Eel River Dams saga continues

Middle Fork Eel River, 2023. Credit: Greg Reis.

At press time, Friends of the River was gearing up to provide scoping comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the process of decommissioning and removing two Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) dams on the Eel River. But much of the oxygen in the room has been sucked up by the Trump Administration’s surreal attempt to scupper that long-standing, broadly supported plan.

You can read more from FOR about the background of the Eel River dams process and the beginnings of this strange saga here, There’s been some good investigative journalism, including  this eye-opening piece in Grist: https://grist.org/politics/brooke-rollins-potter-valley-project-california-dams/.

And a San Francisco Chronicle article: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-offers-plan-to-stop-dam-removal-on-california-river/ar-AA21qJFN

And a piece by TheMendocino Voice: https://mendovoice.com/2026/05/the-downstate-bid-for-mendocinos-potter-valley-project/

Secretary Rollins. Credit: League of Conservation Voters

According to press inquiries, a local podcaster apparently started the movement to stop the dam removal, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (a failed GOP candidate for Governor) tweeted about it, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and senior Agriculture Department officials had a series of meetings to move the agenda forward, and the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (also in Riverside County) has been successfully enticed to make a play to acquire the dams.

Chad Biancho, official portrait.

The physical and financial realities that prompted PG&E to seek to decommission the project is not a feature of Eel River anti-dam-removal rhetoric. Neither is the unavailability of any way to deliver project water to Southern California (Trump’s touted Columbia River natural channel to the south state has not yet been rediscovered) and the inconvenient fact that the PG&E project water has been spoken for in a negotiated agreement.

The latest is that Secretary Rollins, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, and the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District have met with PG&E’s CEO Patti Poppe to discuss how to keep the dams in service. PG&E’s careful reaction according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:  “PG&E remains committed to working with our current partners as the decommissioning process continues.”

Doug Burgum, official portrait.

But it did not slam the door on possibly reversing course:

‘PG&E has been and remains open to reviewing and considering any proposal, which has broad stakeholder alignment, from an entity or entities that have the technical and financial capability to own and operate the dams.”

Friends of the Eel River’s recent Public Records Act request suggests that Elsinore Valley’s initial interest may be to sell water locally at a sufficient price to reduce Elsinore Vally’s operational costs and consequent rate charges to its customers. This will no doubt concern the existing customers, which, in a process facilitated by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael and ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee), have arranged to continue most water service without the dams. On the power front, Elsinore Valley would no doubt resume electricity production if profitable and a FERC license could be secured.

I speculate that such a project (whether just water or power or both) would have to be subsidized by taxpayers.

Of course, if you want into what should be a reality-based decommission and dam -removal proceeding, FERC has one set up for you. Scoping for an environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment (EA) has begun, with comments due at FERC by July 24, 2 p.m. For more details, here’s FERC’s announcement.

The Commission staff’s Scoping Document 1 makes for delightful reading, eliminating from consideration many if not all of the alternatives favored by Secretary Rollins.

Friends of the River is an intervenor in the decommissioning proceeding. We will have a voice here. Look for more details on our scoping comments in next month’s River Advocate.

Meanwhile, while framing the Eel-Russian agreement as “fish over people,” Secretary Rollins and Secretary Bergum recently opened a new USDA Office of Seafood, promoting fishing and fishermen as essential to food security for the nation, and “the backbone of the coastal economy.”  Apparently the secretaries don’t understand that the coastal seafood economy depends on healthy rivers to sustain it. Talk about being unclear on the concept – salmon production on the coast will get a big boost from removing the dams and letting the river flow.