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Environmental Damage Delays Emerald Bay Project

A worker stands on the side of the road above Emerald Bay holding machinery.
Caltrans

Environmental damage caused by an engineering company has delayed a multimillion-dollar project in the Emerald Bay area. It has also prompted an investigation by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, or TRPA. Our contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business Viewhas the details.

 

 

TRPA received a complaint last month alleging improper disposal of materials on California Route 89 by Emerald Bay.

 

Upon investigating the hillside where workers were allegedly throwing boulders and asphalt toward the waters of Emerald Bay, TRPA staff found damage to trees, the slope and a stream.

 

Robert Casebeer is a former employee of Stewart Engineering, a contractor hired by the California Department of Transportation. He captured video evidence of the destruction, which he posted on Facebook. (WARNING: video contains explicit language).

 

In the video, heavy machinery can be seen dropping a boulder down the hillside while construction workers watch.

 

The Rubicon Trail, one of the area's most trafficked footpaths, runs several-hundred feet below the area.

 

 

 ​You can read more at Northern Nevada Business View.

 

Kaleb is an award-winning journalist and KUNR’s Mountain West News Bureau reporter. His reporting covers issues related to the environment, wildlife and water in Nevada and the region.
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