The first cable is laid
The Bell System lays the first telephone cable through Lake Tahoe; State Lands Commission records cite 1929 for Emerald Bay.
Timeline
From the first cable in the late 1920s to the final removal in September 2025.
Scroll to follow the cable. Select an event to read more.
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Chapter 1 , 1920s–2019
The cables
A second cable is laid
The State Lands lease begins
The California State Lands Commission lease for the cables begins, for “public use and benefit”
The cables go silent
The cables are taken out of service.
Divers discover the cables
Divers Seth Jones and Monique Rydel-Fortner discover the cables on the lakebed.
Chapter 2 , 2020
The community takes notice
Homeowners take notice
Local homeowners become aware of the lead cables.
CSPA’s notice of violation
The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) files a notice of violation of federal and California law.
First press coverage
Moonshine Ink publishes “The Cables Leaking Lead in Lake Tahoe”
Neighbors write to AT&T
Rubicon Bay and Tamarack neighbors send their first group letter to AT&T calling for removal.
Chapter 3 , 2021
Lawsuit and the first consent decree
AT&T visits the cables
Homeowners host AT&T personnel on site and local divers give a boat tour of the cables; AT&T says it has no record of them.
CSPA sues AT&T
CSPA sues Pacific Bell (AT&T) in federal court under RCRA and Prop 65.
AT&T tests the water
AT&T’s consultants sample lake water near the cables.
A second letter
Homeowners send a second letter to AT&T.
AT&T agrees to remove the cables
Consent decree approved: AT&T agrees to remove the cables (budget cited $1.5 million; permits within about six months) and states it no longer owns them.
Withdrawn: AT&T pulled out on July 18, 2023. The new consent decree followed on Sept 18, 2024.
“Pac Bell will remove”
SF Chronicle: “Pac Bell will remove old lead-leaching phone cables from Lake Tahoe”
Chapter 4 , 2022
Permitting and delays
The WSJ starts digging
The Wall Street Journal begins its investigation into lead cables nationwide.
First deadline extension
Consent decree deadline extended after permitting delays.
Second deadline extension
Consent decree deadline extended again.
Permit 1 of 7: Lahontan
Authorization 1 of 7: Lahontan Water Board
Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board approves AT&T’s removal project (1 of 7).
Chapter 5 , 2023
Permits complete, then AT&T pulls out
State Lands: remove the cables
State Lands Commission staff report calls for removal of “all severed segments and debris” as in the State’s best interests.
Permit 2 of 7: TRPA
Authorization 2 of 7: TRPA
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency approves (2 of 7).
Permit 3 of 7: Fish and Wildlife
Authorization 3 of 7: Fish and Wildlife
California Department of Fish and Wildlife approves (3 of 7).
Permit 4 of 7: State Parks
Authorization 4 of 7: State Parks
California State Parks approves (4 of 7).
Permit 5 of 7: State Lands
Authorization 5 of 7: State Lands
California State Lands Commission approves (5 of 7).
Permit 6 of 7: Army Corps
Authorization 6 of 7: Army Corps
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approves (6 of 7).
Permit 7 of 7: Forest Service
Authorization 7 of 7: Forest Service
U.S. Forest Service approves: AT&T now holds all seven authorizations.
AT&T delays
AT&T delays the removal.
“Stands ready to remove”
AT&T tells the court “all required permits and approvals have been obtained” and it “stands ready to remove the Cables”
America’s lead cables, exposed
Wall Street Journal: “America is wrapped in miles of toxic lead cables”
AT&T pulls out of original agreement
AT&T pulls out of the consent decree, as the Wall Street Journal reports it has halted plans to remove the Tahoe cables; the lawsuit resumes.
Consent decree, Nov 4, 2021withdrawn
The project forms
The Tahoe Lead Removal Project forms.
Chapter 6 , January–August 2024
A community effort
Documenting the cables
Organizers photograph the deteriorating cables underwater at Rubicon Bay and Rubicon Point.
The EPA steps in
The EPA asks telecom companies to meet about lead-sheathed cables nationwide.
The project goes public
The Tahoe Lead Removal Project launches publicly with tahoelead.com and a petition.
Front page in Tahoe
Tahoe Daily Tribune front page: “Community-led effort to remove decades-old lead cables”
A marina and an engineer sign on
Tahoe Keys Marina agrees to host a removal; J.F. Brennan commits to perform the work if permits are secured.
On the evening news
KTVN 2 News Nevada interview on Baldwin Beach.
Speaking to TRPA’s board
Public comment at the TRPA Governing Board.
Reaching all seven agencies
The project formally contacts all seven agencies with its Project Overview, proposing removal in spring 2025.
Permitting begins with TRPA
First in-person meeting with TRPA; permitting begins.
State Parks on board
Meeting with California State Parks at Sugar Pine Point State Park.
First permit application
First permit application submitted, to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Front page in San Francisco
SF Chronicle front page: “There are miles of lead cables on the bottom of Lake Tahoe. Why haven’t they been removed?”
The first public event
First public event, with the Sierra Club and Lake Tahoe Historical Society at Lakeview Commons (85+ attendees).
Meeting State Lands
First meeting with the California State Lands Commission.
Chapter 7 , September–October 2024
Authorization and a new commitment
AT&T recommits
Days later, AT&T and CSPA file a new consent decree: AT&T recommits to removing the cables by Nov 30, 2024 or spring 2025, and files reports from nine experts concluding the cables pose no risk.
Replaces the 2021 consent decree, which AT&T withdrew from in 2023.
National headlines
The Wall Street Journal and SF Chronicle report AT&T will remove the cables.
Rotary presentation
Presentation to the Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club.
Chapter 8 , November–December 2024
The lead comes out of the water
Removal begins
The removal barge on the lake. J.F. Brennan’s barge launches from Tahoe Keys Marina.
The lawsuit settles
Amended final consent decree signed; the lawsuit settles.
Cut at the shoreline
Organizers observe shore extraction: cables are cut at the high-water mark and capped on land.
Out of the water
Removal from the water is complete: 6+ miles of lead cable out of Lake Tahoe in 17 days.
Cable lifted onto the barge. Declared complete
Removal reported complete: League to Save Lake Tahoe press release; SF Chronicle, “Milestone for Lake Tahoe”
National coverage
USA Today and Smithsonian Magazine.
Confirmed gone, except Baldwin
Organizers re-dive Rubicon Bay and Rubicon Point and confirm the cables are gone; a section remains under the sand at Baldwin Beach.
Chapter 9 , January–June 2025
Baldwin Beach remains
The petition closes at 832
The petition closes at 832 signatures.
TRPA: finish Baldwin Beach
TRPA confirms AT&T must complete Baldwin Beach as permitted.
Forest Service targets fall
The U.S. Forest Service targets fall 2025 for the Baldwin Beach removal.
Another deadline passes
The consent decree’s deadline passes with the Baldwin Beach section still in place.
Still in the lake
A survey for the project finds the cable under the sand at Baldwin Beach, with a section protruding into shallow water.
Cable in the shallow water at Baldwin Beach. Gathering at Baldwin Beach
Community event at Baldwin Beach.
Sounding the alarm
The project alerts the Forest Service, TRPA and the media that lead cable is still in the lake.
Chapter 10 , July–September 2025
The final removal
Exposed at low water
The cable underwater, angled up from the sand. With the lake level down, the capped cable end sticks out of the water near shore where people swim.
The last hurdle clears
Tahoe Yellow Cress survey with the Forest Service finds no protected plants on the cable path, clearing the way for removal.
A final request to the agencies
The project sends Project Execution Considerations to all seven agencies.
The lead is out
Final removal: AT&T’s contractors remove the last section from Baldwin Beach and Tallac Creek; the Forest Service confirms completion.
Crew digging around the cable.
Afterwards
The project closes
The project sends its final submission, Final Removal Considerations, to the seven agencies and formally closes.
