Pacific Gas and Electric Company has requested a roughly six-month extension from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the process of decommissioning two dams on the Eel River. Friends of the Eel River, a conservation non-profit founded to advocate for the dams’ removal, is concerned about the impact this delay will have on the timeline of getting the Eel undammed.
The final draft of the decommissioning plan would come out in June of 2025 rather than January of that year.
Alicia Hamann, executive director of the Friends, said “a delay of six months could mean another year of those really dangerous conditions for native fish,” when reached by phone Monday. She noted the dangerous conditions were created by variances in the way the dams release water. PG&E has to get approval for the water it releases every year from FERC, and in 2023 the approval was delayed to the point that no cold water was there for fish by the time it was worked out, said Hamman. She said this impacted fish on the river.
“Delay is a tactic that water users have been employing from the beginning, because the status quo is still kind of working for them,” she said.
PG&E, on the other hand, believes that this delay in the application will get the dams out faster.
“The schedule change affects the draft surrender application and decommissioning plan, but not the actual decommissioning schedule. In fact, we believe this change to the plan schedule will allow us to decommission the dams sooner rather than before, which is a shared goal of many,” wrote Paul Moreno, a spokesperson for PG&E in an email.
The utility giant submitted a first glimpse at a conceptual plan to take out the two dams, Scott Dam and Cape Horn Dam, in 2023, after letting the permit for the operation expire. The draft application had coequal goals — fish passage and continued water diversions to the Russian River.
“PG&E, the Proponents, and others have formed a steering committee to develop a Surrender Application MOU to best bring shared interests into one agreement that aligns with PG&E’s Surrender Application and Decommissioning Plan,” a PG&E statement sent to stakeholders Friday said. The statement noted this approach “demonstrates PG&E’s interest in efficiently completing the regulatory approval processes in consideration of mutual interests. PG&E believes the additional time to consult with agencies and other interested parties will result in a more robust Final SA and ultimately in a quicker path for the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project.”
The specifics of water diversions have yet to be worked out, said Charlie Schneider, Lost Coast project manager for California Trout. He said it’s hard to say if this will cause a delay in actual construction — and said while the process for dam removal is in a good place now, they don’t want to see it slip. He pointed out that working with stakeholders is beneficial to avoid delays in the future. “Six months isn’t great but if we can actually hold to their schedule [of dam removal beginning in 2028]… I think that’s still a good goal to be driving toward,” he said.
Sage Alexander can be reached at 707-441-0504
