Elena Bilheimer, EcoNews Journalist

Recently, the Two Basin Partnership joined project owner Pacific Gas and Electric in the decision not to relicense the Potter Valley Project and its two dams on the upper Eel River. This is an opportunity for the community to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to initiate license surrender for Eel River dams right now in order to help native fish populations as soon as possible. To learn more about Eel River dam removal, including how to send comments to FERC, go to the Friends of the Eel River website at eelriver.org. 

In accordance with the Two Basin Partnership’s decision, it is useful to understand what FERC is and how it functions in order to advocate for the Eel River. FERC is an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, tasked with regulating the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil, in addition to the licensing of non-federal hydropower projects. Congress granted FERC the authority to regulate these hydropower projects under the Federal Power Act (FPA) Part I in 1935. 

Since then, FERC has had the power to decide who gets licenses for hydropower projects, based on the “beneficial uses” of the affected waters and lands as defined in the FPA, one of which is “the improvement and utilization of waterpower development”. These licenses last for fifty years and allow dam owners to use public waters for energy generation. The Potter Valley Project was first approved in 1922 and includes the Scott Dam and Cape Horn Dam on the Eel River. 

When PG&E decided to withdraw its application for the project in 2019, it created an opening for anyone who was interested in taking it over to apply for relicensing before the license expires in April of 2022. In response to PG&E’s decision, the Two Basin Partnership was formed. This partnership is a consortium of five entities including California Trout, the County of Humboldt, the Mendocino County Inland Water & Power Commission, the Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Sonoma County Water Agency. Despite their efforts to take over the project, they were unable to raise the money necessary to complete the study plans that FERC would require. 

Now that the Two Basin Partnership has confirmed it will not be relicensing the project, FERC must order PG&E to begin license surrender and the decommissioning process. Unfortunately, it can take decades for FERC to make decisions and implement these changes.  This is concerning because the habitat trapped behind the Scott Dam is essential for restoring native fish populations. Alicia Hamann, Executive Director of Friends of the Eel River, explained that “License surrenders and decommissioning are still a somewhat unknown process, as there isn’t a lot of precedent.” 

Please use the information provided by Friends of the Eel River at eelriver.org to let FERC know you strongly support surrender and decommissioning so the Eel River dams can come down and  habitat restoration for native fish can begin immediately.

¿Que es FERC? 

En la decisión de no volver a otorgar la licencia al Proyecto Potter Valley y sus dos represas en la parte superior del río Eel, se unió Two Basin Partnership al propietario del proyecto, Pacific Gas and Electric. Esta es una oportunidad para que la comunidad solicite a la Comisión Federal Reguladora de Energía (FERC) que inicie la entrega de la licencia para las represas del río Eel ahora mismo para avanzar rápidamente hacia la inevitable remoción de la represa. Para obtener más información sobre la eliminación de la presa del río Eel, incluido cómo enviar comentarios a la FERC, visite el sitio web de Friends of the Eel River en eelriver.org.