A coalition of water agencies, counties, Tribes, and conservation organizations behind the Two-Basin Solution is raising concerns over recent reports that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins convened a meeting in Washington, D.C. with PG&E’s chief executive, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District regarding the future of the Potter Valley Project on the Eel River.
The coalition says the reported federal-level discussions risk undermining a locally negotiated agreement that has been years in the making and is designed to balance water supply reliability with long-term river restoration.
The coalition noted that the partnership includes the Round Valley Indian Tribes, a federally recognized confederation of Native American tribes, with deep ancestral ties to the Eel River, water agencies serving roughly 600,000 people in the Russian River basin, county governments, and conservation organizations that have worked for decades on fisheries restoration.
“Restoring the Eel is about healing our river and our community, and it was important to us to come to an agreement that supported our neighboring communities as well,” Joseph Parker, president of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, said. “That is why we spent years at the table with our partners building the Two-Basin Solution, because we believe communities in both watersheds deserve a sustainable future. We are committed to that vision, and we will see it through.”
The Two-Basin Solution is the result of extensive collaboration among the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Sonoma Water, Humboldt County, the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, California Trout, Trout Unlimited, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The agreement envisions PG&E’s removal of its aging and uneconomic Eel River dams, restoration of the Eel River, and the construction of replacement infrastructure to maintain water supply stability in the Russian River basin.
“We share the Secretary’s concern with maintaining water security in the region, but the USDA’s actions undermine our locally negotiated agreement that provides that security,” said Mari Rodin, a member of the City of Ukiah City Council and an appointee to the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission. “It is incredibly important to us and our communities that control of resources stay in local hands.”
Charlie Schneider, Connectivity Program Manager for California Trout, emphasized that the agreement was built through local collaboration across both watersheds.
“The future of the Eel and Russian Rivers should be decided by the people who live along them and depend on them, not brokered in Washington between political appointees and outside interests,” Schneider said. “The Two-Basin Solution was built here, by this community, across both watersheds. It is the only plan that protects water supply stability for the Russian River while restoring the salmon runs that our northern California communities depend on.”
The proposed plan includes creation of the New Eel-Russian Facility (NERF), which would allow continued diversions of water from the Eel River to the Russian River while supporting modernized infrastructure. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which is overseeing PG&E’s decommissioning process, has previously identified NERF as a viable replacement option in its scoping documents.
“We’ve been working diligently, and have secured the funding, to design the New Eel-Russian Facility to provide water supply reliability for Lake Mendocino, for future storage in Potter Valley and for the Russian River watershed,” said David Rabbitt, Board Chair of the Eel-Russian Project Authority. “The Two-Basin Solution is how water supply stability is maintained.”
Round Valley leaders also expressed concern about the involvement of the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Washington meeting, noting that there are no Bureau of Reclamation facilities in the region and pointing to the department’s federal trust responsibility to Tribes, including the Round Valley Indian Tribes.
The coalition’s conservation partners also urged continued adherence to the existing decommissioning process and locally negotiated framework.
“The Two-Basin Solution took years of detailed negotiations with tribes, irrigators, municipal users, and conservation groups to find a way to accommodate everyone’s interests when these dams are gone,” said Trout Unlimited’s California Director Matt Clifford. “It’s frustrating that a Southern California water agency would try to override what is a very locally focused and successful effort.”
The partnership says it remains committed to advancing the Two-Basin Solution and continuing coordination with PG&E to ensure the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission-led decommissioning process proceeds on schedule.
