regional Planning Agency member Coe Swobe, Nevada State Forester Pete Anderson and Glenbrook Homeowners Association president A.J. “Bud” Hicks, who also served on the fire commission.

“These three individuals have a diverse array of expertise on issues affecting the Tahoe Basin,” Gibbons said. “I know that each is committed to protecting the basin from catastrophic wildfire, supports the recommendations of the fire commission and will be diligent in ensuring the commission’s recommendations are implemented.”

Deadline near for panel’s Tahoe fire report (RGJ)

Eight months after flames roared through a Lake Tahoe community, destroying 254 homes, a special panel established to avoid future disasters is nearing its deadline.

By March 21, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons expect a report on how to avoid a repeat of last June’s Angora Fire. This week, the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission is scheduled to sort through some 120 different recommendations crafted to achieve that goal.

Read the complete story at the Reno Gazette-Journal.