Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District And Trump Appointee Spark Controversy Over Possible Acquisition

Supporters contend that removing the two dams will restore natural water flow, but U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in her June 15 X post that the Trump administration wants to protect the Potter Valley Project and support nearby farmers who rely on the existing infrastructure.

The Round Valley Indian Tribe has senior rights to Eel River water. PG&E had already undergone a license surrender process for the Potter Valley Project and it was agreed that, once the river is no longer dammed, the tribe will let some water flow to farmers through a diversion tunnel, according to local reporting.

EVMWD’s Interest In The Project

How the EVMWD got involved so late in a project so far away is unclear. EVMWD leadership and Republican Congressman Ken Calvert have consistently collaborated in Washington, D.C., and locally, to advance federal support for water and wastewater treatment resiliency.

Late last year, Rollins — a Trump appointee — intervened in PG&E’s Potter Valley Project decommissioning hearings being considered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Rollins gave little credence to conservation and environmental priorities, and instead sided with farmers and ranchers who had enlisted her support.