What is wrong with this picture? Looking below the surface at Scott Dam’s design Did you know Scott Dam was originally designed to run straight across the Eel River Canyon? So why is there an angle in Scott Dam? How does this design impact dam safety? Scott Dam, as we see it today, is a … Read more
Today’s filing proposes to remove Scott Dam, which would allow Eel River fish passage to their headwaters habitat for the first time in a century. That’s a start. But too many questions remain unresolved.
In response to preventable disasters like the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion, Pacific Gas and Electric has insisted that they are committed to high safety standards. It’s now a decade, and several other disasters, later and the company has yet to prove that they are following through on their promise to “…remain forever committed to … Read more
Amidst the tumultuous relicensing, auction, bankruptcy, and withdrawal developments for the Eel River dams, attention has largely centered around the most problematic of the two – Scott Dam, which is structurally unsound and has zero fish passage. However, while there is a fish ladder at the Van Arsdale Fish Station at Cape Horn Dam, recent … Read more
We have great news for the Eel River and its fisheries. Days before entering bankruptcy, utility giant PG&E withdrew its application to relicense the Potter Valley Project and ended its attempt to sell the project, which includes two dams on the upper mainstem Eel River. Friends of the Eel River has been working for decades … Read more
(Eureka) Friends of the Eel River welcomes today’s announcement by PG&E that the utility is withdrawing its formal notice of intent to seek relicensing of the Potter Valley Project (PVP) before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and ceasing its efforts to sell off the two dams and associated diversion works. The two dams and … Read more
From Pacific Gas and Electric: NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE LICENSE APPLICATION AND PRE–APPLICATION DOCUMENT On April 6, 2017, pursuant to 18 C.F.R. §§ 5.5 and 5.6, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (“PG&E”), filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“Commission”) notice of its intent to file an application for a … Read more
Utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) began seeking potential buyers today for two aging dams on the upper Eel River, even as new questions emerge about the vulnerability of the larger dam to seismic shocks. A conservation group working to remove the dams released a technical analysis today that identifies an active landslide above the … Read more
Mendocino County water interests are moving forward with an attempt to buy the Eel River dams. If they succeed, they will only plant the seeds of a conflict that will last until the Eel River’s fish are gone or the dams come down. Ever since PG&E announced its intent to unload the two aging dams … Read more
With such grim news coming from the national and international political and climate fronts these days, it can be difficult to appreciate the progress we are making. Here at Friends of the Eel River, we’re heartbroken and outraged by the atrocities currently being committed in America’s name, but we’re also damn proud of the work … Read more