After so many years of negotiations and debate, all the SPLAT participants celebrated when consensus was reached.  The photo below captured the official agreement, with 16 of the main participants shown.  But the celebrations were premature.

  One key utility -- the Tri-Dam Project -- agreed to all the new management measures and implemented them a year later for Tulloch, Beardsley, and Donnells reservoirs.  But PG&E held off implementing its share of the new river conditions while it went through a number of negotiations with the U.S. Forest Service, the State Water Board, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  Those delays dragged on over recent years.

  Then a new debate erupted.  The Tuolumne Utilities District became highly alarmed over a revision to a "recreational lake level" condition that the State Water Board prescribed for Pinecrest Lake. TUD openly threatened legal challenges, filed letters of protest, and rallied Tuolumne County politicians and PG&E to join in opposing the proposed requirement to keep Pinecrest Lake moderately full until the end of summer.  The State Water Board gave high value to the economic and social benefits of ensuring that the highly popular Pinecrest Lake destination was not prematurely drained before the Labor Day holiday.  On the other side, TUD considered the lake level requirement to be an unacceptable threat to the utility district's ability to call for water from Pinecrest to meet the needs of TUD customers.

  CSERC's director attempted to work closely with both sides to find a balanced solution.  Early in the contentious debate, CSERC suggested setting the lake level target two feet lower and adding some additional flexibility for adjusting the lake level further in unique water years.  After many months of intense disagreement and competing proposals by the State Water Board and TUD, a solution similar to CSERC's suggestion ended up being the acceptable agreement. 

  With that final issue resolved, the Middle Fork and the South Fork of the Stanislaus River will now be managed for the next four decades with huge benefits for the environment.  New recreational facilities will be constructed (including a campground above Beardsley and major improvements at Pinecrest Lake).  For the river otters, osprey, fish, frogs, turtles, and other aquatic species of the Stanislaus River system, the many years of controversy and negotiations will now have a positive outcome.