	Introduction

Historically, Central California's San Joaquin River supported large Chinook salmon populations. Since the Bureau of Reclamation's Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River became fully operational in the 1940s, much of the river's water has been diverted for agricultural uses. As a result, approximately 60 miles of the river is dry in most years, making it impossible to support Chinook salmon populations in the upper reaches of the river. In 1988, a coalition of conservation and fishing groups advocating for river restoration to support Chinook salmon recovery sued the Bureau of Reclamation (hereafter referred to as Reclamation), which owns and operates Friant Dam ( Natural Resources Defense Council v. Rodgers ). A U.S. District Court judge has since ruled that operation of Friant Dam violates state law because of its destruction of downstream fisheries. Faced with mounting legal fees, considerable uncertainty, and the possibility of dramatic cuts to water diversions, parties agreed to negotiate a settlement instead of proceeding to trial on a remedy regarding the court's ruling. The Settlement calls for new releases of water from Friant Dam to restore fisheries in the San Joaquin River and for efforts to mitigate water supply losses due to the new releases. Title X of H.R. 146 , which passed the Senate March 19, 2009, contains a San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement implementation provision; the legislation had previously been considered and passed the Senate as Title X of S. 22 . Congressional authorization and appropriations are required for full implementation of the Settlement. A key legislative issue is how to finance Settlement implementation, specifically how to resolve congressional Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) issues. Other challenges are how to achieve the Settlement's dual goals of fisheries restoration and water management, and how to address concerns of stakeholders not party to the Settlement, without disrupting the negotiated agreement. The stated goals of the Settlement are twofold: (1) to restore and maintain fish populations in "good condition"—the § 5937 standard—in the main stem of the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam to the confluence of the Merced River; and (2) to reduce or avoid adverse water supply impacts to the Friant long-term water service contractors that may result from both interim flows and restorative flows provided in the Settlement. 4074 , H.R. 24 and S. 27 . While short-term (10 year) direct spending in H.R.
Historically, the San Joaquin River in Central California has supported large Chinook salmon populations. Since the Bureau of Reclamation's Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River became fully operational in the 1940s, much of the river's water has been diverted for off-stream agricultural uses. As a result, approximately 60 miles of the river bed is dry in most years. Thus, the river no longer supports Chinook salmon populations in its upper reaches. In 1988, a coalition of conservation and fishing groups sued Reclamation (Natural Resources Defense Council v. Rodgers). A U.S. District Court judge ruled in 2004 that operation of Friant Dam violates state law because of its destruction of downstream fisheries. Faced with mounting legal fees, uncertainty, and the possibility of dramatic cuts to water diversions, parties negotiated a settlement instead of proceeding to trial. The Settlement reached calls for new releases of water from Friant Dam to restore fisheries, potential river channel modifications to accommodate increased flows, and efforts to mitigate reductions in off-stream deliveries lost to restoration flows.
Congressional authorization and appropriations are required for full Settlement implementation. Legislation based on the Settlement (H.R. 4074, H.R. 24 and S. 27) was considered in the 110th Congress; a new version of the legislation has been introduced in the 111th Congress—Title X of S. 22, an omnibus public lands bill, which became Title X of H.R. 146 and passed the Senate on March 19, 2009. A key legislative issue is how to finance the Settlement, specifically how to resolve direct spending and related congressional pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) issues. Other challenges have been how to achieve the Settlement's dual goals of fisheries restoration and water management, and how to address concerns of stakeholders not party to the Settlement, without disrupting the negotiated agreement.
The region may benefit from increased recreational expenditures and investment in river restoration activities under the Settlement. For example, some communities and interests believe restoration will bring other benefits to the river and river communities, such as improved surface water quality in lower San Joaquin River reaches and enhanced recreation benefits. On the other hand, some studies suggest the Settlement would have a negative economic impact on the agriculture industry, at least in the short term. In addition, downstream interests not party to the Settlement have been concerned about increased flooding, groundwater infiltration, and competition with existing federal financial commitments. Nearby communities fear harm to groundwater quantity and quality. Some of these concerns have been addressed in the newest version of the legislation, but some may remain.