Congress Approves $415 Million 'Tahoe Restoration Act'

RENO (CBS/AP) -- Environmentalists are praising congressional approval of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act as a critical step toward providing hundreds of millions of dollars necessary to continue efforts to reverse a long-term drop in the clarity of the mountain lake's clarity.

The act approved on Friday as part of a larger national package of water infrastructure improvements authorizes up to $415 million in federal appropriations at the lake over the next seven years.

Tahoe advocates had expressed concern that President-elect Donald Trump might not sign the measure into law. They say they're relieved it's now headed to the desk of President Obama.

Joanne Marchetta, executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, says the importance of the bipartisan legislation "cannot be overstated."

The League to Save Lake Tahoe Executive Director Darcie Goodman Collins called it a "great day for Lake Tahoe."

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