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DOC/NOAA RIN: 0648-BC68 Publication ID: Spring 2013 
Title: Endangered and Threatened Species: Designation of a Nonessential Experimental Population of Central Valley Spring-run Chinook Salmon below Friant Dam in the San Joaquin River, CA 
Abstract: This proposed rule would designate a nonessential experimental population of spring run Chinook salmon in California's San Joaquin River.In 2005 the Interior and Commerce Departments entered into a settlement with a coalition of environmental groups seeking to end litigation in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Rodgers, a lawsuit challenging Interiors operation of Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River. The settlement called for the restoration of flows in the river and the reintroduction of Chinook salmon, listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), in addition to work on the river channel to accommodate restored flows and salmon. In 2009, as part of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, Congress enacted the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act (Pub. L. No. 111-11, 123 Stat. 1349), which provides that if the Secretary of Commerce concludes that a program to reintroduce spring-run into the San Joaquin River can be implemented consistent with other requirements of the ESA, the reintroduction shall be [conducted] pursuant to 10(j) of the ESA. Section 10(j) allows the Secretary to designate and release experimental populations of listed animals, which receive a lower level of protection than populations listed as threatened or endangered. The Settlement Act also provided that reintroduction will not impose more than de minimus impacts on third parties in the region.The proposed experimental population will occur within the historical range of Chinook salmon but outside the current range of the listed Central Valley spring-run Chinook. Compliance with the Settlement Act and application of reduced levels of regulatory protection available under Section 10(j) of the ESA ensures that this proposed rule will impose no significant impacts in the region. 
Agency: Department of Commerce(DOC)  Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage 
Major: No  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 50 CFR 223   
Legal Authority: 16 USC 1531 et seq   
Legal Deadline:
Action Source Description Date
Final  Judicial  Spring run to be introduced to San Joaquin River by this date  12/21/2012 
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
NPRM  01/16/2013  78 FR 3381   
Notice  01/24/2013  78 FR 5162   
Final Action  01/00/2014 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: None 
Small Entities Affected: No  Federalism: No 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Helen Golde
Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Room 11536, Marine Sanctuaries Division, 1305 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone:301 427-8400
Email: helen.golde@noaa.gov