<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/27/3796886/brown-prolongs-freeze-on-suction.html">http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/27/3796886/brown-prolongs-freeze-on-suction.html</a><br><div><div id="story_header" style="margin-top: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; "><h1 id="story_headline" style="margin-top: 0px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(2, 74, 130); line-height: 1em; font-size: 26px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Brown prolongs freeze on suction dredge mining</h1><h2 id="story_subheadline" style="margin-top: 3px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); line-height: 1em; font-size: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></h2><h3 id="story_creditline" style="margin-top: 0px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1em; font-size: 18px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; ">calcala@sacbee.com</h3><h4 class="date" style="margin-top: 0.4em; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1em; font-size: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; ">PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY, JUL. 27, 2011</h4><big style="margin-top: 0px; "><big style="margin-top: 0px; "><big style="margin-top: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; "></big></big></big></div><div id="articlebody" class="lingo_region entry-content" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; ">Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill Tuesday to extend a moratorium on suction dredge mining for gold, cheering environmental opponents of the practice.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; ">The bill, AB 120, includes a five-year extension of an existing moratorium against the practice of suctioning river-bottom gravels in search of gold and other minerals. That would stop dredging at least until June 30, 2016.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; ">The bill also prohibits resumption of the practice until the Department of Fish and Game establishes regulations to safeguard the environment and cover costs of administering a dredging program. Earlier this month, Brown vetoed a bill that would have prevented Fish and Game from spending any money to develop the regulations.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; ">Environmental critics claim the mining stirs up toxic mercury in the river beds and damages sensitive fish breeding habitats.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; ">Miners have disputed those claims and counter that the regulations are an illegal hindrance to an economically important activity.</p><div><br></div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 15px; "><fb:like href="http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/27/v-print/3796886/brown-prolongs-freeze-on-suction.html#storylink=fblike" show_faces="false" width="600" font="verdana" action="recommend" style="margin-top: 0px; "></fb:like></p></div></div></body></html>