I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2705 
To develop a pilot program to remove non-native predator fishes from the 
Stanislaus River to protect the native anadromous fishery resources af-
fected by the operation of the New Melones Unit of the East Side 
Division of the Central Valley Project, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 17, 2013 
Mr. DENHAM introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To develop a pilot program to remove non-native predator 
fishes from the Stanislaus River to protect the native 
anadromous fishery resources affected by the operation 
of the New Melones Unit of the East Side Division 
of the Central Valley Project, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stanislaus River Na-
tive Anadromous Fish Improvement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROTECT ANADROMOUS FISH 
IN THE STANISLAUS RIVER. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF NON-NATIVE PREDATOR 
FISH REMOVAL PROGRAM.—The Commissioner and dis-
tricts, in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries 
Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and 
the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, shall 
jointly develop and conduct a pilot non-native predator 
fish removal program to remove non-native striped bass, 
smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black bass, and other 
non-native predator fishes from the Stanislaus River. The 
pilot program shall— 
(1) be scientifically based; 
(2) include methods to quantify the number and 
size of predator fishes removed each year, the im-
pact of such removal on the overall abundance of 
predator fishes, and the impact of such removal on 
the populations of juvenile anadromous fish found in 
the Stanislaus River by, among other things, evalu-
ating the number of juvenile anadromous fish that 
migrate past the rotary screw trap located at 
Caswell; 
(3) use wire fyke trapping, portable resistance 
board weirs, and boat electrofishing, which are the 
most effective predator collection techniques that 
minimize affects to native anadromous fish; 
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(4) be developed, including the application for 
all necessary scientific research and species enhance-
ment permits under section 10(a)(1) of the Endan-
gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)), 
for the performance of the pilot program, not later 
than 6 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act; 
(5) be implemented on the first business day of 
the calendar year following the issuance of all nec-
essary scientific research and species enhancement 
permits needed to begin the pilot program; and 
(6) be implemented for a period of five consecu-
tive calendar years. 
(b) MANAGEMENT.—The management of the pilot 
program shall be the joint responsibility of the Commis-
sioner and the districts. Such parties shall work collabo-
ratively to insure the performance of the pilot program, 
and shall discuss and agree upon, among other things, 
changes in the structure, management, personnel, tech-
niques, strategy, data collection, reporting, and conduct 
of the pilot program. 
(c) CONDUCT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—At the election of the dis-
tricts, the pilot program may be conducted by their 
own personnel, qualified private contractors hired by 
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the districts, personnel of, on loan to, or otherwise 
assigned to the Bureau of Reclamation, or a com-
bination thereof. 
(2) PARTICIPATION BY BUREAU OF RECLAMA-
TION.—In the event the districts elect to conduct the 
program using their own personnel or qualified pri-
vate contractors hired by them, the Commissioner 
has the option to assign an employee of, on loan to, 
or otherwise assigned to the Bureau of Reclamation, 
to be present for all activities performed in the field. 
Such presence shall insure compliance with the 
agreed upon elements specified in subsection (b). 
The districts shall pay 100 percent of the cost of 
such participation as specified in subsection (d). 
(3) TIMING OF ELECTION.—The districts shall 
notify the Commissioner of their election on or be-
fore October 15 of each calendar year of the pilot 
program, which election shall apply to the work per-
formed in the subsequent calendar year. 
(d) FUNDING.— 
(1) ANNUAL FUNDING.—The districts shall be 
responsible for 100 percent of the cost of the pilot 
program. On or before December 1 of each year of 
the pilot program, the Commissioner shall submit to 
the districts an estimate of the cost to be incurred 
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by the Bureau of Reclamation in the following cal-
endar year, if any, including the cost of any data 
collection and posting under subsection (e). If an 
amount equal to the estimate is not provided to the 
reclamation fund identified in section 3 of the Act 
of February 21, 1911 (43 U.S.C. 525), by the dis-
tricts on or before December 31 of each year— 
(A) the Bureau of Reclamation shall have 
no obligation to conduct the pilot program ac-
tivities otherwise scheduled until full payment is 
made by the districts; and 
(B) the districts shall be prohibited from 
conducting any aspect of the pilot program 
until full payment is made by the districts. 
(2) ACCOUNTING.—On or before September 1 
of each calendar year, the Commissioner shall pro-
vide an accounting of the prior calendar year’s ex-
penses to the districts. If the estimate paid by the 
districts was less than the actual costs incurred by 
the Bureau of Reclamation, the districts shall have 
until September 30 of that calendar year to pay the 
difference to the reclamation fund. If the estimate 
paid by the districts was greater than the actual 
costs incurred by the Bureau of Reclamation, then 
a credit shall be provided to the districts, which shall 
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be deducted from the estimate payment the districts 
must make for the work performed by the Bureau 
of Reclamation, if any, in the next calendar year. 
(e) REPORTING AND EVALUATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On or before the 15th day 
of each month, the Commissioner shall post on the 
Web site of the Bureau of Reclamation a tabular 
summary of the raw data collected in the prior 
month. 
(2) REPORT.—On or before June 30 of the cal-
endar year following the completion of the program, 
the Commissioner and districts shall jointly publish 
a peer reviewed report that— 
(A) discusses the findings and conclusions 
of the pilot program; 
(B) synthesizes the data collected under 
paragraph (1); and 
(C) makes recommendations for further 
study and action. 
(f) PERMITS PROCESS.— 
(1) Not later than 180 days after filing of an 
application by the Commissioner and the districts, 
the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Com-
merce, or both, as appropriate, shall issue all nec-
essary scientific research and species enhancement 
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permits under section 10(a)(1) of the Endangered 
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 153(9)(a)(1)), for the per-
formance of the pilot program. 
(2) Any permit application that is not approved 
by the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Com-
merce, or both, as appropriate, for any reason, with-
in 180 days after receiving the application, shall be 
deemed approved. 
(3) All permits issued shall be in the name of 
the Bureau of Reclamation and the districts. 
(4) Districts may delegate the authority to ad-
minister the permit authority to any qualified pri-
vate contractor retained in accordance with sub-
section (c). 
(5) The pilot program, including amendments 
thereto by the appropriate Federal and State agen-
cies, shall constitute a conservation plan that com-
plies with the requirements of section 10(a)(2) of 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1539(a)(2)). 
(g) NEPA.—Section 102(2)(C) of the National Envi-
ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) 
shall not apply with respect to section 2 and the issuance 
of any permit under this subsection during the seven-year 
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period beginning on the date of the implementation of the 
pilot program. 
SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS. 
Any restriction imposed under California law on the 
catch, take, or harvest of any non-native or introduced 
aquatic or terrestrial species that preys upon anadromous 
fish and that occupies or is found in the Stanislaus River 
is hereby void and is preempted. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act: 
(1) ANADROMOUS FISH.— 
(A) The term ‘‘anadromous fish’’ as ap-
plied to the Stanislaus River and the operation 
of New Melones— 
(i) means those native stocks of salm-
on (including steelhead) that— 
(I) as of October 30, 1992, were 
present in and had not been extir-
pated from the Stanislaus River; and 
(II) which ascend the Stanislaus 
River to reproduce after maturing in 
San Francisco Bay or the Pacific 
Ocean; and 
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(ii) does not mean any stock, strain or 
member of American shad, sockeye salmon, 
or striped bass. 
(B) The definition of anadromous fish pro-
vided in section 3403(a) of the Central Valley 
Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102– 
575) shall not apply to the operation of New 
Melones Dam and Reservoir, or to any Federal 
action in the Stanislaus River. 
(2) 
COMMISSIONER.—The 
term 
‘‘Commis-
sioner’’ means the Commissioner of the Bureau of 
Reclamation. 
(3) DISTRICTS.—The term ‘‘districts’’ means 
the Oakdale Irrigation District and the South San 
Joaquin Irrigation District. 
(4) PILOT
PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro-
gram’’ means the pilot non-native predator removal 
program established under section 2(b). 
SEC. 5. SUNSET. 
This Act and the authorities provided under this Act 
shall expire 7 years after implementation of the pilot pro-
gram begins. 
Æ 
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