STATELINE, Nev. – The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has officially raised the level of the environmental review for the new Barton Hospital project at Stateline to an environmental impact statement (EIS). As the highest level of environmental review, the EIS will likely take a year to complete, and will have an initial scoping meeting discussion during the TRPA’s Advisory Planning Commission on May 14.

The Barton Hospital project on 168 Highway 50 has gone from an environmental checklist, to an environmental assessment, and now to an environmental impact statement, after repeated demands from the community to consider the impacts that the hospital could have. At the previous scoping meeting for the environmental assessment, tensions ran high as attendees enumerated their concerns with the noise and environmental changes from the helipad and construction, the vehicle miles travelled (VMT) impacts in driving to a farther site, and the affects on the scenic corridor from the height. Like with other new construction projects, people also worried about the potential difficulties it would impose on fire evacuation.

Others also worried about the water quality on site. Barton mitigated the groundwater pollution that was previously on the site, but these conversations came up again after TRPA’s cease and desist for the flooding on site earlier this year. According to TRPA code compliance manager Steve Sweet’s statements in the cease and desist letter, these came about as a result of previous conversations on water infiltration and best management practices that were left unaddressed. As a result of the cease and desist, Barton did significantly update their best management practices.

The email that came from the Barton Project’s updates mailing list said, “Preliminary information from the initial environmental review indicated that a more detailed analysis is needed.”

Mindi Befu, Barton’s public information officer, said in an email to the Tribune, “Barton is committed to the health of our community, which includes the health of our environment and Lake Tahoe. We continue to follow guidelines set forth by the TRPA. Although an Environmental Impact Statement will add more time to the process, it will ensure environmental requirements are met.”

This EIS will be examining whether the proposed project meets regional environmental standards and measure the potential immediate and cumulative impacts on areas like water quality, traffic, scenic views, and forest health. TRPA’s email indicated that the EIS could take approximately a year to complete.

The initial meeting to begin the scoping phase of the EIS is scheduled for May 14, during the TRPA’s Advisory Planning Commission. While previous scoping comments that were submitted will be carried over, the public can submit comments to both the TRPA and Douglas County regarding the project.

More information about the project and where to submit comments can be found on Barton’s project page.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.