On Nov. 22, a large amphibious barge hauled away the sailboat “Raccoon” that has been embedded along the shore of Lake Tahoe in Kings Beach. The wrecked boat had been abandoned for more than two years while fuel leaked into Lake Tahoe and broken glass, deteriorating wood and paint chips leeched into the lake. Children climbed atop the boat during the summer, compounding an already hazardous situation.
Tahoe Weekly first reported of the ongoing environmental hazard in August 2022 and the quagmire involved in trying to get abandoned and wrecked boats removed from Lake Tahoe. The nonprofit Below the Blue stripped the sailboat of chemicals, garbage and rotting sewage in 2021 to prevent spillage into the lake. Seth Jones, the group’s co-founder, was among many who expressed frustration over why local and state agencies didn’t act quickly to remove wrecked boats.
Lahontan Regional Quality Control Water Board, a division of California Water Boards, reported to Tahoe Weekly that it first became aware of the boat in March 2022, according to Ben Letton, assistant executive officer of Lahontan Water Board. The agency attempted to get the boat’s owner, Reno resident Tim A. Doss, to remove the boat. When Doss failed to remove the boat, Lahontan Water Board had the boat removed last month.
Placer County Sheriff oversaw the removal of the boat, which contacted, paid and authorized High Sierra Marine to conduct the removal. The boat was filled with sand and needed to be taken apart to remove it.
An arrest warrant was issued to Doss on Nov. 18 on a misdemeanor charge for failing to comply with the water board’s order to remove the boat. The sheriff’s office has also recommended that the Placer County District Attorney’s office seek restitution from Doss for the tax dollars spent to remove the boat.
Read more: https://yourtahoeguide.com/2022/08/broken-abandoned-in-lake-tahoe-removing-wrecked-boats-complicated-issue/
