Eight miles of defunct, lead-sheathed telecommunication cables will be removed from the bottom of Lake Tahoe by the end of this year.
The cables — copper wires coated in lead — were first found in the lake more than a decade ago by scuba divers. The cables span from Baldwin Beach to Rubicon Bay along the West Shore and are estimated to weigh 63 tons.
The oldest cable dates to 1929 and was installed by Pacific Bell, a telephone company now owned by AT&T.
The scuba divers, who operate a nonprofit removing trash from water bodies, partnered with the nonprofit California Sportfishing Protection Alliance to file a lawsuit against AT&T in 2021, citing California’s Proposition 65, which requires businesses to provide warnings about exposure to chemicals that could be dangerous.
Lead is known to cause cancer, other illnesses and reproductive issues. It is particularly harmful to women in their 20s and 30s and young children. There is no level of exposure known to be safe.
In 2021, the utility agreed to remove the cables to avoid prolonged and costly litigation, AT&T California and Pacific States President Marc Blakeman said in a press release. But last summer, following what the utility called “sensationalized” news reports about the cables, the removal project was paused to allow for further analyses, according to the utility.
Multiple expert analyses have confirmed the cables are safe and pose no threat to public health or the environment, Blakeman said in the release.
“While we’re confident in the strength of our case and the safety of the cables, this settlement represents an amicable resolution to litigation,” he said.
Jesse Patterson, chief strategy officer for the League to Save Lake Tahoe, a nonprofit group that has pushed for the cables’ removal, said it’s refreshing to see a major corporation follow up on its word and for the project to restart so quickly.
“It’s great to be back at this point. It was a year delay, but we’re back,” Patterson said. “The fortunate thing is the majority of the permits are still viable. More or less we can pick up where we left off and get them out as quickly as possible.”
Covering cables in lead to create a protective coating became popular in the 1880s. By the 1950s, the telecommunications industry started to phase out the practice.
The cables will be removed by AT&T in coordination with the League. Plans are to remove them by the end of this year, but if weather or additional legal issues arise, the work will continue into early 2025, the League said in a press release.
“Lake Tahoe is a special place and deserves this kind of protective action to Keep Tahoe Blue,” Patterson said.
