Scott Dam, with Lake Pillsbury behind it. | Photo: Isabella Vanderheiden.

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Humboldt County residents will have a pair of chances next month to weigh in on the future of the Potter Valley Project, with federal regulators holding public meetings at Eureka’s Wharfinger Building as part of their environmental review of PG&E’s plans to decommission the project.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will hold an evening session Sept. 15 and a daytime session Sept. 16, giving members of the public a couple of chances to say their piece and have their comments entered into the formal record.

PG&E’s plans to surrender and decommission the Potter Valley Project — a defunct hydroelectric system that diverts water from the Upper Eel River to the headwaters of the Russian River — have become something of a political football in recent months. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins seems determined to blow up the “Two-Basin Solution” developed under U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman.

The prospects for that historic agreement have been threatened by the emergence of Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, a SoCal water agency that has expressed interest in taking over the project rather than seeing it dismantled. The district sought to intervene in the FERC proceeding this summer, but FERC rejected the request, meaning the agency is not currently a party to the case.

The upcoming meetings in Eureka are part of FERC’s review of PG&E’s application, filed in July 2025, to surrender its license and decommission the Potter Valley Project. FERC began its environmental scoping process in May and held its first public scoping sessions in Ukiah in June.

Alicia Hamann, executive director of environmental nonprofit Friends of the Eel River, told the Outpost, “It’s a good thing that FERC is giving residents in Humboldt the same opportunity to give input on dam removal that was given to residents in the Russian River watershed.”

If you can’t make it to either of the upcoming meetings — or if you just prefer not to make your comments directly into a microphone in a public forum — don’t worry: FERC’s comment period remains open until Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. here on the West Coast, and you can submit comments online.

[CLARIFICATION: These days, verbal public testimony at FERC public scoping sessions gets recorded on a one-on-one basis by a court reporter rather than via they traditional public-speech-at-a podium format.]

Here’s the official announcement from FERC:

On July 25, 2025, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (applicant or PG&E) filed an application to surrender and decommission the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project No. 77.  The project is located on the Eel River and East Branch of the Russian River in Lake and Mendocino counties, California.  The project occupies federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service.  

On May 22, 2026, the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) initiated a scoping process as part of its review and held scoping meetings on June 23 and 24, 2026 in Ukiah, California.  On July 24, 2026, Commission staff extended the comment period to September 18, 2026, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time, for the filing of scoping comments.  

By this notice, Commission staff provides notice of two additional public scoping sessions to collect comments on the scope of the environmental issues that should be analyzed in the NEPA document.  All interested individuals, resource agencies, Native American Tribes, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are invited to attend one or both of the sessions.  

These additional sessions will follow the format of the June 23 and 24, 2026 sessions.  There will be no formal presentations at either session.  Numbered tickets will be handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis; individuals will be called in order by ticket number to provide oral comments to be transcribed by a stenographer for the formal record.

Time limits on oral comments may be enforced to ensure those wishing to comment have the opportunity to do so.  The times and locations of the additional scoping sessions are as follows:

Evening Scoping Session 
DATE: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 
TIME: 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) 
PLACE: Wharfinger Building
ADDRESS:  1 Marina Way, Eureka, CA  95501

Daytime Scoping Session 
DATE: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
TIME: 9 a.m.- 11 a.m. (PT) 
PLACE: Wharfinger Building
ADDRESS:  1 Marina Way, Eureka, CA  95501

If you provided comments in our previous June 23-24 scoping sessions, you do not need to attend and/or resubmit your comments.  For additional information on the proceeding, see our May 22, 2026 notice and Scoping Document 1. The comment period for filing all scoping comments closes on September 18, 2026, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time

For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office of Public Participation at (202) 502-6595 or OPP@ferc.gov. 

If you have further questions, you may also contact Diana Shannon at diana.shannon@ferc.gov or 202-502-6136.