In response to a letter urging federal officials to prevent the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project, the acting commissioner of the federal Bureau of Reclamation advised that the matter is under review.
“Thank you for your letter … to President Trump regarding funding to the Potter Valley Project,” a letter dated April 14, 2025, and signed by Acting Commissioner David Palumbo, states. “Your February letter is consistent with other perspectives we have heard in recent weeks from the Lake County area, and will be taken into account as the funding to this project is reviewed by agency leadership. The Bureau of Reclamation is committed to our mission of supplying water and power to the West and will continue to develop strategies to help ensure water supplies for current and future generations.”
The letter, which was sent to Aaron Sykes, a board member with the Lake Pillsbury Alliance, ends with: “The Department of the Interior is working to (ensure) that concerns such as yours regarding projects like Potter Valley are part of the review process to ensure the Administration’s goals are achieved.”
In April, a letter signed by the presidents of four local County Farm Bureaus – Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma and Marin – was sent to federal officials asking “the Trump Administration to intervene and prevent (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) from approving (Pacific Gas and Electric’s) decommissioning plan (for the Potter Valley Project) until a long-term solution is secured. We urge the Bureau of Reclamation to assume ownership and responsibility for the PVP. Given the Bureau of Reclamation’s expertise in federal water management and dam operations, this is the best path forward to ensure continued water delivery to over 600,000 people in our region,” the letter states.
“Preserving the Potter Valley Project is the desired outcome to maintain our water supply, allowing Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin Counties to continue receiving this water serving over 600,000 people,” the letter states. “Communities were built based on this water supply, and communities will be ruined should it go away.”
However, if the decommissioning does proceed, the letter states, “we request federal assistance in securing funding and regulatory relief for raising Coyote Dam (Lake Mendocino), which is a crucial mitigation effort if decommissioning proceeds. At the very least, the approval of the decommissioning must be delayed long enough for the completion of raising the Coyote Dam and other infrastructure improvements to accommodate and adapt to the change in water availability. We request an urgent meeting with representatives from your agencies to discuss federal intervention options. Additionally, we are prepared to provide further documentation detailing the economic and environmental consequences of this decommissioning.”
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