This after pro-dam removal politicians such as Congressman Jared Huffman have for years characterized the Potter Valley Project as dangerous and "crumbling."
If Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin Counties want the Eel River water then they need to pay for the following. Raise the damn at Lake Mendocino, dredge Lake Pillsbury during dry years (it’s at least a third filled in with sediment & gravel, pay for any improvements the dams need and build a fish ladder at Scott Dam and Lake Mendocino Dam. Then I’m all for keeping the dams. Oh and put hydroelectric at Scott Dam and the Potter Valley tunnel.
Trust me, these 3 counties are continuing to grow in population and will be needing more water in the near future.
The population of Sonoma County is pretty stable. Healdsburg has lost population since the Covid fiasco. Try and get a building permit in Sonoma County.
The Scott Dam is part of the FERC licensed Potter Valley Hydroelectric project located on the Eel River Project #77. The opening for the various NGO’s came when PG&E indicated to FERC their intention NOT to relicense the project, which was due for renewal in 2022, PG&E made this submission in 2020, according to FERC documents. The streamlined process for relicense take 6 years. Figure it is going to cost upwards of $1.5 to 2.0 million depending on the number of intervenors and with power prices hovering around $130.00mwh they took the easy road. Called it quits. Which is odd since at the current day ahead market rates and the volitilty of power prices in California the outlook is sufficiently good to relicense and operate the projects. In the meantime the 3 project dams have to be maintained by the owner and we have seen what pathetic stewards of assets PG&E are, so the sooner something bad happens the sooner they can declare bankruptcy again and reorganize with new salary and bonus structures for the senior management.
In the meantime there should be a copy of the Potential Failure Mode Analysis (PFMA) that should have been conducted by PG&E supervised by FERC and a condition of holding the annual license. This will be an important document to review, because if the dams are identified as high hazard (threatening of life and property) the projects have to be managed a certain way and it is more expensive. It will also identify the quality of the structures and their ability to survive major potential failure. Further if one or all three fail, PG&E will be liable and the operators could be found criminally liable however unlikely that possibility might be. One can look at the failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams in May of 2020 near Midland Michigan for a case study. The owners had surrendered their license and the State of Michigan was running the project when it failed, luckily only hundreds of millions of dollars were lost in the damage done when Edenville dam failed first and then the cascading catastrophe overwhelmed and failed the Sanford station.
There is no reason the three projects under P-77 license should be decommissioned and removed. But, the logic glands in Sacramento and elsewhere in California are no longer capable of secreting logic. 9 MW’s of hydroelectric power and water for the communities it serves is reason enough to hold on to the dams. One can only hope some people who don’t carry a fly fishing rod in their Rivian electric truck will prevail and keep the three dams in place and generate local load electricity. Good luck to the region!
The people need to look at these policies from a larger picture perspective. So called "representatives" are no longer representing the needs and wellbeing of their constituents. They are only answering to their donors and paymasters. Without addressing this issue - and repealing "Citizens United", money in politics will continue to ruin the livelihood of the "useless eaters".
"We reached out to Huffman’s office for comment and will update if and when he responds."
Huffman never responds to my emails either. He's a dick.
As for this PG&E Engineer who said, "Scott Dam keeps me up at night." Why? Who is this "Engineer"? Does Huffman have his sworn statement about Scott Dam? If Huffman won't release this information, he should STFU.
Finally Jared Huffman is getting caught in his web of lies about dam removals. I'll be surprised if his office replies truthfully or at all.
If Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin Counties want the Eel River water then they need to pay for the following. Raise the damn at Lake Mendocino, dredge Lake Pillsbury during dry years (it’s at least a third filled in with sediment & gravel, pay for any improvements the dams need and build a fish ladder at Scott Dam and Lake Mendocino Dam. Then I’m all for keeping the dams. Oh and put hydroelectric at Scott Dam and the Potter Valley tunnel.
Trust me, these 3 counties are continuing to grow in population and will be needing more water in the near future.
The population of Sonoma County is pretty stable. Healdsburg has lost population since the Covid fiasco. Try and get a building permit in Sonoma County.
Two concerns:
What has been redacted from this report, and why?
The conclusion says the project needs to be 'closely monitored.' Do you not take the concerns seriously?
Closely monitored should the the SOP for all infrastructure.
The Scott Dam is part of the FERC licensed Potter Valley Hydroelectric project located on the Eel River Project #77. The opening for the various NGO’s came when PG&E indicated to FERC their intention NOT to relicense the project, which was due for renewal in 2022, PG&E made this submission in 2020, according to FERC documents. The streamlined process for relicense take 6 years. Figure it is going to cost upwards of $1.5 to 2.0 million depending on the number of intervenors and with power prices hovering around $130.00mwh they took the easy road. Called it quits. Which is odd since at the current day ahead market rates and the volitilty of power prices in California the outlook is sufficiently good to relicense and operate the projects. In the meantime the 3 project dams have to be maintained by the owner and we have seen what pathetic stewards of assets PG&E are, so the sooner something bad happens the sooner they can declare bankruptcy again and reorganize with new salary and bonus structures for the senior management.
In the meantime there should be a copy of the Potential Failure Mode Analysis (PFMA) that should have been conducted by PG&E supervised by FERC and a condition of holding the annual license. This will be an important document to review, because if the dams are identified as high hazard (threatening of life and property) the projects have to be managed a certain way and it is more expensive. It will also identify the quality of the structures and their ability to survive major potential failure. Further if one or all three fail, PG&E will be liable and the operators could be found criminally liable however unlikely that possibility might be. One can look at the failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams in May of 2020 near Midland Michigan for a case study. The owners had surrendered their license and the State of Michigan was running the project when it failed, luckily only hundreds of millions of dollars were lost in the damage done when Edenville dam failed first and then the cascading catastrophe overwhelmed and failed the Sanford station.
There is no reason the three projects under P-77 license should be decommissioned and removed. But, the logic glands in Sacramento and elsewhere in California are no longer capable of secreting logic. 9 MW’s of hydroelectric power and water for the communities it serves is reason enough to hold on to the dams. One can only hope some people who don’t carry a fly fishing rod in their Rivian electric truck will prevail and keep the three dams in place and generate local load electricity. Good luck to the region!
The people need to look at these policies from a larger picture perspective. So called "representatives" are no longer representing the needs and wellbeing of their constituents. They are only answering to their donors and paymasters. Without addressing this issue - and repealing "Citizens United", money in politics will continue to ruin the livelihood of the "useless eaters".
"We reached out to Huffman’s office for comment and will update if and when he responds."
Huffman never responds to my emails either. He's a dick.
As for this PG&E Engineer who said, "Scott Dam keeps me up at night." Why? Who is this "Engineer"? Does Huffman have his sworn statement about Scott Dam? If Huffman won't release this information, he should STFU.
Thank you Todd Lands for seeking out the truth as the lies will keep coming from Huffman “et all”!