Skip to main content

Russian River Update 11/20/23

Mendocino County vineyard, by E Salomone
Mendocino County vineyard, by E Salomone

 

Reservoir Storage & Operations:

Water supply information provided by Sonoma Water (more info here).

May contain: page, text, chart, and plot
Lake Mendocino storage graph
May contain: chart and plot
Lake Sonoma storage graph
May contain: chart and line chart
Lake_Sonoma_Storage_11-20-23.pdfLake_Pillsbury_Storage_11-18-23.pdfLake_Mendocino_Storage_11-20-23.pdf

 

PG&E Releases the Potter Valley Initial Draft Surrender Application & Decommissioning Plan

PG&E’s Initial Draft Surrender Application and Conceptual Decommissioning Plan (Surrender Application) for the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project (FERC Project No. 77) is available for review and comment at the following website: http//pottervalleysurrenderproceeding.com. The initial draft can be accessed from the Documents page using the following password: PV_Surrender

The public comment period will be open until December 22, 2023. Formal comments must be submitted in writing via email to PVSurrender@pge.com or by mail to:

Tony Gigliotti
Senior Licensing Project Manager
Power Generation
12840 Bill Clark Way
Auburn, CA 95602

PG&E will address comments as appropriate before distribution of the Final Draft Surrender Application in June 2024.

The initial draft includes PG&E’s conceptual decommissioning plan and a third-party proposal for modifications of the former Cape Horn Dam site and Van Arsdale Diversion, as necessary, to construct a New Eel-Russian Facility.  PG&E has not accepted the proposal at this time but is including it as an option for Cape Horn Dam.  Proponents of the proposal include California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), California Trout, Humboldt County, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Sonoma County Water Agency, and Trout Unlimited.  A copy of the Proponent’s Proposal is available at: https://www.sonomawater.org/pvp

PG&E is soliciting comments from Tribes, regulatory agencies, and other interested parties on the Initial Draft Surrender Application that includes PG&E’s conceptual decommissioning plan and the Proponent’s proposal for Cape Horn Dam site and Van Arsdale Diversion.  

The Initial Draft Surrender Application does not include an environmental analysis. The environmental analysis will be included in the Final Draft Surrender Application, which will be available for public review in June 2024.

Scott Dam and the Eel River by Kyle Schwartz
Photos by Kyle Schwartz, found on Cal Trout website article 11-17-23

 

Ukiah Daily Journal, 11/18/2023

Pacific Gas & Electric has released a draft of its plan to surrender the Potter Valley Project, a hydroelectric dam in Mendocino County which diverts water from the Eel River to the Russian River, and is currently collecting comments on the document, which includes a proposal from local entities seeking to continue those water diversions.

“We are very pleased that PG&E has acknowledged our proposal, and are looking forward to working together on the next steps,” said Janet Pauli, chair of the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission on Friday, explaining that in the months since the proposal for a new Eel-Russian Facility replacing Cape Horn Dam was first submitted to PG&E in August by the IWPC, the Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Sonoma County Water Agency, more regional agencies have signed on to back the plan: the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Trout, Humboldt County, and Trout Unlimited.

“The yet-to-be designed facility would allow for ongoing water diversions through the Potter Valley Project’s tunnel between the Eel River and Russian River, while allowing for upstream and downstream fish migration to support larger efforts aimed at achieving naturally reproducing, self-sustaining and harvestable native anadromous fish populations,” was how the new passage was first described by the group, and Pauli said this week that two main options are still being considered: one involving a roughened channel and the other a pumping station.

In its draft proposal published on Nov. 17, PG&E notes that “The Regional Entity, a joint power authority, to be governed by a board comprised of the County of Sonoma, Sonoma County Water Agency, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, and the Round Valley Indian Tribes, will be responsible for modifications at the former Cape Horn Dam site and Van Arsdale Diversion, as necessary, to construct the New Eel-Russian Facility. To implement the Regional Entity’s proposed modifications, the Final Surrender Application would include a request to FERC to authorize the conveyance of property interests in various project assets and facilities, including the existing intake and fish screen facilities, the tunnel and flowline, and the powerhouse and outlet works in order that they might be modified. If either approach is included in the Final Surrender Application, the Regional Entity will seek federal authority to complete the Facility as expeditiously as practicable after deconstruction.”

The proposal can be read here: http://pottervalleysurrenderproceeding.com

The password for reading the documents is PV_Surrender, and the deadline to submit comments on the Initial Draft Surrender Application is Dec. 22, 2023. Comments should be submitted to Tony Gigliotti, Senior Licensing Project Manager, Power Generation, 12840 Bill Clark Way, Auburn, CA 95602, or via email: PVSurrender@pge.com

 

Read more on PG&E's Draft Surrender & Decommissioning Plan:

 

Russian River Water Forum

PG&E’s Draft Surrender Application and Conceptual Decommissioning Plan will be included on the agenda for the next Water Forum Planning Group meeting, which will take place on Thursday, December 7 in Ukiah (and via Zoom).

 

Stewarding California’s Wet Years

The Public Policy Institute of CA held an annual conference on November 14th with several expert panels. Read more and watch the video recordings here.

 

In the press:

 

Join our mailing list