Sec. 201. Actions to benefit threatened and endangered fish populations
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There is authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 for each fiscal year through 2020 to carry out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Recovery Plan for Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, and Central Valley steelhead. The Secretary of the Interior shall take such steps as are necessary to partner with, and coordinate the efforts of, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and other relevant Federal agencies to ensure that all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, statements, permits, licenses, or other approvals or decisions required under Federal law to allow the construction and operation of salmon recovery projects that are part of the Sacramento Salmon Recovery Program are completed on an expeditious basis, consistent with Federal law.
To increase protections of fish listed under the smelt biological opinion and the salmonid biological opinion, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to Congress— by not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, a report describing the current progress of evaluating nonstructural barriers at Deadhorse Island and other locations to prevent straying of threatened or endangered salmonids through the Delta cross-channel gates and other key Delta junctions; and by not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, a report describing the effectiveness of the nonstructural barriers described in subparagraph
(A)in preventing straying of endangered salmonids. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior shall coordinate with the California Water Resources Control Board and the California Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Water Resources. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $2,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to Congress— a report on the cost and effectiveness of additional gravel that was placed downstream of the Keswick Dam in 2013 and 2014 in improving salmon spawning rates; a report on the feasibility of implementing gravel additions at additional locations to improve salmon and steelhead spawning rates, including the timetable for implementing any approved locations; and a report on the feasibility of constructing or restoring additional natural rearing areas in the upper mainstem Sacramento River to improve salmon and steelhead population recovery. If the Secretary of the Interior determines, in the feasibility reports described in paragraph (1), that additions of gravel and natural rearing areas are feasible and beneficial for protecting and recovering fish populations, the Secretary shall commence implementation of those additions by not later than 1 year after the date of submission of the feasibility reports. In carrying out paragraphs
(1)and (2), the Secretary shall coordinate with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Secretary of Commerce. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $4,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall— establish pilot programs to test alternative release strategies for hatchery-raised, winter-run salmon to reduce mortality rates beyond those in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, including alternative release locations, trucking options, or barging options; and not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, submit to Congress reports regarding the progress and results of the pilot programs under subparagraph (A), including recommendations on whether those pilot programs should be continued. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $7,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce shall implement a pilot program— to identify natural and artificial factors in the Sacramento River and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta watershed that could be providing favorable predatory fish habitat for fish that prey on juvenile salmon; to collect scientific data at those locations to determine whether those natural or artificial factors are contributing to predation of endangered fish; and to provide recommendations on whether those natural or artificial factors that enable the formation or continuation of predatory fish habitat could be feasibly and effectively modified, in compliance with all applicable State and Federal laws (including regulations), to reduce predation. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $6,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. The Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce shall— assess the effectiveness of lowering light intensity at artificial structures in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to reduce predation of endangered fish; and implement actions to lower light intensity at other artificial structures in the Delta if the assessment under subparagraph
(A)results in a determination that the action is effective in reducing predation. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce shall coordinate with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other relevant local and State authorities. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $3,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce shall evaluate and submit to Congress a report that describes alternatives— to redeposit salvaged salmon smolts and other fish from the Delta that would reduce predation losses; and to reduce predation at the existing fish salvage system. In carrying out actions under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce shall coordinate with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Commissioner of Reclamation, in collaboration with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, applicable water agencies, and other interested parties, shall design, permit, implement, and evaluate a pilot program to test the efficacy of an experimental trap and barge program to improve survival of juvenile salmonids emigrating from the San Joaquin watershed through the Delta. Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator and the Commissioner shall convene a working group, to be comprised of representatives of relevant agencies and other interested parties, to develop and execute a plan for the design, budgeting, implementation, and evaluation of the pilot program under this paragraph using such existing expertise on trap and barge programs as may be available. The plan under this subparagraph shall— include a schedule and budget for the pilot program; and identify the responsible parties for each element of the program. The Assistant Administrator and the Commissioner shall seek to commence implementation of the pilot program under this paragraph during calendar year 2016, if practicable. Not less frequently than once each calendar year, the Assistant Administrator and the Commissioner shall jointly submit to the Committees on Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report that describes— progress made in implementing this subsection; estimated survival rates through the Delta for both juvenile salmonids that were barged through the Delta and those that were not barged; and if the survival rates described in clause
(ii)are significantly higher for barged fish, as compared to other outmigrating smolts, recommendations regarding broadening the pilot program. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $3,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. There is authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 for the Commissioner to improve temperature modeling and related forecasted information for purposes of predicting impacts to salmon and salmon habitat as a result of water management.