IMPORTANT

Final Draft Surrender Application and Decommissioning Plan for the Potter Valley Project Available for Viewing

Date: January 31, 2025
Untitled design - 1

On Jan. 31, PG&E made available its Final Draft Surrender Application and Decommissioning Plan for the Potter Valley Project (password: PV_Surrender). 

 

The Potter Valley Project hydroelectric facility in Mendocino and Lake counties has a long history of generating power and diverting water from the main stem of the Eel River to the Russian River watershed, which has benefited agriculture and communities in southern Mendocino, Sonoma and northern Marin counties.

 

The project consists of the Potter Valley powerhouse built in 1908, Cape Horn Dam and Van Arsdale Reservoir, a fish passage and salmon and steelhead counting station at the Cape Horn Dam, a tunnel and penstock, Scott Dam built in 1922 and Pillsbury Reservoir. All portions of the Project were built more than 100 years ago.

 

While salmon and steelhead are able to use a fish ladder to get around the Cape Horn Dam at Potter Valley, the anadromous fish are unable to get past the Scott Dam.

 

As it continued to age, the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project became uneconomic for PG&E’s electric customers to maintain. In 2019, PG&E decided to not relicense the project. However, understanding that many communities rely upon the facility’s water diversions, the company devoted years working with various entities on a potential transfer.

 

Ultimately, no third-party filed an application to license the project, which led the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to direct PG&E to prepare its surrender application and decommissioning plan.

 

The Potter Valley Project has a long history and has importance to agriculture, tribes, communities and the environment. PG&E is committed to a transparent process that is respectful to the many interested parties.

 

As PG&E moves forward with plans to decommission and eventually remove Cape Horn and Scott Dams, PG&E continues to work with several entities that can provide a path forward for a new water diversion facility, including the Sonoma County Water Agency, Inland Water & Power Commission of Mendocino County, the Round Valley Tribes, Humboldt County, Cal Trout; Trout Unlimited and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.

 

Also included in the final draft surrender application is a request of “Non-Project Use of Project Lands,” which would allow the Eel-Russian Project Authority to build a new water diversion facility that utilizes some existing PG&E facilities.

 

PG&E is not responsible for either the construction or the operation of this new facility, nor will its construction delay the decommissioning of the project.

 

On Feb. 6 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., PG&E will host an online meeting to share information on the final draft, discuss the regulatory process and note opportunities to participate. The meeting is meant for resource agencies, tribes, non-government organizations and the general public. Access the meeting

 

Public comments on the final draft must be in writing and are due to PG&E by March 3. PG&E will review comments received and expects to file its final surrender application and decommissioning plan with FERC in July 2025.