A century-old hydropower facility in Mendocino County is being decommissioned after PG&E filed to surrender its federal license. The Potter Valley Project includes Scott and Cape Horn dams, which will be removed. Water rights from the Eel River will transfer to the Round Valley Indian Tribes for the first time in approximately one hundred years.

A water district located 600 miles south in Riverside County has expressed potential interest in acquiring portions of the project. The Trump administration has publicly supported this bid, though specifics regarding the district's actual objectives remain unclear.

The spillway gates at Scott Dam have been held open since 2023 by state mandate. Lake Pillsbury now maintains approximately 75 percent of its historical capacity. The powerhouse ceased operating in June 2021 when a transformer failed, and PG&E declined to fund replacement equipment.

Local stakeholders completed a comprehensive agreement last summer addressing the project's future. Signatories included PG&E, the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Humboldt and Mendocino counties, Sonoma County water agencies, state wildlife regulators, and conservation organizations. Under this framework, a smaller diversion facility at Lake Van Arsdale would manage water during high-flow periods only.

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, the entity named by the Trump administration, declined to specify whether power generation or water supply represents its primary interest. A board member mentioned potential energy advantages, noting the powerhouse previously generated 9.4 megawatts.

Historical context reveals Elsinore has pursued pumped-storage hydropower initiatives for two decades. Federal regulators have rejected its Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project four times, most recently in May 2023. Potter Valley's existing infrastructure — two reservoirs at different elevations connected by a mountain tunnel — could theoretically serve pumped-storage functions without requiring additional federal land permits.

Tribes President Joseph Parker confirmed that no consultation has occurred regarding the Riverside bid. Federal trust responsibility doctrine requires meaningful government-to-government consultation before federal actions affecting tribal senior rights proceed.

Rep. Jared Huffman characterized the situation as a "massive water grab" and announced a formal investigation into the administration's intentions and involved parties.

The Potter Valley powerhouse remains non-operational, and a permanent opening of Scott Dam's spillway gates has reduced the reservoir's storage capacity by approximately 20,000 acre-feet. PG&E's final decommissioning plan is expected at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in July.