LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has extended the public comment period on Pacific Gas and Electric’s plan to surrender the license for the Potter Valley hydroelectric project.

The commission, or FERC, will now accept public comment through 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19.

Originally, the deadline had been set for Dec. 1.

The Potter Valley Project, which PG&E has owned since 1930, consists of the Scott Dam and the Cape Horn Dam, both of which are located on the upper main stem of the Eel River, as well as the Potter Valley powerhouse, the 80,000-acre-foot Lake Pillsbury in Lake County, the Van Arsdale Reservoir, a fish passage structure and salmon and steelhead counting station at the Cape Horn Dam, and and 5,600 acres of land.

In July, PG&E submitted its surrender application and decommissioning plan for the Potter Valley Project to FERC, which is reviewing the application in a process officials said can take as many as two years.

If PG&E is successful in its efforts, both the Cape Horn and Scott dams would be removed. In the case of the Scott dam, it would spell an end to Lake Pillsbury, the reservoir created by the dam.

Opponents of the plan, including the county of Lake and the Lake Pillsbury Alliance, said they have been largely kept out of the discussion process since it started several years ago. 

They also have argued that the loss of the reservoir would impact the environment, the economy, the county’s property tax revenue as well as firefighting efforts in the region as Lake Pillsbury has been used extensively as a water source for major fire incidents, including the 2020 August Complex.

To submit a comment, go to FERC Online, fill out the form, draft comments in a separate file and copy and paste them into the boxes on the web form. The docket number for the proceeding is P-77-332.

For those opposing the surrender plan, the Lake Pillsbury Alliance has detailed information on how to submit public comments with sample documents that can be found here.

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