MENDOCINO CO., 9/13/26 — Anyone who wants a say in what federal regulators study before two Eel River dams come out has until 2 p.m. Friday to put it in writing, according to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission notice.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. applied in July 2025 to surrender its license for the Potter Valley Project and remove Scott Dam, which forms Lake Pillsbury in Lake County, and Cape Horn Dam downstream in Mendocino County.
The commission will hold its last two spoken-comment sessions at the Wharfinger Building, 1 Marina Way, Eureka, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday. Speakers take numbered tickets at the door and give comments to a stenographer. There are no presentations. People who spoke at the June sessions in Ukiah don’t need to return.
Written comments can be filed through the commission’s eComment page under docket P-77-332. The commission’s Office of Public Participation takes questions at 202-502-6595.
The docket held 806 comment filings from May 22 through Sept. 11, up from 728 on Aug. 26, according to a Bay City News count of the commission’s online index.
Commenting doesn’t make anyone a party to the case, and only parties can ask the commission to reconsider its final decision before going to court. The deadline to intervene was Dec. 1, 2025.
SoCal water district keeps trying
The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District in Riverside County asked to intervene July 9. The commission turned it down July 27, saying the district “did not provide any explanation for the untimeliness of its motion.”
On Aug. 26, the last day it could, the district asked the commission to rehear that denial and filed a renewed motion to intervene late. Its attorney, former FERC Chairman Curtis L. Hébert Jr., cited a July 24 federal appeals court ruling that threw out a commission denial of late intervention in another hydroelectric license surrender.
The district, which says in the filing that it serves 168,000 customers, wrote that it’s “inextricably linked to the project’s operational output through California’s interconnected, zero-sum water distribution system.”
Friends of the Eel River, California Trout and Trout Unlimited answered Sept. 10 that “there is no physical connection” between the project’s water delivery system and the district’s, calling the district’s statements “objectively false.”
The commission hadn’t ruled on either filing as of Sept. 11, docket records show
The day after the district’s filings, FERC Chairman Laura Swett took a call from John Rich, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s special envoy for American landowners, according to a memo filed Aug. 28 by the commission’s deputy general counsel. Rich expressed “concern about potential impacts on affected landowners,” the memo says. It doesn’t define who landowners may be.
At Lake Pillsbury, PG&E closed the low-level boat ramp Sept. 9 and plans to keep it closed through Oct. 9 while a barge samples sediment for decommissioning studies, according to an Aug. 31 letter to the commission. Other recreation areas at the lake remain open.
John Rich seemingly only cares about republican donor landowners with lake houses and not rural landowners on the Eel River that have their water stolen.
Right.
From what I’ve read, it’s not like removing the dam will increase the eel river levels, it will just be more extreme rises and falls of the water levels. I don’t really care either way, I definitely don’t care about land owners around the lake and potter, but that was just what I gathered, it’s not like the eel is going to become some amazing deep river after the damn removal.
So cal needs to go away
I agree, Southern Cali needs to bow out. They only want in to have rights to the water. Didn’t Mendocino County learn their lesson the Lake Mendocino project when they sold the rights to Sonoma County? Water rights need to stay with the County with the majority of the body of water.
[This comment is directed to Andrea’s reply]
If what you say is true, then Mendocino should butt out, because the entirety of Lake Pillsbury and Scott Dam are in LAKE County. It’s Mendo, pilfering from Lake, but they feel such entitlement to claim our resources, that they forget that fact.
If southern California water districts would have paid attention in the first place, they might have had a say in the matter. But PG&E’s license surrender is already moving through the FERC process. It’s time to support the New Eel/Russian Facility and think about how we can increase water storage at Lake Mendocino.
I agree, Southern Cali needs to bow out. They only want in to have rights to the water. Didn’t Mendocino County learn their lesson the Lake Mendocino project when they sold the rights to Sonoma County? Water rights need to stay with the County with the majority of the body of water.
Free the Eel. Stop using my PGE rates to subsidize a play lake for a handful of freeloading people. Let’s restore the longest free flowing river in CA and the amazing Salmon and Steelhead fishing that used to exist AND get rid of a seismic liability for the thousands of people downstream of this risky antiquated dam.
As if the decision was not already easy enough, the “keep the dam” option will result in the water being sold to inland SoCal so they can water their golf courses and lawns in the desert!
Use some common sense and support dam removal!
I live in Upper Lake, the town closest to Lake Pillsbury in Lake County, and I agree wholeheartedly. Take down the dams and Free the Eel!
THE LUCAS FIRE AND THE POTTER VALLEY WATER CRISIS: A REAL-TIME LOOK
*CURRENT FIRE STATUS & RESPONSE*
The Lucas Fire erupted on September 10, 2026, right on the Potter Valley line. It highlights the massive clash between an active emergency and the long-term choices being made for our water.
– THE SIZE: The fire has burned 4,128 acres and is currently 30% contained.
– THE PERSONNEL: A massive force of 2,609 people are fighting it, including 303 engines, 56 water tenders, and 10 helicopters.
– THE WATER SOURCE: Crews are pulling water directly from local sources, including Lake Pillsbury (the reservoir made by the Potter Valley Project) and Clear Lake, to run constant helicopter drops.
*WHO IS AFFECTED RIGHT NOW*
– EVACUATIONS: Mandatory orders forced families out near Witter Springs and Bachelor Valley.
– DAILY LIFE: Local schools are closed due to dangerous air quality, and animal shelters are packed with displaced pets and livestock.
*THE LONG-TERM IMPACT WITHOUT THE POTTER VALLEY DAM*
If the dams are removed, the landscape will experience a drastic “win-lose” shift.
– THE FISH (THE “WIN”): Removing the dams will restore the natural flow of the Eel River. This gives struggling Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead trout access to their historic spawning grounds. This is a massive victory for local Tribes and environmental groups.
– THE LAND AND WILDLIFE (THE “LOSE”): Land-based wildlife will lose a major water source. Lake Pillsbury and the diverted water have created water-rich havens for deer, elk, and birds during scorching dry seasons.
– THE LANDSCAPE RISK: Without this water infrastructure, the local water table will drop during summer months. The vegetation will dry out faster, turning the area into a volatile tinderbox. When future fires spark, firefighters will lose a massive local pool to scoop water from, leading to longer flight times, faster-spreading flames, and a higher risk of the area turning into a permanent, charred hellscape.