U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer on December 6 introduced legislation that would implement a historic settlement to restore a now dry stretch of the San Joaquin River and reintroduce the spring run chinook salmon to the river.

The settlement this September ended an 18-year battle that began with a lawsuit in 1988 by recreational angling, commercial fishing and environmental groups. The legislation will implement an historic agreement that for the first time in U.S. history will put water back into a dry river, bringing a dead river to life

When Friant Dam was completed on the San Joaquin River in 1942, it blocked salmon from migrating into the Sierra Nevada foothills where they spawned. Only a brave few, including an outspoken Unitarian minister and a local sportsman's club, spoke out against the refusal of the Bureau of Reclamation to provide for fish passage or mitigation of the salmon it aimed to exterminate.

Starting in the 1950's, massive diversions of water to agribusiness resulted in the dewatering of a 63-mile stretch river from Gravelly Ford near Fresno to the mouth of the Merced River. For decades, the river no longer flowed to San Francisco Bay.

This bi-partisan legislation, supported by liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans alike, will provide for the restoration of river flows and a reintroduction of salmon in incremental steps. Upon introducing the legislation, Senators Feinstein and Boxer emphasized the importance of passing and implementing the bill before the end of the year.

“This legislation would end 18 years of litigation over the fate of the San Joaquin River, and chart a balanced way forward for the restoration and the farmers,” said Feinstein. “Unless it is approved, the court will find a much more volatile and uncertain remedy. This is why the legislation has such broad support. It is imperative that this legislation go forward.”

“This legislation is an important milestone in the efforts to restore the San Joaquin River,” concurred Senator Barbara Boxer. “Now, we must all work together to see that it passes and is implemented.”

The legislation was the product of days of negotiations led by Senator Feinstein to resolve differences in the draft legislation in September. Time is running out for Congress to pass the restoration plan to meet the court's deadline of December 31, 2006.

The San Joaquin River Settlement was filed with the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento in September. This Settlement requires federal implementing legislation to become fully effective.

“The benefits are clear,” said Feinstein. “It would transform the San Joaquin into a living river and ensure that the hard-working men and women in the Friant service area continue to have a stable water supply. The alternative: more lawsuits, more fighting, and more uncertainty. An outcome imposed by a judge is likely to be worse for everyone: more costly, riskier for the farmers, and less beneficial for the environment.”

John Beuttler, conservation director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, was cautiously optimistic about the legislation's passage.

“I'm hopeful that this legislation inaugurates a new era in which the government will properly manage and regulate the San Joaquin River and its fishery,” he stated. “I'm pleased that this legislation to achieve the goal of San Joaquin fishery restoration is moving forward in the Senate and House.”

Even though the parties agreed to the settlement, Beuttler cautioned that other agribusiness interests not parties to the lawsuit might oppose it. “I'm sure that those people used to taking public water for virtually free at the expense of fish and wildlife won't like this legislation because of the precedent that it sets,” he stated.

As she introduced the San Joaquin legislation, Feinstein drew the praise of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, fishing groups and environmentalists for drawing the connection between the San Joaquin legislation and the Trinity River Record of Decision. The Record of Decision provides for 47 percent of the flow of the Trinity to fish and downstream users and the other 53 percent to agricultural and hydroelectric uses.

"In addition to congratulating the parties for making a settlement that will enable the long-sought restoration of the San Joaquin River,” she stated, “ I am mindful of and remain committed to progress in implementing and funding the December 19, 2000, Trinity River restoration record of decision and the Hoopa Valley Tribe's co-management of the decision's important goal of restoring the fishery resources that the United States holds in trust for the Tribe."

She also pointed out the bill, “may ultimately help struggling fishing communities on California's North Coast - and even into Southern Oregon. The restoration of the San Joaquin and the government's commitment to reintroduce and rebuild historic salmon populations provide a rare bright spot for these communities.”

On the same day, Representatives George Radanovich, Dennis Cardoza, Jim Costa, George Miller, Richard Pombo, and Grace Napolitano introduced Companion legislation, HR. 6377, in the House.

“This legislation focuses on the restoration of the San Joaquin River, but it is good news for all West Coast fishing communities,” said Hoopa Valley Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall. He lauded Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Representatives Radanovich, Miller, Pombo, Costa, Cardoza, and Napolitano for their legislation.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Friant Water Users Authority, the State of California, and all of the third parties present in the negotiations agreed to support the settlement and the legislation and pledged to do what's necessary to see that Congress approves it. Fishing groups party to the agreement include the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, United Anglers of California, California Striped Bass Association, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and others.

The legislation indicates how the settlement agreement forged by the parties is going to be implemented. It involves the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Reclamation and gives the Secretary of the Interior the additional authority to take the actions to restore the San Joaquin River, reintroduce spring run chinook salmon, minimize water supply impacts on Friant water users; and avoid reductions in water supply for third-party water contractors.

“The legislation gives all sides certainty on how the river will be restored and water will be used,” said Feinstein, noting that:

• NRDC and fishing groups will be able to see that the San Joaquin River is restored, without further litigation.

• The Friant Water Users Authority will know that its water supply will remain at manageable levels.

• Third party water contractors will be able to avoid all but the smallest water impacts as a result of the settlement, except on a voluntary basis.

• The Department of the Interior and the State of California now have "partners in efforts" to restore the river, improve water supply, and protect the threatened species, said Feinstein.

Mike Orcutt, Director of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department, emphasized the vital connection between the restoration of the San Joaquin and the Trinity Rivers.

“The Hoopa Valley Tribe worked with the San Joaquin coalition to avoid any conflicts that would detract from the restoration work that has been ongoing on the Trinity River for more than two decades. The key to putting teeth into the l992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act's environmental restoration goals is to work for settlements that will help all of our rivers.”

Both rivers - the Trinity and the San Joaquin - had been harmed by Central Valley Project dams and water diversions, according to Orcutt.

Under the Settlement, restoring continuous flows to the 63 miles of dry river will take place in a phased manner. Planning, design work, and environmental reviews will begin immediately, while interim flows for experimental purposes will start in 2009. The flows will be increased gradually over the next several years, with spring and fall run chinook salmon being re-introduced by December 31, 2012.

The parties will also work together on a series of projects to improve the river channel in order to restore and maintain healthy salmon populations. Flow restoration is to be coordinated with these channel improvements.

The settlement continues in effect until 2026, with the U.S. District Court retaining jurisdiction to resolve disputes and enforce the settlement. After 2026, the court, in conjunction with the California State Water Resources Control Board, would consider any requests by the parties for changes to the restoration program.

The restoration of the San Joaquin River occurs at a time when Central Valley and Bay-Delta Estuary fisheries are undergoing a dramatic crisis. Delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad and juvenile striped bass have declined to historic lows while the plankton that sustain these species are also in free fall.

State and federal scientists are currently studying this Pelagic Organism Decline (POD) in the California Delta. Three factors - water export increases and changes, toxic chemicals and exotic species - have been targeted as the causes for the decline. However, fishing and conservation groups believe that the massive increase in water exports in recent years is the key factor responsible for the food chain crash.

The Bureau of Reclamation in December announced the final EIS/EIR for the SDIP (South Delta Improvement Program), a wacky scheme to redesign the hydrology of the Delta to provide for increases in federal and state water project exports. Sportfishing groups, conservation groups and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe are opposing the project. The news release (and final EIS/EIR) are available at http://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/detail.cfm?RecordID=14781.