My Word: PG&E Should Stay the Course on Eel River Dam Removal, Times-Standard By Alicia Hamann, Executive Director of Friends of the Eel River For over 120 years, Russian River water users have enjoyed a boost to their water supplies at the expense of the Eel River. PG&E’s Potter Valley Project uses two dams and … Read more
Sonoma’s Eel River Diversion Plan Risks Extinction of Humboldt Fisheries Plan Would Delay PG&E Removal of Eel River Dams Eureka, CA – Yesterday, a group led by Sonoma Water proposed a new plan to maintain diversion of Eel River Water to the Russian. Humboldt County fishermen, Tribes, and conservation groups were blindsided by the proposal. … Read more
Tune into the EcoNews Report for big news about Eel River dam removal – PG&E is finally taking dam safety seriously! On March 16 the company announced big changes to how they will manage Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury reservoir, based on an updated evaluation of seismic stability and dam safety. Dam removal advocates at … Read more
PG&E Admits Scott Dam Faces Serious Seismic Risks In a March 16, 2023 press release, PG&E has admitted that Scott Dam faces previously unacknowledged risks from seismic activity. Those risks are so great that the utility has announced that it will never again raise the gates atop Scott Dam, reducing the capacity of the Lake … Read more
December 29, 2022 Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20426 Re: Potter Valley Project (P-77) Decommissioning Plan and Schedule Dear Secretary Bose, On behalf of the undersigned organizations, this letter conveys our concerns regarding the plan and schedule to file a surrender application for the Potter Valley … Read more
On this week’s edition of the EcoNews Report, host Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River is joined by three fisheries experts to talk about how we count fish in the Eel River. Tune in to hear from Wyatt Smith from the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Dave Kajtaniak from the Department of Fish … Read more
Action from FERC and PG&E seems to come in quick bursts – a lot has happened over the past two months. Before diving into that, we want to share the exciting news that this week FOER and our allies filed suit against FERC for violating the Endangered Species Act. When the federal agency issued an … Read more
The Eel River once flowed unobstructed from its headwaters in Mendocino County to the Pacific Ocean, supporting the third largest salmon and steelhead runs in California. Over a million fish historically spawned each year within the Eel River watershed (Source: Yoshiyama & Moyle, 2010). All that has changed over the past century, with the effects … Read more
For Immediate Release: August 16, 2022 Conservation and Fishing Groups File Lawsuit in Federal Court Over Endangered Species Act Violations at Eel River Dams California Trout, Friends of the Eel River, Trout Unlimited, Institute for Fisheries Resources, and Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations take legal action to reduce lethal impacts on endangered fish from … Read more
July 29, 2022 Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20426 Re: Potter Valley Project (P-77) Decommissioning Plan and Schedule Dear Secretary Bose, On behalf of the undersigned organizations we offer these comments on the PG&E draft license surrender schedule for the Potter Valley Project, P-77 (Project). … Read more