photo credit: Courtesy of pottervalleyproject.org
The Cape Horn Dam, part of the Potter Valley Project in Mendocino and Lake counties.

Earlier this year, PG&E submitted a plan to federal regulators to surrender and decommission the century-old Potter Valley Project dams.

The dams reroute water from the Eel River to the Russian River in Northern California's Mendocino and Lake counties.

PG&E has described the aging project as no longer profitable. And environmental advocates have long said it prevents fish passage and damages local ecosystems.

Now, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on PG&E’s removal plan until the end of the month.

Nikcole Whipple is a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes and a contractor with Save California Salmon.

She visited the site of the Klamath dams removal last year. She says it got her excited about how removing the Potter Valley Project will allow fellow tribal members---and her own family---to reconnect to their ancestral lands.

"As I was sitting there … just like in awe with my hands in the water and looking at my children thinking, this is going to be us next," Whipple said. "You know, this is what's going to happen."

Regina Chichizola is the executive director of Save California Salmon. She says it’s important large-scale restoration of the area is a priority during the dam removal process.

"Like, how do they come down, when do they come down, how do you do restoration where you lean on native plants? What happens to the land?" Chichizola said. 

A new water diversion facility run by the Eel-Russian Project Authority will be built once the dam removals move forward.