PG&E has released their initial draft decommissioning plan for the Potter Valley Project. The plan calls for removal of both Scott and Cape Horn Dams, and provides a few options for consideration by stakeholders. This initial draft does not include environmental review, proposed license surrender conditions, or a conceptual restoration plan; those will come with … Read more
PG&E TELLS FERC “SEISMIC RISK OF EEL RIVER DAMS GREATER THAN PREVIOUSLY UNDERSTOOD” -FERC Approves Changes to Dam Operations to Mitigate Earthquake Risks -Four Months After Request, Approval Comes Too Late to Stop Fish Kill Washington, DC – Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted a request for a Temporary Variance to the flow requirements … Read more
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 a pipeline to divert water from the Eel River to a power house on the East Fork of the Russian River. While the project … 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
Dear Friends, For the last several years, I’ve been optimistically sharing that if everything fell perfectly into place, the Eel River Dams could be out of the river by 2030. We’ve just learned that my optimistic timeline may turn out to be realistic. People like you who keep our bills paid deserve huge credit. Please … Read more
Fishing and Conservation Groups Sue PG&E over Harms to Salmon and Steelhead on Eel River Groups take legal action to reduce lethal impacts on imperiled fish from utility’s operation of outdated hydroelectric Potter Valley Project dams San Francisco — A coalition of five commercial fishing and conservation groups have filed suit in federal court charging … 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 September 29, 2022, PG&E alerted Humboldt County that it was going to spray herbicides along its easements across the region. PG&E failed to alert landowners or tenants of this new threat; instead, local news broke the story just two days before spraying was set to commence. Today, it appears that PG&E has postponed spraying … 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