Key settlement dates
1988: Environmental groups sue to restore Chinook salmon run on the San Joaquin River
2006: Settlement caps amount of water and financial obligation required by Friant Farmers
2009: First restoration flows released to the river.
(click image for larger view)
Th
e Federal Bureau of Reclamation just released a "framework" document laying out the anticipated next steps to implement the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Agreement — given certain funding constraints. This is the 3rd time the program has reshaped the timeline and expected results.
This latest effort came at the directive of the program's chief architect, Senator Dianne Feinstein, who last year told the parties to figure out how to provide benefits to fish and do it within the funds the program has remaining. The process was also largely driven by downstream 3rd party interests who were insisting projects be built to protect them from the impacts of a restored river.
The Senator had grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in restoring fish despite the tens of millions spent to date. She gave a strong indication that her future support would be conditioned on having a plan of action that made sense. The Senator was also very clear that any plan had to assume no more federal dollars beyond what has already been approved.
That drove the parties to the table in August of 2017.
The end result?
A program plan that meets some, but not all of the original Settlement objectives and exhausts all remaining funding. To complete all the Settlement goals will require more money from sources yet to be determined. The revised approach also leaves the original Settlement goals in place to be completed when, and if, money is found.
South Valley laid out three primary objectives that needed to be met to support the revised approach. Those objectives were incorporated into the final version of the revised framework.
- Using all the remaining funds, while not meeting all the Settlement goals, could not be used against Friant Division contractors as a means to demand more water in the future.
- The current Unreleased Restoration Flow (URF) program, that has returned hundreds of thousands of acre-feet to Friant farmers, will continue
- Reclamation will ensure that water recaptured under the Water Management Goal is retained for use by the Friant Division contractors
"There really wasn't much in here for Friant, so it was important for us to have those benchmarks included in this revised approach. The big winners of this effort are the downstream parties including landowners and Exchange Contractors since the bulk of spending will be for projects that ensure their protection from third-party impacts,” summed up Dan Vink, Executive Director of South Valley Water Association.
Following are several key excerpts from the document. (Please
CLICK HERE
to read the framework document. And
CLICK HERE
to find all the appendices.)
