A bill to provide for the restoration of the fish and wildlife in the Trinity River Basin, California, and for other purposes.
PL 98-541 (H.R.1438), enacted 10/24/1984

PUBLIC LAW 98-541—OCT. 24, 1984 
98 STAT. 2721 
Public Law 98-541 
98th Congress 
An Act 
To provide for the restoration of the fish and wildlife in the Trinity River Basin, 
Oct. 24, 1984 
California, and for other purposes. 
[H.R. 1438] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, 
Conservation. 
Fish and fishing. 
FINDINGS 
Wildlife. 
SECTION 1. The Congress finds that— 
(1) the construction of the Trinity River division of the Cen-
tral Valley project in California, authorized by the Act of 
August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 719), has substantially reduced the 
streamflow in the Trinity River Basin thereby contributing to 
damage to pools, spawning gravels, and rearing areas and to a 
drastic reduction in the anadromous fish populations and a 
decline in the scenic and recreational qualities of such river 
system; 
(2) the loss of land areas inundated by two reservoirs con-
structed in connection with such project has contributed to 
reductions in the populations of deer and other wildlife histori-
cally found in the Trinity River Basin; 
(3) the Act referred to in paragraph (1) of this section directed 
the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this Act referred to 
as the "Secretary") to take appropriate actions to ensure the 
preservation and propagation of such fish and wildlife and 
additional authority was conferred on the Secretary under the 
Act approved September 4, 1980 (94 Stat. 1062), to take certain 
actions to mitigate the impact on fish and wildlife of the 
construction and operation of the Trinity River division; 
(4) activities other than those related to the project including, 
but not limited to, inadequate erosion control and fishery har-
vest management practices, have also had significant adverse 
effects on fish and wildlife populations in the Trinity River 
Basin and are of such a nature that the cause of any detrimen-
tal impact on such populations cannot be attributed solely to 
such activities or to the project; 
(5) a fish and wildlife management program has been devel-
oped by an existing interagency advisory group called the 
Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife Task Force; and 
(6) the Secretary requires additional authority to implement a 
basin-wide fish and wildlife management program in order to 
achieve the long-term goal of restoring fish and wildlife popula-
tions in the Trinity River Basin to a level approximating that 
which existed immediately before the start of the construction 
of the Trinity River division. 
98 STAT. 2722 
PUBLIC LAW 98-541—OCT. 24, 1984 
TRINITY RIVER BASIN FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 
SEC. 2. (a) Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary shall formulate 
and implement a fish and wildlife management program for the 
Trinity River Basin designed to restore the fish and wildlife popula-
tions in such basin to the levels approximating those which existed 
immediately before the start of the construction referred to in 
section 1(1) and to maintain such levels. The program shall include 
the following activities: 
(1) The design, construction, operation, and maintenance of 
facilities to— 
(A) rehabilitate fish habitats in the Trinity River between 
Lewiston Dam and Weitchpec; 
(B) rehabilitate fish habitats in tributaries of such river 
below Lewiston Dam and in the south fork of such river; 
and 
(C) modernize and otherwise increase the effectiveness of 
the Trinity River Fish Hatchery. 
(2) The establishment of a procedure to monitor (A) the fish 
and wildlife stock on a continuing basis, and (B) the effective-
ness of the rehabilitation work. 
(3) Such other activities as the Secretary determines to be 
necessary to achieve the long-term goal of the program. 
(b)(1) The Secretary shall use the program described in section 1(5) 
of this Act as a basis for the management program to be formulated 
under subsection (a) of this section. In formulating and implement-
ing such management program, the Secretary shall be assisted by an 
advisory group called the Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife 
Task Force established under section 3. 
(2) In order to facilitate the implementation of those activities 
under the management program over which the Secretary does not 
have jurisdiction, the Secretary shall undertake to enter into a 
memorandum of agreement with those Federal, State, and local 
agencies, and the Indian tribe, represented on the Task Force 
established under section 3. The memorandum of agreement should 
specify those management program activities for which the respec-
tive signatories to the agreement are primarily responsible and 
should contain such commitments and arrangements between and 
among the signatories as may be necessary or appropriate to ensure 
the coordinated implementation of the program. 
(3) To the extent not provided for under a memorandum of 
agreement entered into under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 
coordinate the activities undertaken under such management pro-
gram with the activities of State and local agencies, and the activi-
ties of other Federal agencies, which have responsibilities for 
managing public lands and natural resources within the Trinity 
River Basin. 
Establishment. 
TRINITY RIVER BASIN FISH AND WILDLIFE TASK FORCE 
SEC. 3. (a) There is established the Trinity River Basin Fish and 
Wildlife Task Force (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "Task 
Force") which shall be composed of fourteen members as follows: 
(1) One officer or employee of the California Department of 
Fish and Game to be appointed by the administrative head of 
such department. 
PUBLIC LAW 98-541—OCT. 24, 1984 
98 STAT. 2723 
(2) One officer or employee of the California Department of 
Water Resources to be appointed by the administrative head of 
such department. 
(3) One member or employee of the California Water Re-
sources Control Board to be appointed by such board. 
(4) One officer or employee of the California Department of 
Forestry to be appointed by the administrative head of such 
department. 
(5) One officer or employee of the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service to be appointed by the Secretary. 
(6) One officer or employee of the United States Bureau of 
Reclamation to be appointed by the Secretary. 
(7) One officer or employee of the United States Bureau of 
Land Management to be appointed by the Secretary. 
(8) One officer or employee of the United States Bureau of 
Indian Affairs to be appointed by the Secretary. 
(9) One officer or employee of the United States Forest Service 
to be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(10) One officer or employee of the United States Soil Conser-
vation Service to be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(11) One officer or employee of the United States National 
Marine Fisheries Service to be appointed by the Secretary of 
Commerce. 
(12) One individual to be appointed by the board of supervi-
sors of Humboldt County, California. 
(13) One individual to be appointed by the board of supervi-
sors of Trinity County, California. 
(14) One individual to be appointed by the Hoopa Tribe of the 
Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, California. 
Any vacancy on the Task Force shall be filled in the manner in 
which the original appointment was made. 
(b) If any member of the Task Force who was appointed to the 
Task Force as an officer or employee of a United States department 
or agency or as an officer or employee of a California State depart-
ment or board leaves such office or employment, he may continue as 
a member of the Task Force for not longer than the end of the 
fourteen-day period beginning on the date he leaves such office or 
employment. 
(c)(1) Members of the Task Force who are full-time officers or 
employees of the United States shall receive no additional pay, 
allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Task Force. 
(2) No moneys authorized to be appropriated under this Act may 
be used to pay any member of the Task Force for service on the Task 
Force or to reimburse any agency or governmental unit for the pay 
of any such member for such service. 
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 4. (a) Subject to subsection (b), there are authorized to be 
appropriated— 
(1) after fiscal year 1985, and to remain available until Octo-
ber 1, 1995, for design and construction under the management 
program formulated under section 2(a), $33,000,000, adjusted 
appropriately to reflect any increase or decrease in the engi-
neering cost indexes applicable to the types of construction 
involved between (A) the month of May 1982, and (B) the date of 
enactment of any appropriation for such construction; and 
98 STAT. 2724 
PUBLIC LAW 98-541—OCT. 24, 1984 
(2) for the cost of operations, maintenance, and monitoring 
under that management program, $2,400,000 for each of the 
fiscal years in the ten-year period beginning on October 1, 1985. 
(b) No moneys appropriated under subsection (a) may be 
expended, and no moneys may be expended for carrying out Grass 
Valley Creek activities, after September 30,1984, until the Secretary 
receives assurances satisfactory to him that— 
(1) the State of California and the counties of Humboldt and 
Trinity in California will pay during each fiscal year (on the 
basis of such shares as the State and the counties mutually 
agree upon) to the Treasury of the United States an amount 
equal to 15 per centum of the total amount of money that is 
expended during that year (A) from appropriations made under 
subsection (a), and (B) for carrying out Grass Valley Creek 
activities; and 
(2) the public utilities, water districts, and other direct pur-
chasers of water and power from the Trinity River division of 
the Central Valley project referred to in section 1(1) will pay (on 
the basis of such shares as are determined by the Secretary) to 
the Treasury of the United States, within such period of time 
and in such increments as are satisfactory to the Secretary, an 
amount equal to 50 per centum of the total amount of money 
that is expended (A) from appropriations made under subsection 
(a), and (B) for carrying out Grass Valley Creek activities. 
(c) No moneys appropriated under subsection (a) may be expended 
for any construction described in section 2(a)(1)(A) below the conflu-
ence of Grass Valley Creek and the Trinity River until the construc-
tion of the debris dam referred to in subsection (d)(1) is completed. 
(d) For purposes of this section, the term "Grass Valley Creek 
activities" means the following activities authorized by the Act of 
September 4,1980 (94 Stat. 1062): 
(1) The construction of the Grass Valley Creek debris dam. 
(2) The construction, operation, and maintenance of the sand 
dredging system in Grass Valley Creek. 
Approved October 24, 1984. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1438: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 98-1035, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Merchant Marine and Fisheries). 
SENATE REPORT No. 98-647 (Comm. on Environment and Public Works). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 130 (1984): 
Sept. 24, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 4, considered and passed Senate. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 20, No. 43 (1984): 
Oct. 24, Presidential statement.