This week, a partnership of multiple agencies spanning three counties along the Eel and Russian rivers will officially launch a plan to take over operations of the Potter Valley Project, a hydro-electric dam that affects the amount of water in each river.
According to a press release, on June 28 the partnership made up of California Trout (CalTrout), Mendocino Inland Water and Power Commission, Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) and the County of Humboldt “will file a joint Notice of Intent (NOI) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stating that they plan to apply for a permit to take over operations of the Potter Valley Project.” The deadline for filing is Monday, July 1.
The dam is still owned by Pacific Gas and Electric, but local water and conservation agencies began working on a plan to take it over once PG&E announced that it would sell it, then later announced that it was essentially abandoning the project and “not seeking a new license for continued operation of the dam.”
According to a press release representing the partnership, the Notice of Intent “highlights the goals of the Potter Valley Project ad hoc committee, convened by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), and includes restoration of fisheries and a dependable supply of water in both the Eel and Russian River basins. One key tenet of the filing is that it includes a plan to create a new regional entity that could assume operations of the project once a new license is granted.”
The first dam was built more than 100 years ago to supply electricity to Ukiah, and while it still supplies a relatively small amount of that, it has become far more important as a source of water for Lake Mendocino, and therefore the people and fish who depend on the Russian River to the south.
The main facilities of the project are the hydroelectric plant, two dams on the Eel River, and a diversion tunnel that feeds water from the Eel River through Potter Valley and into Lake Mendocino, which water experts say would “run dry three out of five years” without that diversion.
“These (lakes) are two man-made systems that are linked, and we have to be smart enough to maintain them,” said Janet Pauli, chairwoman of the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, referring to both Lake Pillsbury, created by the second dam built for the project, and Lake Mendocino.
“I would say that our desired future outcome for the Potter Valley Project is to maintain the water supply reliability that this economy, and our communities, have evolved with since the 1920s. But at the same time, work on a shared resource plan and the protection of the environment that is part of our quality of life, not just on the Eel River, but on the Russian River, too,” Pauli said earlier this year before the partnership was announced.
Thursday’s press release also notes that the four project partners are working within a Project Planning Agreement which details the funding, studies and legislative action required to move forward with a joint Notice of Intent, including that it “will be conditioned upon the completion of a Feasibility Study, including the creation of a regional entity, which will ultimately become the license applicant. All four entities will contribute $100,000 each toward funding the Feasibility Study. The Planning Agreement does not commit any entity to acquire or hold the license.”
“CalTrout is committed to ensuring that future operations of the Potter Valley Project create the conditions under which native Eel River steelhead and salmon can thrive in the context of a two-basin solution,” California Trout Executive Director Curtis Knight is quoted as saying in the press release. “The Eel River was once an incredibly productive watershed, and it holds tremendous promise for returning salmon and steelhead to abundance. Our objective is to identify a long-term, sustainable and realistic plan for the future of the Project.”
“We believe that we can find a win-win solution where we advance Eel River fisheries restoration to the benefit of Humboldt’s Tribal, sport, and commercial fishermen while being sensitive to the water supply needs of communities in Humboldt as well as our neighbors to the south,” Humboldt County Supervisor Estelle Fennell was quoted as saying.
For more information about the Potter Valley Project and Congressman Huffman’s ad hoc committee working toward a two-basin solution, visit http://pottervalleyproject.org.
