Environmental group concerned draft application for dam removal delay will slow project
Pacific Gas and Electric Company has requested a roughly six-month extension from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the process of decommissioning two dams on the Eel River. Friends of the Eel River, a conservation non-profit founded to advocate for the dams’ removal, is concerned about the impact this delay will have on the timeline of getting the Eel undammed. The final draft of the decommissioning plan would come out in June of 2025 rather than January of that year. Alicia Hamann, executive director of the Friends, said “a delay of six months could mean another year of those really dangerous conditions for native fish,” when reached by phone Monday. She noted the dangerous conditions were created by variances in the way the dams release water. PG&E has to get approval for the water it releases every year from FERC, and in 2023 the approval was delayed to the point that no cold water was there for fish by the time it was worked out, said Hamman. She said this impacted fish on the river.
Related article: