April 28, 2000
This year is critical for our work on behalf of the Eel, since we are likely to see the fate of the river and the Potter Valley diversion decided as relicensing and other regulatory proceedings move ahead. Friends of the Eel River (FOER) is participating as an Intervenor in both Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and California Public Utilities Commission hearings, bringing fisheries and other environmental issues to the table. Thanks in large part to our participation and oversight, questions about the safety of the dams on the upper Eel, the accountability for their future failure and possible removal, and the need for Environmental Impact assessments all are being addressed. In February the National Marine Fisheries Service went on record agreeing with our position that a healthy, restored fishery would be of greater economic and environmental benefit to the public than the miniscule amount of hydroelectricity produced by the Potter Valley Project. In fact, since the amount of electricity produced is so insignificant and the facility a money-loser (in addition to being an environmental disaster), it?s clear that the project?s prospective buyer, the Sonoma County Water Agency, wants it as a water delivery system in the guise of a power plant.
FOER has also filed a lawsuit against the Sonoma County Water Agency?s scheme to continue incorporating Eel River water into its future development plans, arguing that an Environmental Impact Report must by law be prepared for each of the source watersheds. The case will be heard in Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa beginning in April or May, and we will want a strong presence there. It?s important to note that according to its own documents, Sonoma County has enough water in its own Russian River drainage to meet all existing needs; thus Eel River water is not necessary, just coveted by developers and agribusiness. This struggle is not just about saving the Eel, but about putting natural, sustainable limits on urban and suburban sprawl, and we have a great many supporters in Sonoma and Marin counties who also want to see the diversion ended. Eel River water exported into the Russian River not only supports unrealistic development plans, but it has damaging effects on the already-suffering Russian River ecosystem too.
We are working hard to raise the necessary funds for our legal expenses and to maintain a presence at important meetings and hearings. What happens this year means everything for the Eel. However, Nadananda and others managed to take a needed break in early April for a river run from Dos Rios to the sea. The magnificent canyon of the Eel gave us inspiration to continue this important work?work that we believe will set precedents for other salmon rivers as well as aging and decrepit water projects. At the very least, we won?t continue to let our water go south without a fight. Thanks for everyone?s support.
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TOC for Forest & River News, Spring 2000