{"id":12894,"date":"2026-07-01T13:12:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/?post_type=document&#038;p=12894"},"modified":"2026-07-01T13:21:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:21:23","slug":"new-eel-russian-facility","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/document\/new-eel-russian-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"New Eel-Russian Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-12894\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-12894-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-12894-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-12894-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">The&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">New Eel-Russian Facility<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;(NERF) is&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"qa-highlight svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">a proposed replacement for the existing water diversion infrastructure of the&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Potter Valley Project<\/span><\/strong><\/span><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">, designed to maintain seasonal water diversions from the&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Eel River<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;to the&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Russian River<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;watershed while simultaneously removing the&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Cape Horn Dam<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"> to restore fish passage.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Key Details:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">\n<li class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">\n<p class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Governance:<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;The facility is being developed and will be owned and operated by the<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Eel-Russian Project Authority<\/span><\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">&nbsp;(ERPA),<\/span><\/strong> a joint powers authority formed by&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sonomawater.org\/pvp\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Sonoma Water<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">,<\/span>&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Sonoma County<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">, the&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/mendoiwpc.com\/\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">, and the&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/rvit.org\/\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Round Valley Indian Tribes<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">.<\/span>&nbsp;<\/span><button class=\"inline-citation svelte-ixv2oh\" type=\"button\"><\/button><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">\n<p class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Purpose:<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;This project is the core component of the \"Two-Basin Solution,\" aiming to balance&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">water supply reliability<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;for over 600,000 residents in Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin counties with the&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">ecological restoration<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;of the Eel River.&nbsp;<\/span><button class=\"inline-citation svelte-ixv2oh\" type=\"button\"><\/button><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">\n<p class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Infrastructure:<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;The NERF includes new fish screens, a mechanical pump station, and a retaining wall to convey water to the existing Van Arsdale tunnel, ensuring diversions occur during wet seasons for dry-season use without harming the river's ecosystem.&nbsp;<\/span><button class=\"inline-citation svelte-ixv2oh\" type=\"button\"><\/button><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">\n<p class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Status:<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">PG&amp;E<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;filed its final license surrender application with the&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Federal Energy Regulatory Commission<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;(FERC) in July 2025 to decommission the Potter Valley Project.&nbsp;<\/span><button class=\"inline-citation svelte-ixv2oh\" type=\"button\"><\/button><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;ERPA is currently finalizing engineering designs, with construction planned to occur concurrently with the dam removal to minimize disruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">\n<p class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">Cost:<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;The preliminary construction cost is estimated at&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">$50 million<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">, supported by grants from the&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">U.S. Bureau of Reclamation<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<\/span><strong class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">California Department of Fish and Wildlife<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/search.brave.com\/search?q=New+Eel-Russian+Facility&amp;source=desktop&amp;summary=1&amp;conversation=0945691f9e41aa2cfc5503dcdd5a39e42f9e\">Read More<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"document_category":[111],"document_tag":[],"class_list":["post-12894","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document_category-imdc-documents","post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/12894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12894"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/12894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12897,"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/12894\/revisions\/12897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"document_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document_category?post=12894"},{"taxonomy":"document_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inlandmendodems.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document_tag?post=12894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}