{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Unclear surrender process likely for Potter Valley Project","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":390,"description":"November 4, 2021 — Time is running out for a regional entity to take over the license for the Potter Valley Project. The Two-Basin Partnership, a coalition of local government and conservation groups seeking to take over the license from PG&E, is unlikely to meet the deadline to submit its application. And funding sources for a costly study plan have not materialized. FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) recently refused the Partnership’s request for a little more time. \r\nOn top of all that, a five or ten million dollar transformer at the powerhouse in Potter Valley is now defunct, causing further uncertainty. The inoperable transformer means that the powerhouse can no longer produce electricity, though a diversion of about 135 cubic feet per second is still possible, using a bypass structure. \r\nIn a recent letter to the Farm Bureau, Congressman Jared Huffman wrote that “With FERC denying the extension and with no near-term prospects for funding the $18 million study plan, the prospects for securing a FERC license are not good.”\r\nHuffman wrote that without money for the studies, “FERC would terminate the license application process and the Potter Valley Project will default to surrender and decommissioning.” He added that in that scenario, “PG&E, rather than the Partnership, would have to pay for the necessary studies and infrastructure changes, including removing Scott Dam.”\r\nBut Janet Pauli, the chair of the Inland Water and Power Commission and a director on the board of the Potter Valley Irrigation District, says the surrender process is a black box. The IWPC is itself a coalition that is part of the Two-Basin Partnership.\r\n“The licensing process is pretty cut and dried,” she said. “But with surrender, you assume that the power production part of the project would no longer exist. But as far as what remains of that existing infrastructure, at this point in time, we really don’t know.” \r\nRedgie Collins is the legal and policy director for...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}