REDWOOD NEEDLES Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES Return to Article Menu Sierra Club comments on Eel River Draft Environmental Impact Statement Water diversions are a major threat to Eel River salmon, and the Redwood Chapter is making Eel River recovery a priority. The altered flow patterns due to the diversion of the Eel to the Russian River are damaging salmon populations in both rivers. For example, the dam and diversion system artificially raises the water temperature of the below-project Upper Eel and impairs the Russian through the importation of massive quantities of sediment from the geologically unstable Eel River system. Additionally the availability of the diverted Eel River water fuels urban growth in Sonoma and Marin Counties at the expense of both the Russian and Eel Rivers’ health. PG&E diverts more that 160,000 acre feet of water annually from the Eel into the Russian to run the Potter Valley (hydroelectric) Project (PVP). Currently the Federal Energy Commission (FERC) is examining the Potter Valley Project’s flow regime for the fishery. The Sierra Club has filed as an intervener to be involved formally in the process and has submitted comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement DEIS. Activists have been advocating for increased flows to the Eel. PG&E announced that as of April 1st it will voluntarily boost flows to the Eel and reduce water exports to the Russian by 15 percent. This decision follows recommendations from U.S. Depart-ment of Interior, National Marine Fisheries Service and the California Department of Forestry. Many activists believe that this minimal change will not be sufficient to save listed salmonids. The FERC decision will determine whether this reduction will be sufficient and/or permanent. Sierra Club Comments on the DEIS were researched and compiled by Redwood Chapter Water Committee Chair, Krista Rector, with assistance from Sierra Club staff member Jennifer Witherspoon and Michael Bowan (formerly with Cal Trout). The comments •Sierra Club believes that the continued diversion of Eel River water into the Russian River will contribute to the extirpation of wild Pacific salmonids and to environ-mentally destructive development and growth. •Previous oversight and regulation by FERC, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and California Department of Fish and Game have been inadequate and have resulted in continued decline of the Upper Eel’s fishery resources. •Sierra Club views the resources of the Upper Eel as being held in Public Trust, therefore, it is expected that FERC under the Federal Power Act not simply maintain the fishery resources in their present degraded condition, but protect and enhance those resources. •Sierra Club views the current proceeding as a historic moment which FERC and the resource agencies should seize to stem the decline of Pacific salmonids. Clearly the building and management of the PVP is a key cause of the decline of the Eel River’s fishery and water quality. •FERC’s objective should be to consider an option that will “recover” the fishery. This is supported in federal and state laws such as the Public Trust Doctrine, the federal and state Endangered Species Act, NEPA, the Federal Pow-er Act, and the Clean Water Act. •Sierra Club believes that decom-missioning the project should be considered for full recovery of the salmon species. That option has been ignored to date. •Of the alternatives offered in the DEIS, Sierra Club prefers the Tribes proposal&emdash;particularly the efforts to protect important summer flows and the inclusion of monitoring. However, we share the concern that this alternative may not be sufficient to protect or recover the Eel River’s fisheries and therefore we are supportive of the efforts being made by Friends of the Eel River. Shortcomings of the DEIS and preferred alternative compliance language. The licensee is given carte blanche to increase diversion levels based on “professional judgment of the operating personnel.” Given the licensee’s (bad) track record in this regard, it would be prudent to provide as little wiggle-room as possible for the licensee’s operation of the facility. Summer-Rearing Flows. The preferred alternative fails to protect summer rearing habitat for steelhead below the project area. The DEIS focuses on quantity of water but ignores water quality. Water temperature (raised by the PVP) and turbidity and toxicity (raised during very low flow levels) are not given adequate consideration as required by the Clean Water Act. Monitoring. Only the Tribes’ proposal calls for monitoring in order to gauge success or failure of a flow regime. Monitoring accompanied by adaptive management that would allow for revision of the flow regime in order to protect the fishery is essential. Water Supply Alternatives. The DEIS pays attention to concerns about water delivery raised by groups such as Sonoma County Water Agency and Potter Valley Irrigation District, but fails to address either alternative water supplies (i.e. development of ground water, Lake Sonoma) or conservation practices which could alleviate much of the alleged harm reductions in the diversion might create. Economic Bias. The economic evaluation is biased towards presentations made by PG&E and Sonoma County Water Agency. The economic value of the Eel River sport fishing industry is completely omitted. PG&E claims that the cost of monitoring and additional studies would make the hydroelectric project uneconomical. The overriding concern before the Commission should be to effectively evaluate and mitigate the fishery impacts. The economic viability of the PVP (which provides under 1% of PG&E’s total power generation) is secondary and questionable, at best. Concluding comments The steelhead population of the Eel River has crashed from ten thousand in the 1940’s to just hundreds today and there has been a 99% drop in chinook. The decimation of the fish population has lead to a decline in the economic viability of the regional fishing industry. The river is being managed with two outcomes: electrical economics and proliferation of squawfish (non-native salmonid predators). This cannot continue. FERC must address the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act issues. This would include a consider-ation of decommissioning the PVP. Sierra Club’s Redwood Chapter, San Francisco Bay Chapter and CA/Nevada Regional Conservation Council have signed on to the Friends of the Eel River resolution that calls on state and federal agencies to: “…take whatever action deemed necessary, including decommis-sioning of the Potter Valley Project (PVP), to bring about the restoration of the Eel River and allow the Eel to be returned to its original designation as one of the world-class sport river fishing systems on the West Coast.” The Redwood Chapter and Sonoma Group have together contributed $5000 to the Friends of the Eel River lawsuit against the Sonoma County Water Agency over the agency’s bid to increase the amount of water it takes from the Russian River each year. For more information about Eel River issues and salmon recovery, including how you can get involved and help, please contact: Margaret Pennington, 707-829-2294, penningt@sonic.net or Jennifer Witherspoon, Sierra Club Rules for Re-covery project organizer, 415-977-5730, jennifer.witherspoon @sierraclub.org   Return to Article Menu Last updated on 3/02/99 Comments or suggestions? Drop us a line at heyneedles@aol.com