Workshop on the Interior Delta Flows And Related Stressors Panel Summary Report

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | August 6th, 2014

On April 16 and 17, 2014, the Delta Science Program convened an expert Panel (the Panel) and a workshop to identify the best available science to inform the State Water R

On April 16 and 17, 2014, the Delta Science Program convened an expert Panel (the Panel) and a workshop to identify the best available science to inform the State Water Resources Control Board’s (the Board) decisions regarding interior Delta flow requirements to protect beneficial uses of water in the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary (Bay-Delta Plan). This workshop and others were convened to provide advice to the Board on issues important to updating the 2006 Bay Delta Plan. At the workshop, the Panel (consisting of the authors of this report) heard presentations from a variety of experts on Delta flows and on species and ecological responses to flow. The Panel was also provided with a selection of scientific reports relevant to the effects of interior Delta flows on fish and their environment in the Delta. This report is informed by both the written and oral information provided to the Panel as well as by other publications that the Panel felt were necessary to satisfy its charge.  The Panel did not make a thorough independent search of the literature on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to determine if there were additional publications that were relevant to its charge. In this report we summarize what is known about the direct and indirect relationships between interior Delta flows and listed fish species. We then use this knowledge to address a set of specific questions posed by the Delta Science Program and the Board.

Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Final Environmental Impact Statement / Environmental Impact Report (Chapters 1-8)

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | May 1st, 2019

The Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project (Project) has been developed to improve fish passage and increase floodplain fisheries rearing habit

The Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project (Project) has been developed to improve fish passage and increase floodplain fisheries rearing habitat in the Yolo Bypass and the lower Sacramento River basin. The United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), as the Federal lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), as the State of California (State) lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), have prepared this joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) to assess impacts of the Project. The Project actions would implement Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) action I.6.1 and, in part, RPA action I.7, as described in the 2009 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Biological Opinion and Conference Opinion on the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project and the 2012 Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Implementation Plan (Reclamation and DWR 2012).  Authority for combined Federal and State documents is provided in Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Sections 1502.25, 1506.2, and 1506.4 (Council on Environmental Quality’s Regulations for Implementing NEPA [CEQ Regulations]) and California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 (State CEQA Guidelines), Section 15222 (Preparation of Joint Documents). This document was prepared consistent with United States Department of the Interior regulations specified in 43 CFR, Part 46 (United States Department of the Interior Implementation of NEPA, Final Rule).  This EIS/EIR evaluates reasonably foreseeable potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on the environment that could result from implementing the Project alternatives. In addition, this EIS/EIR includes feasible mitigation measures to avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce, or compensate for adverse impacts. 

Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Final Environmental Impact Statement / Environmental Impact Report (Chapters 9-12)

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | May 1st, 2019

Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Final Environmental Impact Statement / Environmental Impact Report (Executive Summary)

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | May 1st, 2019

The Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project (Project) Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) addresses methods to

The Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project (Project) Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) addresses methods to improve fish passage and increase floodplain fisheries rearing habitat in the Yolo Bypass to benefit Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, and Southern Distinct Population Segment of North American green sturgeon. The Project actions would implement Reasonable and Prudent Alternative actions I.6.1 and I.7, as described in the 2009 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion and Conference Opinion on the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project and the 2012 Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Implementation Plan.  This EIS/EIR has been prepared according to requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act. Direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts resulting from the project alternatives on the environment of the region are evaluated.  Full document files: Chapters 1-8 Chapters 9-12 Chapters 13-26 Appendices and drafts

Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Implementation Plan

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | September 21st, 2012

Significant modifications have been made to the historic floodplain of California‘s Central Valley for water supply and flood damage reduction purposes. The resulting l

Significant modifications have been made to the historic floodplain of California‘s Central Valley for water supply and flood damage reduction purposes. The resulting losses of rearing habitat, migration corridors, and food web production for fish have significantly hindered native fish species that rely on floodplain habitat during part or all of their life history. The Yolo Bypass (Bypass), which currently experiences at least some flooding in approximately 80% of years, still retains many characteristics of the historic floodplain habitat that are favorable to various fish species. In approximately 70% of years, Fremont Weir overtops, joining flows from western tributaries. In approximately 10% of years, localized flooding is due to western tributary contributions only (DWR 2008, Woodland gauge, unpublished analysis). The primary function of the Bypass is flood damage reduction, with most of it also managed as agricultural land. The Bypass has also been identified by several State and federal entities as a potential site for habitat restoration to ease pressure on and increase benefits to threatened and endangered fish species. On June 4, 2009, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued its Biological Opinion and Conference Opinion on the Long-term Operation of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) (NMFS Operation BO). The NMFS Operation BO concluded that, if left unchanged, CVP and SWP operations were likely to jeopardize the continued existence of four federally- listed anadromous fish species: Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, California Central Valley steelhead, and Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) North American green sturgeon. The NMFS Operation BO sets forth Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) actions that would allow continuing SWP and CVP operations to remain in compliance with the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). This Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Draft Implementation Plan (Implementation Plan) was prepared jointly by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to address two specific RPA Actions set forth in the NMFS Operation BO: RPA Action I.6.1: Restoration of Floodplain Rearing Habitat, through the increase of seasonal inundation within the lower Sacramento River basin; and RPA Action I.7: Reduce Migratory Delays and Loss of Salmon, Steelhead, and Sturgeon, through the modification of Fremont Weir and other structures of the Yolo Bypass. As mandated by the NMFS Operation BO, this Implementation Plan describes the activities, process, and timeline required to implement actions to address the requirements of RPA Actions I.6.1 and I.7. Major California restoration planning efforts over several decades (e.g., CALFED, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan) have focused on the Yolo Bypass as a prime area of the Sacramento Valley for enhancement of seasonal floodplain rearing habitat. The Yolo Bypass is generally seen as one of the best places in the lower Sacramento River Basin on which to focus implementation resources in order to achieve implementation of floodplain enhancements because of these efforts. Some of the technical foundation for these efforts has been well laid and interaction with stakeholders and local property owners has been initiated and is on-going. Implementation procedures related to RPA Action I.6.1 within the NMFS Operation BO specify that this Implementation Plan include an evaluation of options to "increase aquatic inundation of publicly and privately owned suitable acreage within the Yolo Bypass." Therefore, this Implementation Plan focuses on restoration of floodplain rearing habitat within the Yolo Bypass to address RPA Action I.6.1. However, the planning and environmental compliance process will consider a reasonable range of alternatives for implementing this RPA action. Additional discussion regarding the availability and suitability of areas for seasonal floodplain inundation is provided in Section 6: Proposals to Refine the RPA Actions.