[env-trinity] 2016 brings new mining rules

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.redding.com/news/local/2016-brings-new-mining-rules-2805bd4c-fb05-3835-e053-0100007f6477-363779391.html
2016 brings new mining rules
A new state law goes into effect after the first of the year that rolls back a seven-year moratorium on suction dredge mining and requires the state to begin issuing permits to miners who use the machines to get gold from streams and lakes.But the new law also sets up new conditions requiring gold miners to obtain permits from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state Water Resources Control Board before they can start mining again.Chip Hess, who owns Miner's Cache, a mining supply store in Redding, said the new requirements are likely to prevent most people from resuming suction dredge mining because the costs of the permits will be too high."It destroys those of us that casually mine and those of us that supplement their income with mining," Hess said.Suction dredges are like large vacuums, sucking dirt and rocks from stream and lake beds. The material goes through a process to separate out the gold, which is heavier than the other material.Opponents of suction dredging say the process stirs up mercury and other toxic metals from stream beds, harming fish and wildlife. Miners, though, say the toxic metals are removed from the water by the dredges.The law requires the state wildlife department to issue permits for suction dredging, but miners would also be required to get permits from the state Water Board, a regional water board or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.The water board permit would have to make a finding that the proposed mining would not harm water quality or fish and wildlife, according to SB637, signed by the governor in October.The new permitting requirements are a welcome addition if they prevent suction dredge miners from harming water quality and prevent them from disturbing cultural resources, said Craig Tucker, a natural resources policy advocate for the Karuk Tribe of Happy Camp.In 2005 the Karuk sued the state over its environmental review process for suction dredging, which eventually required the state to do an environmental impact report on it. The 2009 moratorium prevented the state from issuing suction dredging permits until the environmental report was completed.The state determined the Department of Fish and Wildlife did not have authority to regulate water quality issues caused by dredge mining, so AB637 brings the water board into the process, according to legislative analyses of the bill.The Karuk are concerned about mining going on in areas where the tribe is holding its annual World Renewal Ceremony on the Klamath River. He said the permitting should also include sanitation standards for areas where members of the tribe collect material for traditional baskets."And for us, clean water and healthy fish are cultural resources," Tucker said.But Hess said the new law is likely to result in more lawsuits from organizations representing miners, which have claimed federal mining laws trump the state laws regulating water quality and fish and wildlife.
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