Tuesday, December 3, 2024

PG&E’s Extension Request Sparks Worry Among Eel River Preservationists

The following is a press release issued by the Friends of the Eel River:


Scott Dam at Lake Pillsbury [Screenshot from PG&E webinar]

PG&E announced on Friday, May 31 late last week that it will request a 7-month extension from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in decommissioning the Eel River dams. Stakeholders were expecting the utility to file its Draft Surrender Application plan with FERC this month, with a final version due in January 2025. PG&E now says it will file the draft plan in January 2025 and the final version in June 2025.

In announcing the delay, PG&E expresses support for the still vague proposal for the New Eel-Russian Facility. This proposal would see a dam-free diversion from the Eel River to the Russian River constructed and managed by the newly formed Eel Russian Joint Powers Authority. PG&E is working with the proponents of the New Eel-Russian Facility (Sonoma County Water Agency, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, Humboldt County, Round Valley Indian Tribes, California Trout, Trout Unlimited, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife) to develop a surrender application MOU “that aligns with PG&E’s Surrender Application and Decommissioning Plan.”

It would appear that PG&E hopes a short delay now will prevent a longer delay later. We are wary, however, that PG&E appears to be giving ground on their previous position that arrangements for a potential continued diversion will not delay Eel River dam removal. The Eel River’s native fish don’t have time to spare, and Eel River residents have waited long enough to see the justice that is dam removal.

Meanwhile, residents of Humboldt County continue to demand a free-flowing Eel River as soon as possible. Last month a group of nearly 60 dam removal enthusiasts floated the river from McCann to Dyerville, waving banners of support for freeing the Eel River.

Learn more or support local organizations working to Free the Eel at eelriver org, or tribresearch.org.

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11 COMMENTS

  1. NO! What PG+E should be doing is building a bigger more modern dam facilities to generate more clean and cheap power to deliver to it’s customers. Considering the years of drought we had in the past, we should have more water retention facilities for the future, listen folks the population is going to increase, growing crops need more water, not knowing what global climate is going to be, we need to have these things in place WHEN THEY HAPPEN you can’t go around during a drought and say we should have built a dam or we should start building dams again. DO IT NOW, DO IT WHILE WE CAN!

    I can’t believe they are actually floating the idea of recycling wastewater into drinking water? You know that is someone who has a corporation that is trying to make money off the state to further their ends. Cheap at first, get rid of your dams and get caught on this companies technology (which I’m sure is patentiented) then those customers are going to pay more for recycled piss and wastewater. Sounds appealing doesn’t it? In Lake County we already pay premium prices to CAL-WATER, who is located in San Jose. Wepay premium for something that is right in front of us, we pay sewer charges to remove it, and then it’s sent to the geysers for electrical generation, which they sell back to you.

    Do any of you think this it really fucked up?

    Where’s your power going to come from? Out of state power companies that are tied to the grid. Sounds like cronyism, graft, payoffs to me. Cheap power at first, the nonce your dams are torn down and your dependent, I bet those prices will increase and the customers of PG+E will get screwed, (we already pay way too much for electricity.)

    Oh and where is the out rage and the protestors with this one?
    There should be tent camps in front of Cal-Water, PG+E, and California Utility Commission offices.

    But like all shady shit deals, they slip it in, without you noticing.

    CALL THEM ON IT.

  2. I think that Mendofever should be upfront when it publishes Friends of the Eel River and such organization’s propaganda as news.
    There is no such thing as “Eel River residents have waited long enough to see the justice that is dam removal.”
    Saving the Eel River diversion is the best way to save the Eel River.

    • Modernizing and retrofitting Scott Dam is the best way to assure year-round water diversions (which help to fill Lake Mendocino), and keep the water flowing in the Eel River. Without Lake Pillsbury, there will be little to no water to divert in multiple drought years. Think about it: The water is important enough to the people and ecosystems in Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin Counties that Sonoma Water and Mendocino Inland Water & Power formed the Eel-Russian Project Authority to own and operate a new diversion facility in Potter Valley.

      Why haven’t any elected officials except for the Lake County Supervisors stepped up to support saving Scott Dam when billions of dollars are available to modernize aging dams and infrastructure? Why aren’t the people of Mendocino, Sonoma, Marin and Lake Counties who depend on this water expressing outrage? There are certainly more of them than a couple of tube floaters going down the Eel.

      • Unfortunately the elected official is a turd that only cares about taking down dams. Senator H was trying to tear down scott dam from the start. Lake county officialy have been trying to save the dam but too little too late. The right solution is repair and improve and save the water supply. But that means someone has to step up and run the Scott and Cape Horn dams. That is an ongoing cost and the dam dows not generate enough income to support that. BUT if they spend the money on repairs and resumption of the dams it would make a hell of a lot of sense than $750 Million to destroy them. The biggest farce is the comment that the fish desperately need the water above Scott dam. That ship has sailed, mother nature in the last 100+ years has changes the salmon and steelhead populations. There will never be a huge population of fish up there. And with the droughts in the last 20 years there will like be worse numbers than before. Ignorant and arrogant river lovers never have their facts straight.

    • 1.
      Right at the top:

      “The following is a press release issued by the Friends of the Eel River:”

      Jim, if you’re going to make accusations and cast aspersions, you might want to pay much closer attention before you go showing your ass.

      2.
      “Saving the Eel River diversion is the best way to save the Eel River.”

      What kind of double speak propaganda bullshit is this?
      Is almost as unhinged, and maybe more uninformed, as Mr Snodgrass’s comments.

      • It may sound lame and I could be wrong, but checked two or three times before I commented to see if it was from the FOER and did not find that disclaimer.
        If I had, I obviously would not have commented as did.
        Non-Fiction: Your name and your affiliation with
        FOER or other organizations would be helpful.

        • Jim,
          Authors of Press-Releases are always printed at the top of the article, below the headline and byline, in bold print.

          I am unaffiliated with any group or organization, period.
          I speak for myself.

          And, no, sharing my “real” name will not be “helpful”, as you suggest.

          I have no intention of subjecting myself, or family, directly to the emotionally charged bullying & vitriol fed by a near profound lack of both a. careful consideration of facts and b. critical thinking so commonly shown here on this board.

          Unless your desire is to harass me beyond this comment board, there’s no actual “purpose” to your request.

  3. Is this a local news website or a bias opinionated website? Opinion pieces should be stated as such, and I now definitely believe this is not a reliable website for facts and news. Journalism classes and overall Universite education taught me to not trust websites such as this and not use them as a source, and this is why.

    • Mark,

      Again…
      Pay more attention:

      Right at the top:

      “The following is a press release issued by the Friends of the Eel River:”

      That statement has been there since the moment this page was published online.

      Wtf is so hard to understand about this concept?
      A press release is by definition writings provided by others, as in not a press “article”.

      Since you all are writing comments, I assume that know how to read.
      Maybe that’s not a safe assumption anymore.?.

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MendoFever Staff
MendoFever Staff
Editor's Note: Whenever an article's byline reads "MendoFever Staff", the contents of that article were not composed by any of our reporters. Types of writing that will be attributed to "MendoFever Staff" include press releases, letters to the editor, op-eds, obituaries— essentially writing that is not produced by a reporter.

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