Apparently this is what our honorable governor signed

[Oakview2]

Suction Dredge language signed by the Governor>apparently we are screwed until we can get a court to overturn this back room deal, if that is even possible

SEC. 6. Section 2948 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:

2948. This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 7. Section 5653.1 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

5653.1. (a) The issuance of permits to operate vacuum or suction dredge equipment is a project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) and permits may only be issued, and vacuum or suction dredge mining may only occur as authorized by any existing permit, if the department has caused to be prepared, and certified the completion of, an environmental impact report for the project pursuant to the court order and consent judgment entered in the case of Karuk Tribe of California et al. v. California Department of Fish and Game et al., Alameda County Superior Court Case No. RG 05211597.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 5653, the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment in any river, stream, or lake of this state is prohibited until the director certifies to the Secretary of State that all of the following have occurred:

(1) The department has completed the environmental review of its existing suction dredge mining regulations, as ordered by the court in the case of Karuk Tribe of California et al. v. California Department of Fish and Game et al., Alameda County Superior Court Case No. RG 05211597.

(2) The department has transmitted for filing with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 11343 of the Government Code, a certified copy of new regulations adopted, as necessary, pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(3) The new regulations described in paragraph (2) are operative.

(4) The new regulations described in paragraph (2) fully mitigate all identified significant environmental impacts.

(5) A fee structure is in place that will fully cover all costs to the department related to the administration of the program.

(c) (1) To facilitate its compliance with subdivision (b), the department shall consult with other agencies as it determines to be necessary, including, but not limited to, the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Department of Public Health, and the Native American Heritage Commission, and, on or before April 1, 2013, shall prepare and submit to the Legislature a report with recommendations on statutory changes or authorizations that, in the determination of the department, are necessary to develop the suction dredge regulations required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), including, but not limited to, recommendations relating to the mitigation of all identified significant environmental impacts and a fee structure that will fully cover all program costs.

(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2017, pursuant to Section 10231.5of the Government Code.

(3) The report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(d) The Legislature finds and declares that this section, as added during the 2009–10 Regular Session, applies solely to vacuum and suction dredging activities conducted for instream mining purposes. This section does not expand or provide new authority for the department to close or regulate suction dredging conducted for regular maintenance of energy or water supply management infrastructure, flood control, or navigational purposes governed by other state or federal law.

(e) This section does not prohibit or restrict nonmotorized recreational mining activities, including panning for gold.

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[GrayCloud]

Brown stinks. Prospecting.

[Hoser John]

Ifn' it's Brown......flush it........

[Armchair prospector]

This is a law that needs to be broken. Laws are made to protect people and property. This doesn't apply. My back hurts from bending over and grabbin' my ankles for the last 3 years.

[kuger]

If they can levvy more funds from Citations than they took in from Permits it will be another straw.They have a history of skewing data so dont be surprised.I have heard rumor of F&G in the act of helicopter patrols for MJ Gardens patroling waterways for illegal dredging as well.

[Hoser John]

[killerwine]

Gather ammo and weapons....the fight is on.......

[dustytrails123]

Regulation nation....im waiting for the south to rise again and this yankee is joining them

[gold nuggets]

Brown stinks. Prospecting.

I like it GC
Gold Nuggets

[Oakview2]

Why aren't they flying over any of those meth labs and pot gardens and doing something about those operations that are doing serious damage to the enviorment and in the case of meth, creating living zombies that will kill and steal from their own families to fuel their addiction.

[russau]

John,i need one of these "T" shirts!

[kuger]

Regulation nation....im waiting for the south to rise again and this yankee is joining them

?Yet you want to tell someone else what they can and cant do,by your opinion?Ever heard of dont step on my toes and I wont yours?

[vini]

If they can levvy more funds from Citations than they took in from Permits it will be another straw.They have a history of skewing data so dont be surprised.I have heard rumor of F&G in the act of helicopter patrols for MJ Gardens patroling waterways for illegal dredging as well.

OH there doing it there using copters on the san joaquin river up here and there confiscating and citing guys but DA is dropping charges for now but it takes months to get property back maybe even years

[Oakview2]

Vinnie are you in the Fresno area? I am wondering if this just for dredging or are they running off highbankers as well? My son and I would love to find some good areas to highbank below Squaw Leap, but it seems like it is very heavily claimed up there

[jcazgoldchaser]

Suction Dredge language signed by the Governor>apparently we are screwed until we can get a court to overturn this back room deal, if that is even possible

What you didn't quote was F&G defined what "suction dredging" is. It is defined as "SLUICE suction dredging". Just work around that definition.

[Oakview2]

F&G definition is no longer valid as I understand it, as defined in the trailer bill submitted with the new budget. No more work arounds....

[vini]

Yes i'm in fresno I haven't heard updates for awhile on squaws leap but last year they stopped all motorized equipment, we used to dredge highbank whatever down there then enviro friendly BLM bi%*)ch ranger came along and made sure she stopped it all, and theres decent gold but just go down below millerton lake ( broken bridge area ) guess what YOU CAN HIGH BANK THERE the parks dept. is allowing it and theres small but decent gold down there lots of folks digging on weekends.

Hey you guys know anyone with property who has finegold creek running threw? thats up in your area

[Oakview2]

We are working on 600 acres piece that Finegold runs through, but not quite there yet.... My son has been prospecting broken bridge all summer as his summer job. Lots of fines between 50 and 100 mesh. Most prevelant is minus 70's. Takes a lot of pieces to make much though.... Did you used to post on this board as flyspeakau. Used to be someone with a similar avatar that used to post some nice pictures of dredging on the San Joaquin.... Best of luck in all your quests...

[vini]

yep that was me i forgot about that I.D I may have run across your son talked with a few guys down there, may get high banker in there next week if i can get some air from work. The gold is bigger up on squaws leap i can tell you right where to go there to get some good gold even wire gold and the flakes are alot bigger. Get that finegold creek if you can I found pickers down by the bridge a few years back, where the road kinda S's as your going toward north fork never got back to finish dredging the bank i was in, water drys up fast on that creek. My youtube site is here I haven't done much mining last few years .

My videos - YouTube

[Oakview2]

Loved the videos, but had a hard time trying to figure out what appears to be some local sites. The mine photos appear to be the mine on the Madera side of Millerton opposite the Sullivan mine And the hydraullic pits, are those at Temperance flats.... Would love any insight on the highbanking the San Joaquin. Is the area below the powerhouse all claimed up by dredgers, or is that BLM, and if so is this a rougue officer making a field judgement on motorized highbanking or perhaps a call to the BLM office can clear it up. Thanks in advance, and once again enjoyed the videos......