WASHINGTON – Today the House passed H.R. 8998, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2025, which includes funding for local water and fire resiliency projects in California’s Third Congressional District.

“The local projects and programmatic requests approved by the House today will significantly bolster fire-fighting capabilities and access to safe drinking water across the Tahoe region. Protecting our communities against wildfires and assuring a reliable water supply have been among my very highest priorities, and I want to thank the community leaders who worked with me to help make the case for these projects. I urge prompt passage of this appropriations bill in the Senate so the funding can be deployed right away,” said Rep. Kiley.

The projects that Rep. Kiley secured in the FY25 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill include:

Improving Resilience of Critical Water Infrastructure Project: This request allocates $1.25 million to the Tahoe City Public Utility District to replace aging water mains to ensure reliable drinking water and sufficient fire suppression capabilities.

Enhancing the Resilience of Critical Water Infrastructure in a Disadvantaged Community Project: This request allocates $1 million for the South Tahoe Public Utility District to replace deteriorating watermain lines that will ensure safe drinking water supply and install new fire hydrants.

The programmatic requests for the Lake Tahoe Region that Rep. Kiley secured in the FY25 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill include:

Hazard Fuels

House Amount Given: no reductions in funding

Purpose: The Caldor Fire and continued drought in the West has left 147 million dead trees in California. This massive death of vegetation has resulted in an increased wildfire risk and the probability of wildfires which do not respect jurisdictional boundaries. While progress is occurring, it isn’t happening fast enough. As one of the greatest threats facing the basin, fuels management projects help protect not only the federal forest land for continued recreational use, but the economy of Lake Tahoe that relies on these activities. 

Municipal Water Infrastructure for Critical Fires Suppression

House Amount Given: $10,000,000

Purpose: The goal is to support local government efforts to mitigate wildfire risk through improvements to municipal water infrastructure for critical fire suppression projects. Projects may include the installation of high-capacity water storage tanks, accelerated replacement of undersized waterlines and fire hydrant installation, and emergency generators, all with a direct nexus to improving firefighting capacity to wildfire. The acceleration of water infrastructure projects for fire suppression is a de facto insurance policy to protect Lake Tahoe’s water clarity, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, and safeguard the environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Stormwater Management, Erosion, Watershed Restoration

House Amount Given: no reductions in funding

Purpose: The EPA has identified Lake Tahoe as a priority watershed, not only because of its iconic beauty and crystal-clear waters but because of the human-related impacts that threaten those very qualities. Measuring Tahoe’s clarity has been a priority for more than 50 years, which has seen a long-term trend of improvement since 2000 due to investments made by Nevada and California, localities and the federal government. Last year was a low clarity year, attributed by record wet weather that washed sediments in the Lake that accumulated over the previous five years of drought. With weather patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable with periods of drought and record wet weather, work in watershed restoration and erosion control is critical for the Basin to maintain previous investments and bolster the Lake in the face of extreme weather.

Invasive Species Prevention

House Amount Given: $6,000,000

Purpose: Ranked alongside forest health, removing aquatic invasive species (AIS) from Lake Tahoe, along with preventing other invasive species from establishing a foothold in the basin, is one of the region’s highest funding priorities. Federal funding has helped implement a prevention program consisting of mandatory boat inspection and decontamination stations, successful Asian clam pilot eradication projects, invasive plant control projects, and the creation of an early detection and rapid response program. The Alpine Lakes program would allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enhance the state and local efforts to protect Lake Tahoe from aquatic invasive species.

Aquatic Invasive Species Management

House Amount Given: $5,000,000

Purpose: Federal funding has helped implement a prevention program consisting of mandatory boat inspection and decontamination stations, successful Asian clam pilot eradication projects, invasive plant control projects, and the creation of an early detection and rapid response program. This funding allows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to match the states’ efforts to protect Lake Tahoe from aquatic invasive species.

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