A
river needs to stay in the watershed where it is birthed for that river
system to remain healthy
The Eel
River is California's third largest watershed and third largest salmon producing
river. This fishery was the first to fail on the north coast, before the
Klamath and before the Sacramento. The Eel's headwaters are dammed and diverted
to the Russian River, taking more than half of this cold, clean water so
necessary for a healthy fishery to mask the problems on the Russian. It's
dams are now a century old, block spawning and rearing habitat so necessary
to this once vital fishery and hold back much needed gravels for a fully
operative river system.
If we are to deal effectively with global warming, then we must correct
and stop the abuse that has lead to this circumstance. This issue is in
the north coasts' back yard, in the counties of Marin, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino,
and Humboldt. Rivers and watersheds respond and heal when we humans stop
destructive practices. Please help us heal the Eel by joining our efforts
to remove two antiquated dams and close a water diversion tunnel owned by
Pacific Gas and Electric company, PG&E, that supplies water to the Russian
River via their Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project, PVP. The 9 mega watts
of power this project produces for less then half the year is not cost effective
and destructive to both fish and a once healthy watershed. This is truly
an unsustainable water delivery system in the guise of a power plant.
Seven Reasons to Save the Eel River
and Take Down the Dams
Reflections on the
tragic 100th anniversary of PG&E’s Potter Valley
Project (PVP) tunnel, Cape Horn Dam, Van Arsdale Lake, and later construction
of Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury.
David Keller, Bay
Area Director, Friends of the Eel River
The Eel River has
been severely damaged during the last century by diverting water through
the PVP to the Russian River. It’s time to restore the health
and wealth taken from the Eel River.
Here are 7 reasons
to take down the dams and save the Eel River. (Read
more)
New Executive Director of Friends of the Eel River, Dave Hope
April 20, 2009
( photo by: Richard Gienger )
Friends of the Eel River is pleased to announce that Dave Hope is
now our Executive Director. Dave comes to us having just retired
from the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board as Senior
Scientist. Dave was born and raised on the Eel River at Hearst and
graduated from schools in Willits. Dave’s degree is in forestry,
and he has extensive experience in river and fishery restoration.
He was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Salmonid Restoration Federation. Mr. Hope was a founding member
of that organization some 30 years ago and is well known and appreciated
on the North Coast of California.
Nadananda, founder and outgoing Executive Director
of Friends of the Eel River (FOER), will be reducing her hours with
the organization. She will remain as Board President and will continue
as editor/publisher of the Eel River Reporter, as well as work with
the organization’s legal team. She also hopes to enjoy some
fun fundraising.
FOER plans for the immediate future continue
to target the PG&E Potter Valley Project for decommissioning,
along with advocacy and work to achieve major restoration for the
Eel River. With Dave Hope’s background and lifelong interest
and experience, we expect to see this group flourishing as they
bring the Eel River, which has been heavily impacted by regional
extract practices, back to a state of health and abundance, wild
and free.
CLOSE TO HOME: Toxic cleanup must come before freight
By PATTY CLARY
Published: Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 4:28 p.m.
A recent Close to Home column (“Are freight trains in Sonoma County’s
future?” April 30) which attacked a deputy attorney general who has
threatened legal action if the North Coast Railroad Authority doesn’t
deal with the toxic mess littering its rail lines and yards, was way off
track.
Actually, the attorney general’s worst offense has been to allow the
North Coast Rail Authority to ignore a court-sanctioned decree made 10 years
ago to stop the discharge of toxic waste — including waste left by
Southern Pacific that California took on when it bought the rail corridor
in 1991 with funds allocated by voter initiative.
Even at this late date, the attorney general isn’t requiring that
the NCRA stop all discharge of pollutants from the rail corridor, just that
plans agreed upon by the NCRA all those years ago will finally be made and
approved before operations can begin.
Eighty-plus years of neglect and disregard for the drinking water, wildlife
and economy of our region have left their toxic mark on five counties and
dozens of watersheds through which the railroad runs.
The situation is so grave that three state agencies joined together in 1997
to sue the NCRA to stop the discharge of chemicals spilled, burned, sprayed,
dumped and buried throughout the rail corridor.
Despite the passage of years, many areas of the North Coast remain severely
depressed because of the proximity to toxic sites owned — and neglected
— by the NCRA. Now the rail authority, itself an agency of the state,
wants to resume operations without restoring these blighted sites as it
agreed.
What’s more, to avoid living up to the terms of the decree, the NCRA
has pleaded poverty as its limiting factor, an argument that convinced reluctant
state regulators to hold off prosecution and even try to obtain money for
the railroad.
Yet in a recent legal action brought by Novato, railroad authorities told
the court they had never claimed that a shortage of funds has been the obstacle
to dealing with the toxic chemicals despite written evidence they had made
such claims for years.
Then, to add insult to injury, the NCRA settled the Novato lawsuit so that
the original decree was trumped by the new agreement and did so without
consulting the state agencies or the attorney general’s office.
Under terms of the original decree, the NCRA must write plans for dealing
with spills, waste storage, storm water and a dozen other critical concerns.
That’s only the first step. And it’s the only step needed to
start operation of the freight line.
In 10 years, the NCRA has not even begun to write those plans. For the NCRA
or its supporters to cry foul at this point is typical of its history of
obfuscation of the real problems associated with the rail line. Sentimental
visions of the charms of railroads and unsubstantiated claims of being “green”
or good for the economy have, for too long, served as smoke screens to cover
the deeply toxic aspects of its operations, past and present.
The last year this railroad made money was 1974 — at the end of the
old growth redwood economy — and its future profitability is doubtful.
Where then will the money come from to deal with the toxic burden the state
took on when it formed the NCRA and bought the line?
That’s the real question at the heart of the railroad dispute. Hiding
our heads in the sand and blaming the messenger isn’t going to help
deal with this bitter pill. Some clarity, even just the laying of plans,
would be a start.
Patty Clary is the programs and policy director for Californians for Alternatives
to Toxics, based in Eureka. Clary grew up listening to the train horn from
across a field in Santa Rosa and sometimes was late to school at St. Rose
when the train blocked West 9th Street
Contact: Patty Clary, Director
Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, 315 P Street, Eureka, CA 95501
707.445.5100 ext 205
PG&E Spray Alert Update
Contractors such as Trees Inc. are spraying copious amounts of herbicide this
Spring throughout California on behalf of utility companies including PG&E,
the largest owner of utility pole and right-of-ways in the state.
PG&E's contractors are using a toxic mixture of several chemical formulations
for control of annual, perennial and woody plants growing at the base of poles
and within utility line right-of-ways (See our website for more information).
In some areas of the state, particularly northwest counties, PG&E will
not spray without advance notification and the consent of property owners. However,
where poles are within right-of-ways belonging to the state, county or city,
spraying is conducted without advance notification or posting to warn the public
of the presence of toxic chemicals.
According to one source, poles displaying square aluminum tags and a separate
6 digit number are scheduled to be sprayed while poles displaying a circular
aluminum tag are manually managed for vegetation. What equipment is on the pole
is the determining factor. Apparently little community or environmental exposure
has been considered when spray plans are made: Herbicides have been applied
in heavily used trails and close to wells and streams.
Find out where spraying is planned in areas you use or where you live, work
or go to school. For folks in Humboldt County contact Larry Rumensen of PG&E
at 707-577-1026. For others in California, try PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 as
a CATs member recently had success getting information (and a live person) that
way. Trees Inc, PG&E’s contractor, is another avenue to pursue and
can be reached at 1-866-865-9617.
Ask to know where spraying is planned and demand that PG&E stop this unnecessary
use of chemicals. Call your city council member or county supervisor, depending
on the location of spraying you are concerned about. Ask them to contact PG&E
to stop the spraying or, at a minimum, to post notification where herbicides
are applied.
PG&E and other utility companies have options, especially mechanical removal
of vegetation, which is better for workers, neighbors, and the environment.
How a Dam Gets Removed: YouTube
video from the removal of Milltown Dam on the Clark Fork River, near Missoula
Montana. The dam was breached on March 28th, 2008.
RE: Proposed alternatives to Restructured Agreement for Water Supply, Section
2.4, Potter Valley Project acquisition
SCWA staff and attorneys have provided their first response
to the problems identified in the Restructured Agreement for Water Supply regarding
purchasing the Potter Valley Project, with its financial and environmental costs
and ratepayer risks. Friends of the Eel River has presented alternative language
controlling such risks.
Spring 2009: Dear Friends It
seems to me that the resistance by the few fighting the continued degradation
of the planet is finally shifting to the many: people in various walks
of life responding with actions that show their understanding of the
need to protect that which gives us life. Are we perhaps at the tipping
point of turning this situation around? Certainly our struggle to decommission
the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project is coming to a head on various
fronts, (Read
more)
Dear Friends We hope this special map edition
(large file) of the Fall 2008 Eel River Reporter helps
you better understand the complexities of water, freight trains, development
and gravel issues that are currently on the table for the north coast
of California. Having sat through many meetings up and down the coast,
I can tell you that I’ve witnessed many times how the general public
is being lied to by one interest group after another. The one on the
top of the list at the moment is the North Coast Railroad Authority
(NCRA), a state agency, and the North West Pacific company (NWPco),
a private company that leases the railroad from NCRA. We the people
of California get to cover repair of the railway line including damage
done by slides, upgrade bridges, crossings and the line itself (Read
More).
Fish Counts
at the Potter Valley Project fish ladder:
Fish numbers through 3/28/09:
Van Arsdale totals:
496 Chinook ( 188 males, 104 females and 204 jacks )
Chinook numbers will be the season totals.
and
310 steelhead ( 93 males and 216 females and 1 subadult )
The Fish Tent Learn more about this fabulous
display created by FOER to educate people about the condition of the Eel
River and what can be done about it; including excerpts from the display
panels.
The Eel
River is California's third largest watershed and third largest salmon producing
river. This fishery was the first to fail on the north coast, before the
Klamath and before the Sacramento. The Eel's headwaters are dammed and diverted
to the Russian River, taking more than half of this cold, clean water so
necessary for a healthy fishery to mask the problems on the Russian. It's
dams are now a century old, block spawning and rearing habitat so necessary
to this once vital fishery and hold back much needed gravels for a fully
operative river system. 
