Based upon the Courts Ruling and Order, on May 18, 2015, PLP filed a motion, along with The New 49ers, for an injunction against DF&W from: 1.Enforcing the provisions of the Fish & Wildlife Code prohibiting suction dredge mining in the rivers, streams, and waterways of California without a permit, and possessing a suction dredge near closed waterways; Coulterville CA 95311- from the gold rush or thirty five %. These are incredibly restrictive and onerous. Inspect for pickers or nuggets first, then carefully roll up the riffle matting or miner's moss and wash into the container at the end of . Reg. See additional related information. They found suction dredging deminimus and determined it should be permitted. We would like to say thanks once again to all of you who have stuck with us through the years, especially the last SIX PLUS YEARS fighting in the courts of California to restore our right to dredge and prospect on Federal Mining Claims. We do not know, but due to the fact that they are following the EPA NPDES permitting structure, it is likely to be expensive. Well, it is because this is all political and not scientific (like you guys didnt know that). Last year PLP released its strategy for a path for legally re-starting suction dredging in 2021. License and Revenue Branch You MUST participate. There are lead weights, legacy mercury left by old time miners, and other non-native debris that are in our California waterways, and we aim to remove them legally! See the Emergency Closures page before visiting a CDFW office, facility or property. I know, I grew up there and most of my friends were timber fallers and worked for logging companies. and we will invite a Department of Fish and Wildlife officer to show that dredging for the purpose of reclamation is legal in the state of California and, we will not be ticketed. E064087.). This is truly a great win for all gold miners! As you probably know, knowledge is power and a highly effective tool against your enemies who wish to deprive you of your rights! Notice Register 2014, No. Notice Register 2012, No. The regulations as approved by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) and filed with the Secretary of State took effect consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) on April 27, 2012. 641.) But most of all, our AMRA staff. i am not saying anything is FACT!! I guess classic cars probably developed this method of mining at the turn of the century. Firstly, almost all of the equipment wrapped up in the vague language of SB637 is being reversed and will once again be legal and not considered a suction dredge. The use of vacuum or suction dredge equipment, otherwise known as suction dredging, is currently prohibited and unlawful throughout California. completely legal even in the non motorized areas and just drives them crazy. PO Box 467 Important Note:In 2009, theState of California passed a law which placed a statewide moratorium onsuction dredgingin California until the Department of Fish &Wildlife (DFW)completed an updated Environmental Impact Report (EIR)along withseveral other requirementsthat were not within their jurisdiction. Suction dredge mining, a practice in which individuals use vacuum-like devices to extract minerals from the bottom of waterways, has been restricted by a series of new laws passed in the. (People v. Rinehart, No. As the PLP membership has already been informed, on January 12, 2015, the Honorable Gilbert G. Ochoa, Judge of the Superior Court, San Bernardino County, issued a Ruling which, in effect, granted PLPs motions for summary adjudication regarding Federal preemption as to the States prohibition on suction dredge mining and the 2012 Suction Dredge Mining Regulations (2012 Regulations) promulgated thereunder. May work for others, but when out legislators got wind of it a couple of years ago as a "work around" they put in it into the bill as well. Unfortunately I just received this update in my email today. We believe dredging will be handled like it was prior to the moratorium in 2009, but do need this in writing before making a statement. What remains now in the process is the public comment period where they tell the public what they plan to do and ask for comments. Im proud to be a member of the AMRA association. The mining community challenged the new regulations as unreasonably restrictive. . The permits are good perpetually, meaning that you pay for the permit in 2019, then if you want to dredge next year, you do not have to re-apply, just pay the fee and go dredge. What follows is an update of where we stand legally and what happens next on June 23rd in the combined cases being heard in San Bernardino. Another fact is that there will only be 1500 permits issued and most of them have been issued to the phony mercury cleanup firms and the big dredgers cleaning harbors and such, the little guy doesn't have a chance. Code Regs., tit. Afraid of the legal repercussions to dredge for reclamation purposes? of mercury missing in ca. preempt California Fish and Game Code sections 5653 and 5653.1 with respect to the use of vacuum and suction dredging equipment? 1 Russ. As I stood there and watched, the two DFW guards came in their patrol car. Restore Liberty to Build Sustainable Mobility Networks, Copyright 2023 Post Roads Mins WordPress theme by, Government of Pakistan Ministry of Law and Justice Jobs November 2020. JavaScript is disabled. Do studies have to be done for the creek I want to dredge? Copyright 2023 Public Lands For The People. 28-Z, pp. View Google Map Attn: Ms. Jeanine Townsend, Clerk of the Board. Thanks to our PLP member and donor support, our trips to Washington D.C. have netted us an inside track to data on the environmental agencies that we are now prepared to release to our members. Since the Court ruled that Californias dredge permitting moratorium is unconstitutional, making it unenforceable as a matter of law, The New 49ers are not going to prohibit suction dredging on our mining properties. (Fish & G. Code, 5653.1, subd. It is like stepping up to a group of bullies who are picking on a 12 year old girl. (Stats. Notwithstanding that authority, the use of any motorized vacuum or suction dredge equipment is prohibited in California, and CDFW is prohibited from issuing any related permits under the Fish and Game Code. Soooooooo Kevin is wrongIt does workHe or they (GPAA leadership) wont do it. I got off the phone and 1) immediately joined AMRA 2) called that guy back and told him to go buy the new revised model of the 4 inch dredge from Proline because the extra money was well worth it! Back in August, 2009, the California legislature passed SB 670, which was the first ban on suction gold dredging in the state. Gravity Lending receives high ratings on both its Better Business Bureau (BBB) page and its Trustpilot page. Just ask the loggers in Oregon how the spotted owl impacted their industry. Reg. 641.) It is about their ideology, not facts, science, truth or even something as basic as common sense. The updated regulations are the first comprehensive update of CDFWs suction dredging regulations since 1994. Because of this, the Miners are suffering irreparable injury and harm, including, arrests, threats of arrest, and jail time, as well as substantial monetary loss. (a).). It has now been 10 years since we could legally suction dredge in California. Department of Fish and Game, who is currently required to obtain a permit from.will be eliminated. We are pretty sure if you are like us, youre fed up with over-regulation, dishonest politicians, state agencies delaying their duties under the law and environmental groups having way too much say in what we are told are our fundamental rights as mining claim owners. Give Gift; Back to Top; Post by Steel Pan on May 20, 2010 7:54:18 GMT -5. We will be at the GPAA Gold and Treasure show this weekend in Charlotte, NC. Be part of the winning team! Steel Pan Junior Member. Was this politics? The politicians and courts didnt give us much to trust in their words. All Rights Reserved. P.O. hasn't gotten their hands on yet in the rivers. I'm glad he isupstream from us because he's sent plenty of fine gold and flakes our way. They have an unlimited bank roll of money in your tax payer dollars to defend whatever actions they create against us. CDFW adopted a comprehensive update of its suction dredge regulations effective April 27, 2012. As a part of SB637 (The Suction Dredge Bill) signed into law in January of 2016, it was mandated that the California Water Board (CAWB) study and evaluate whether permitting should be allowed in the state, and if so, the CAWB was tasked with creating a permitting structure. This has the effect of dramatically reducing the cost of the permit for the end user. This particular litigationextends all the way back to 2005, and has cost the mining community no less than a million dollars in legal expenses. Is none motorized dredging or high banking legal in California Thread starter et1955; Start date Jun 4, 2016; et1955 Hero Member. We attended and presented (on your behalf) at every one of the public hearings with the CAWB when the permitting was being discussed and we produced a pretty compelling video of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) actively suction dredging in other states to create fish habitat. Easy to build. We view this new restriction as completely unnecessary and based on seriously flawed information provided by biased sources. A hearing on PLPs motion for the injunction will take place at 8:30 a.m., on June 23, 2015, or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard, in the courtroom of the Honorable Gilbert G. Ochoa, Department S36J, located at 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0210. There is no limit to the size or frequency of your entries or the number of prizes you can win. Many turned to drugs, alcohol and most of my rural towns dried up from the destruction of a renewable resource because of an owl. Do we have to keep silly diaries and all the other documentation like what was proposed before? How long will this take? Pathetic. Learn to dredge legally without permits and without fear for the purpose of reclamation! Sound familiar? Not enough. It does not have anything to do with the other types of prospecting or mining that we do in California. It would be close to impossible for them to back out of this without some severe exposure to a lawsuit.and bring one we would on your behalf. is gravity dredging legal in california +1 (760) 205-9936. The Rinehart litigation stems from a criminal prosecution for unlawful suction dredging in 2012. WellI was part of a 10,000 person march on California's Capital when classic cars were being threatened by the Communists running California. I tore the fish and game regs. Anyway I never heard of AMRA until Jeff told about me what was going on in the Senate and the CAWB! Reg. Gold Mining Sampling and Consulting Services. Initial Study and Notice of Preparation (PDF), Appendix E. Comparison of Suction Dredge Mining Regulations in the United States (PDF), Appendix F. Suction Dredge Survey and Summary of Results (PDF), Appendix G. Public Advisory Committee Meeting Summaries (PDF), Appendix H. Socioeconomic Report on Regulatory Amendments (PDF), Appendix I. Descriptions of Habitat Types Likely to Occur in or Adjacent to Proposed Program Activities (PDF), Appendix K. Detailed Life History Descriptions for, Appendix L. Species-Based Restrictions on Proposed Program Activities (PDF), Appendix M. Management of Invasive Species (PDF). The new Director, appointed by Governor Brown stopped all progress on the permits. Over the past week we have been in meetings, had calls and emails too numerous to list asking questions we know youd be asking because hell, they are what we would want to know as we are miners through and through like many of you. The New 49er Legal Fundwas first in and remains on the front line of the battle after all these years. There is always someone who develops a new way of doing things. Our project assistants do a lot of prospecting themselves; Therefore, they always find a more efficient way to recover gold. THANK YOU! yeap they've over interpreted the law. No. shannonp@americanminingrights.com, American Mining Rights Association 1461.). We encourage you to watch this page concerning suction dredge seasons in the coming weeks as the situation develops. The Gravity Legal panel makes it easy to check whether payments have been made, and follow-up with clients on a timely basis regarding outstanding balances. SB637 morphed into a defacto prohibition on mining as it then labeled all things as suction dredges. If we were to organize something like this peaceful protest, we would want over 1000 people to show up. Oh, by the way, they also claim that they are going to throw the gold into the river since it is not poison.. We would like to meet you and of course say Hi to old friends. We are very pleased with the decision of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to act quickly, said Leaf Hillman, director of natural resources for the Karuk tribe. To quote one of the Senators, they didnt see that support coming. Kind of hard to say an airplane is a wheelbarrow just because both have wheels and that is precisely what the vague language in SB637 did. (a).). It also does not affect our group weekend projects. In mid-January 2019, we started inquiring as to where the process was as their timeline was now present to go public, and we were told the 6 people at the CAWB department tasked with this permitting program were reduced to just 2. Your excavator only collects 93% of the mercury, while ours collects many more. By order of the Judicial Council of California, various ongoing civil proceedings are coordinated in San Bernardino County Superior Court. www.publiclandsforthepeople.org. (Fish & G. Code, 5653, subd. Much of what they do in the form of laws and regulations do in fact infringe upon our rights, but do they care? This section and section 5653.1 do not apply to non-motorized recreational mining activities, including gold panning, prohibit or restrict them. We find it a bit odd that right before the 10 year fight for suction dredging seems to be gaining some ground, this happens. Maybe it is time to think out of the box. (Cal. (Suction Dredge Mining Cases, Super. In general, SB 637 amends Fish and Game Code section 5653 as follows: In general, Water Code section 13172.5, added by SB 637: Information regarding state and federal water quality permitting requirements, and related action by the State Water Resources Control Board, the Regional Water Quality Control Boards, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is available at the following links: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, formerly the Department of Fish and Game, has been a named defendant or respondent in various lawsuits related to suction dredging in California since 2005. Will I need to get a DFG permit like we did in 2009 in addition to the CAWB permit? Their Board of Directors voted unanimously it is deminimus (no harm). CDFW amended the regulatory definition of suction dredging as an emergency action effective June 28, 2013. Firstly, we would like to state that the CAWB are not the bad guys here, there were mandated by the bill Democrat Ben Allen passed. Notice Register 2013, No. thankfully where I go you would likely find bigfoot before you found me. No permits will be required from DFG for suction dredging. The permit costs we expect to be around $200 or close to it. The 2012 Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) regulations. California Penal Code Section 17235 states that folding knives are legal in the state if they are in the folded position.