Restoration

- Overview below was first published on Trinity River Restoration site. 

The Trinity River Restoration Program was initiated in 1984 under PL 98-541
to restore and maintain the fish and wildlife stocks of the Trinity
River Basin to levels that existed just prior to construction of the
CVP Trinity River Division. The Central Valley Project Improvement Act
of 1992 (PL 102-575) further supported restoration objectives and established completion dates for the program documents.

The Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration EIS was completed and the Record of Decision
(ROD) signed on December 19, 2000. The EIS calls for
physical/mechanical restoration actions in the basin, as well as an
increase from approximately 25 to 48 percent of the average annual
inflow to Trinity Lake to be released to the River. CVP water and power
users filed suit to prevent implementation of the ROD. On March 19,
2001, the Eastern District Court of California enjoined that part of
the decision that provided increased flows for the Trinity River
required preparation of a Supplemental EIS/EIR (SEIS), but allowed
other aspects of the program to proceed. A contract for developing the
SEIS was awarded in December 2001, to include additional analysis of
impacts to power production and those resulting from implementation of
the associated Biological Opinion.