CHANGE IS COMING TO THE
Potter Valley Project
Today, Pacific Gas and Electric Company owns the Project, which is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Project license expired in April 2022.
In 2019, PG&E decided to abandon the project. As a result, a local coalition, the Two-Basin Partnership, made up of Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, Sonoma Water, California Trout, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Humboldt County submitted a Notice of Intent to license the Project. The coalition supported a solution that would have benefited both basins and all interested parties.
The Two-Basin Partnership failed to meet the FERC deadline for licensing and now local partners will have to find a way to fund the Project’s operations and maintenance.
Change is coming. With local control, we can assure equitable distribution of the water at a reasonable cost. The solution has to benefit all or it benefits none—without the Potter Valley Project our water supply will depend on seasonal flows. This could be devastating to local agriculture and other economic interests, households, and wildlife.