Notice2026-03786
Pacific Gas & Electric Company; Notice Of Application For Temporary Flow Modification Accepted For Filing, Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, And Protests
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Published
February 25, 2026
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9244-9246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03786]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 77-334]
Pacific Gas & Electric Company; Notice Of Application For
Temporary Flow Modification Accepted For Filing, Soliciting Comments,
Motions To Intervene, And Protests
Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
a. Application Type: Application for Temporary Variance of Flow
Requirements.
b. Project No: 77-334.
c. Date Filed: January 30, 2026.
d. Applicant: Pacific Gas & Electric Company.
e. Name of Project: Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: The project is located on the Eel River and East Fork
of the Russian River in Lake and Mendocino counties, California. The
project occupies federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a-825r.
h. Applicant Contact: Chadwick McCready, Pacific Gas and Electric
Company, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA 94612, (530) 685-5710.
i. FERC Contact: Katherine Schmidt, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bdd6dcc9d5d8cfd4d3d893ceded5d0d4d9c9fddbd8cfde93dad2cb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6f040e1b070a1d06010a411c0c0702060b1b2f090a1d0c41080019">[email protected]</span></a>,
(415) 369-3348.
j. Cooperating agencies: With this notice, the Commission is
inviting federal, state, local, and Tribal agencies with jurisdiction
and/or special expertise with respect to environmental issues affected
by the proposal, that wish to cooperate in the preparation of any
environmental document, if applicable, to follow the instructions for
filing such requests described in item k below. Cooperating agencies
should note the Commission's policy that agencies that cooperate in the
preparation of any environmental document cannot also intervene. See 94
FERC ] 61,076 (2001).
k. Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, and
protests: March 23, 2026, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
comments, motions to intervene, and protests using the Commission's
eFiling system at <a href="http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp">http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp</a>.
Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without
prior registration, using the eComment system at http://www.ferc.gov/
docs-filing/
[[Page 9245]]
ecomment.asp. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a7e1e2f5e4e8c9cbcec9c2f4d2d7d7c8d5d3e7c1c2d5c489c0c8d1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3b7d7e697874555752555e684e4b4b54494f7b5d5e4958155c544d">[email protected]</span></a>, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy.
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to:
Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent
via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, MD 20852. The first page of any filing should include the
docket number P-77-334. Comments emailed to Commission staff are not
considered part of the Commission record.
The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all
intervenors filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of
that document on each person whose name appears on the official service
list for the project. Further, if an intervenor files comments or
documents with the Commission relating to the merits of an issue that
may affect the responsibilities of a particular resource agency, they
must also serve a copy of the document on that resource agency.
l. Description of Request: The licensee requests a temporary
variance of its minimum flow requirements at two project compliance
locations (the Eel River below Scott Dam E-2 and the East Branch
Russian River E-16). The licensee has elected to leave the spillway
gates at Scott Dam open indefinitely as a strategy to manage seismic
risk to the Lake Pillsbury Reservoir, thereby reducing the storage
capacity of Lake Pillsbury to approximately 52,600 acre-feet of water
storage (a reduction in potential storage of approximately 18,200 acre-
feet). The licensee also maintains a minimum pool of 12,000 acre-feet
in Lake Pillsbury to avoid bank sloughing, which is expected to occur
below this storage target, and would mobilize sediment into the
reservoir, which would likely lead to dam safety and operational
issues. The project is also subject to flow requirements under Article
52, which requires it to comply with the reasonable and prudent
alternative provided by National Marine Fisheries Service's 2002
Biological Opinion to prevent jeopardy to Endangered Species Act-listed
salmonids present in the Eel River Basin.
To preserve water storage in Lake Pillsbury while under these
reservoir storage limitations, and to conserve cold water for
downstream aquatic resources in the Eel River, the licensee has set a
storage target of 25,000 acre-feet on October 1, 2026 that it
calculates as sufficient to fulfill the safety and regulatory
requirements of its license. To manage water storage so that this
target can be achieved, the licensee proposes to implement a temporary
flow variance, as follows:
1. Reclassify the water year type of gaging station E-2 to a
critical water year classification so that compliance for flows
released into the Eel River below Scott Dam would be consistent with
the critical water year type minimum flow requirement of 20 cubic feet
per second (cfs). However, releases from the low-level outlet in Scott
Dam cannot be less than 35 cfs, and in practice releases from Scott Dam
will likely be greater than its operational limitation of 35 cfs
because the total release amount would include all flows released to
satisfy E-2, E-11, and E-16 requirements, and any contract water
amounts, before the diversions occur.
2. If Lake Pillsbury is spilling, when reservoir water surface
elevation is above 1,900.00 feet (licensee datum), from April 15
through May 14 releases to the East Branch Russian River (as measured
at gage E-16) would be 35 cfs in a normal water year classification, 25
cfs in a dry water year classification, and 5 cfs for a critical water
year classification. From May 15 through June 30, diversions to the
East Branch Russian River would be 75 cfs in a normal water year
classification, 25 cfs in a dry water year classification, and 5 cfs in
a critical water year classification.
3. If Lake Pillsbury is not spilling April 15 through June 30, East
Branch Russian River/E-16 releases would be first be set at 25 cfs and
then adjusted between 25 and 5 cfs based on a flexible management
strategy, should 2026 be determined to be a normal or dry water year
classification under Article 52 criteria. The licensee will make
adjustments to flows released to the East Branch Russian River during
the variance after considering water availability, hydrologic forecast
tools used to monitor the late fall and winter reservoir storage
forecast, the potential for encroachment into the 12,000 acre-feet
minimum pool safety threshold, the cool-water pool status, safety
concerns, water temperature conditions in the Eel River, and in
consultation with the resource agencies and the Drought Working Group
(DWG). However, should 2026 be determined to be a critical water year
classification under Article 52 criteria, the water released to East
Branch Russian River/E-16 would be 5 cfs (which is the current minimum
flow to East Branch Russian River required under Article 52 in a
critical water year).
4. From July 1 through September 30, East Branch Russian River/E-16
releases would be adjusted between the 25 to 5 cfs range as determined
by the water management criteria described above and in consultation
with the DWG and resource agencies.
5. From October 1, 2026 through April 14, 2027, if Lake Pillsbury
storage is below 36,000 acre-feet, releases to East Branch Russian
River/E-16 would be set to 5 cfs regardless of water year until the
variance ends. The temporary flow variance would end when storage in
Lake Pillsbury exceeds 36,000 acre-feet of storage after September 30,
2026 and license-required flows would resume.
6. The DWG would meet monthly, or as needed, during the variance to
review and discuss forecasted reservoir storage levels, release flow
rates, water temperature profiles, release temperatures, and estimated
release temperature projections for Eel River below Scott Dam/E-2.
7. Compliance with minimum flows at E-11 set under the variance
would be calculated as a 24-hour average rather than the current
instantaneous measurement compliance rate. There would be no change to
the minimum flows released to the Eel River below Cape Horn Dam (as
measured at E-11 gage) required under Article 52.
8. The period over which 2,500 acre-feet allocation of water
reserved in Lake Pillsbury for use at the discretion of the resource
agencies (Block Water) would be extended over the 2026 calendar year
(January 1 through December 31, 2026) instead of through the 2026 water
year (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) as described by
Article 52.
Monthly water storage and temperature reports would be filed with
the Commission during the variance. The licensee requests that the
variance begin as soon as possible, upon Commission approval, but
requests that approval be granted by May 15, 2026.
m. Locations of the Application: This filing may be viewed on the
Commission's website at <a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://www.ferc.gov</a> using the ``eLibrary''
link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the
docket number field to access the document. You may also register
online at <a href="http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp">http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp</a> to be
notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or
other pending projects. For assistance, call 1-866-208-3676 or email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#185e5d4a5b57767471767d4b6d6868776a6c587e7d6a7b367f776e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fcbab9aebfb39290959299af898c8c938e88bc9a998e9fd29b938a">[email protected]</span></a>, for TTY, call (202) 502-8659. Agencies may
obtain copies of the application directly from the applicant.
[[Page 9246]]
n. Individuals desiring to be included on the Commission's mailing
list should so indicate by writing to the Secretary of the Commission.
o. Comments, Protests, or Motions to Intervene: Anyone may submit
comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene in accordance with the
requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211,
.214, respectively. In determining the appropriate action to take, the
Commission will consider all protests or other comments filed, but only
those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with the
Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any comments,
protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or before the
specified comment date for the particular application.
p. Filing and Service of Documents: Any filing must (1) bear in all
capital letters the title ``COMMENTS'', ``PROTEST'', or ``MOTION TO
INTERVENE'' as applicable; (2) set forth in the heading the name of the
applicant and the project number of the application to which the filing
responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone number of the
person commenting, protesting or intervening; and (4) otherwise comply
with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All
comments, motions to intervene, or protests must set forth their
evidentiary basis. Any filing made by an intervenor must be accompanied
by proof of service on all persons listed in the service list prepared
by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR
385.2010.
q. For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office
of Public Participation at (202)502-6595 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fdb2adadbd9b988f9ed39a928b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9ed1cecedef8fbecfdb0f9f1e8">[email protected]</span></a>.
(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)
Dated: February 20, 2026.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-03786 Filed 2-24-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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