‘Everyone knew it was coming’: Eel River Waters Continue to Be Diverted as PG&E Granted Annual License for the Potter Valley Project

Van Arsdale Fisheries Station in Potter Valley, California. “People might ask ‘can’t they just get over the dam,’ well they were getting over the dam but it was taking three to four weeks and only a small fraction were successful,” said fisheries biologist Dr. Stewart Reid. “If you had to spend three weeks to get into your house, you’d probably look for a solution as well." Credit: John Heil/USFWS

Van Arsdale Fisheries Station in Potter Valley, California is part of the system that diverts a portion of the Eel River from its path down the main stem. [Credit: John Heil and USFWS]

No one was surprised by Thursday’s letter granting PG&E an annual license to run the Potter Valley Project until April of next year. And, while a last-minute mystery application did provide a few moments of titillating speculation, the enigmatic Antonio Manfredini failed to generate any real suspense.

The 50-year license to operate the Potter Valley Project, which diverts water from the Eel River into the east branch of the Russian River to Lake Mendocino by way of a tunnel, a pair of dams and reservoirs, and a small hydropower plant, expired on April 14. A group of diverse environmental groups and local government interests from Humboldt to Sonoma county tried to gather $18 million to conduct the studies needed to apply for the license, but fell far short and never filed an application. The parties had pledged to find a way to operate the project in a way that would satisfy the demands of the endangered fisheries in the Eel River basin, as well as water users in the Russian River watershed.

A day after the license expired, a group of environmental interests and fishermen filed a notice of intent to sue PG&E within 60 days under the Endangered Species Act, claiming that the fish ladder at Cape Horn Dam in Potter Valley harms endangered salmonids trying to make their way through. 

The notice relies heavily on a letter from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which states that the project is causing take of endangered species in a manner that was not anticipated in a 2002 NMFS biological opinion, and that the agency “is concerned with insufficient coverage under the Endangered Species Act for incidental take of ESA-listed salmonids.”

PG&E declared that the claims in the notice are “without merit,” and that, although PG&E did not file to renew the license, the Federal Power Act requires the regulatory agency to automatically issue an annual license upon the expiration of the previous license.

That agency is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which confirmed PG&E’s claim a week after its license expired, writing that the Federal Power Act does indeed require the Commission, “at the expiration of a license term, to issue from year-to-year an annual license to the then licensee under the terms and conditions of the prior license until a new license is issued, or the project is otherwise disposed of…” The brief notice concluded that “PG&E is authorized to continue operation of the Potter Valley Project, until such time as the Commission orders disposition of the project.”

That disposition is widely assumed to be an order to surrender and decommission the project, though FERC has provided very few hints that would either confirm or deny the supposition, or provide much of an idea of what that means or how long it would take.

Clifford Paulin, who is legal counsel for the Potter Valley Irrigation District, was among those who fully expected FERC to grant the annual license. For him, the remaining uncertainty lies in the big-picture conditions of the drought, as well as details about the pikeminnow reduction program and how additional conditions to the license, if any, will be implemented. 

While Sonoma County is entitled to the lion’s share of the water in Lake Mendocino, the Potter Valley Irrigation District is first in line for water that comes through the project. And a combination of drought and the project’s current inability to generate power due to a broken piece of equipment means that just a few cubic feet per second have made it past the irrigation district. Paulin said that, while PVID is entitled to 50 cfs per its contract with PG&E, the district’s directors acceded to PG&E’s request to stay on a demand-based system, only asking for the amount the district can sell to its customers. This is calculated in part to protect the infrastructure at Lake Pillsbury and Scott Dam in Lake County. It also means that the only additional water going into the Russian River and Lake Mendocino from the Eel River will be the minimum instream flows required by the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect salmonids in the Russian River.

As for the PVP 77 application, which was decisively dismissed on Friday, Paulin thought it might have been part of what caused the delay in FERC’s announcement, but “I don’t see Manfredini being much of a factor” otherwise.

Curtis Knight, the Executive Director of the environmental organization California Trout, described the granting of the annual license as “a big step,” which “everyone knew was coming…the only weird note was Manfredini.” CalTrout is one of the organizations in the coalition that was working towards applying for the license, and is a party to the notice to sue PG&E under the Endangered Species Act. Reflecting on the years of effort that went into consultations with affected communities and efforts to gather funding for extensive studies, he described the PVP 77 application as “deficient,” and hopes “FERC will squash it completely.” While FERC’s letter declares that its rejection “constitutes final agency action,” applicants may file a request for a rehearing within thirty days. Still, Knight declared that “the distraction won’t amount to much;” and said that what he expects next is a timeline for the surrender of the project. He hasn’t given up on working with the Russian River members of the original coalition, reflecting that, “we spent a few years in the trenches, so we’ve got something there.”

Still, he doesn’t expect FERC to define the process of decommissioning without a fight, or at least a lot of hard work. “It may have to get a little messy first,” he acknowledged.

Earlier: An Expired License, a Mysterious Applicant, and a Threat to Sue: What Else Can We Expect as the Fight to Control the Waters of the Eel River Continues?

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26 Comments
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Prometheus
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Prometheus
1 year ago

And the beat goes on……

Me and Mrs Jones
Guest
Me and Mrs Jones
1 year ago
Reply to  Prometheus

It’s a big club and we ain’t in it.

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Tim
Guest
Tim
1 year ago

Because one group has tanks and is bombing schools and hospitals and the other is simply trying to find work.

Also, your numbers are wrong.

Country Joe
Member
1 year ago
Reply to  Tim

Don’t forget to mention the Fentanyl and other drugs many are carrying in their back packs, along with released criminals and gangsters from many nations. Not all are looking for work.

Tim
Guest
Tim
1 year ago
Reply to  Country Joe

You don’t think the folks actually doing the smuggling are doing it for recreation, do you? I’m guessing it’s because they need the money and the cartels were the only ones paying. That doesn’t mean it’s good but face it, everyone is trying to make a living. Locally we cut a lot of slack for years for black market cannabis growers despite the illegal nature of their trade because we wanted the dollars in the economy.

I think the influx of criminals statement is largely hyperbolic fear-mongering. Are there some trying to get in? I don’t doubt it. But I suspect it’s a very small percentage of the overall influx.

Country Joe
Member
1 year ago
Reply to  Tim

Everybody is trying to make a living by invading our southern border and ignoring our nation’s immigration laws, with a back pack full of fentanyl that’s killing Americans daily…That’s not hyperbolic fear mongering just a reality.

suspence
Member
suspence
1 year ago
Reply to  Country Joe

You’re suggesting the majority of immigrants have backpacks full or fentanyl? Really? Where is your outrage against the Sackler family and opioid crisis created by good old Americans?

Panthera Onca
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Panthera Onca
1 year ago

False equivalence.

Dave Kirby
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Dave Kirby
1 year ago

Apparently not enough……

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Trashman
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Trashman
1 year ago
Reply to  Dave Kirby

They’re supposed to speak and understand English per DOT. Being a tamater freighter is not the preferred job of experienced truckers but you can make a load of money and then get unemployment.

Mendocino Mamma
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Mendocino Mamma
1 year ago

Your troll platform is very twisty. Pretending to be? Have found TWISTING to be a modern communication tactic. So you mean… Oh so you really mean… So what you’re saying is… No stick to the subject. The twisting is not required, nor helpful to anyone.

Tim Taylor
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Tim Taylor
1 year ago

Do you see dead lying in the streets. Do you see 5 million people fleeing into Canada. Do you see hundreds of thousands of residential homes completely destroyed. Do you see enemy helicopters overhead. Do you see hundreds of tanks in american cities. Do you see towns twice the size of Santa Rosa completely destroied. Do you see how ridiculous that meme is. Also it’s 100,000 Russians, not 10,000

Xebeche
Guest
Xebeche
1 year ago

Because this was their continent before itvwas yours?

Hebilla Cinturón de Rodeo
Guest
Hebilla Cinturón de Rodeo
1 year ago

Do you think Russia is invading Ukraine to mow their lawns, and wait at Home Depot for fat lazy people who can’t accomplish their own projects?

Bozo
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Bozo
1 year ago

Follow the money.

Jim Brickley
Guest
Jim Brickley
1 year ago
Reply to  Bozo

Pretty simple, look at the companies hiring. No jobs, no immigration!

Mendocino Mamma
Guest
Mendocino Mamma
1 year ago

Anyone remember the psychological perspective of “the bigger the story the bigger the LIE. ” So here is this lovely article written. Extremely long, a fine example of confusing convoluted word salad and circle jerking. Desk hopscotching of all paperwork. Blameshifting, TWISTING of context. Who controls the waters of the mighty Eel… Mother Nature!!! Without the man-made diversion tunnel none of this would be happening. Block it or slow the flow at the tunnel entrance point until the dam comes down. The hail mary approval for the continuing of known bad practices. Shameful. Rubber stamped. Next…I have a fancy lobbying party to go to. Maybe they will serve salmon and lampray???

Leonard Cohen
Guest
Leonard Cohen
1 year ago

Everybody knows the battle is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows who has the pull
The Eel stays low, the Russian gets full
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows

Xebeche
Guest
Xebeche
1 year ago
Reply to  Leonard Cohen

😥

Xebeche
Guest
Xebeche
1 year ago

We all pay in terms of the apocalyptic results.
Reddy Kilowatt, tear down that dam!!!

hmm
Guest
hmm
1 year ago

This was not unexpected and should not be seen as a setback. The Eel will be running free in 5 years of less at this point.

willow creeker
Member
1 year ago
Reply to  hmm

Do you really think so? That’s very optimistic if you ask me.

Travis
Guest
Travis
1 year ago

What did Mendocino county get for giving the Lion’s share of the water to Sonoma county? I know they got the Lion’s share of the water originally when they forked over the money to build the coyote dam, that contract is over so what did Mendocino county get in return for renewing the water rights?

suspence
Member
suspence
1 year ago
Reply to  Travis

I’m not familiar but I know a guy who grew up in Mendo and he said the County basically gave away the farm for peanuts.

Non-fiction
Guest
Non-fiction
1 year ago
Reply to  suspence

Mendo county put in ~5% of the overall cost of the dam’s construction.
This garnered a ~10% ownership of the PVP and water rights as the construction funds were matched 50/50 by the fed gov.
Sonoma put in 45%, thus gained 90% ownership and water rights.

Mendo didn’t get any peanuts for the farm they didn’t already own.

Last edited 1 year ago
Non-fiction
Guest
Non-fiction
1 year ago
Reply to  Travis

Mendocino does not control water rights in Mendocino.
That is a state level jurisdiction & decision.
Any water rights apportioned to Mendocino county, or anyone else, is done by the state.