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Suction dredging resumes amid conflicting interpretations of ruling - News - Siskiyou Daily News, Yreka, CA - Yreka, CA
FYI
ratled
By David Smith
@SDNDavidSmith
Posted Apr. 24, 2015 at 10:28 AM
After nearly six years, suction dredge miners are returning to some of California’s rivers, but the issue may be less clear-cut than it initially appears.
Suction dredging utilizes a vacuum-type device to dredge up material from a riverbed and deposit it into a mechanism for sorting the materials by weight, allowing the user to mine precious metals from the area.
The practice has been under a moratorium since 2009, when the California Fish and Game code was changed by the legislature to prohibit it until the California Department of Fish and Wildlife could complete five required actions.
While the department did complete its review of suction dredging regulations, it never reported completion of all five requirements, creating a lasting moratorium on suction dredging.
In January, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Gilbert Ochoa issued a preliminary ruling on a set of consolidated mining cases wherein some plaintiffs had argued that federal law preempts California law, which they argued was acting as a de facto ban on all suction dredge mining in the state.
Ochoa agreed with those parties, finding that the requirement that miners obtain a suction dredging permit – while at the same time prohibiting the issuance of permits – stands “as an obstacle to the accomplishment of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.”
Ochoa then required the parties to the case to submit draft orders to inform his final decision, which would provide direction moving forward.
Despite the lack of direction in Ochoa’s preliminary ruling, there are vastly different opinions regarding what it means for this year’s suction dredge mining season.
CDFW, which is charged with enforcing the Fish and Game Code, considers the moratorium to still be in effect until a final decision is issued, according to CDFW spokesman Mark Stopher.
For mining group the New 49ers, the ruling means the exact opposite – that the moratorium is unconstitutional and is no longer valid.
“A lot of the miners are looking at [the moratorium] as being illegal,” Richard Krimm of the New 49ers said to the Siskiyou Daily News recently, “so we’re going to get back to mining.”
The group’s latest newsletter details a recent run-in between one of their members and CDFW wardens, who allegedly confiscated the man’s equipment after telling him he was mining in violation of the prohibition.
Conflicts may continue for the foreseeable future, with no clear path forward, according to Stopher.
He said that the prominent case upon which Ochoa based his ruling has since been taken up by the Supreme Court, negating the original findings in that case.
Stopher said that he believes Ochoa will wait until the case is finished in the Supreme Court before issuing his decision, if it is still necessary at that point.
FYI
ratled
By David Smith
@SDNDavidSmith
Posted Apr. 24, 2015 at 10:28 AM
After nearly six years, suction dredge miners are returning to some of California’s rivers, but the issue may be less clear-cut than it initially appears.
Suction dredging utilizes a vacuum-type device to dredge up material from a riverbed and deposit it into a mechanism for sorting the materials by weight, allowing the user to mine precious metals from the area.
The practice has been under a moratorium since 2009, when the California Fish and Game code was changed by the legislature to prohibit it until the California Department of Fish and Wildlife could complete five required actions.
While the department did complete its review of suction dredging regulations, it never reported completion of all five requirements, creating a lasting moratorium on suction dredging.
In January, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Gilbert Ochoa issued a preliminary ruling on a set of consolidated mining cases wherein some plaintiffs had argued that federal law preempts California law, which they argued was acting as a de facto ban on all suction dredge mining in the state.
Ochoa agreed with those parties, finding that the requirement that miners obtain a suction dredging permit – while at the same time prohibiting the issuance of permits – stands “as an obstacle to the accomplishment of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.”
Ochoa then required the parties to the case to submit draft orders to inform his final decision, which would provide direction moving forward.
Despite the lack of direction in Ochoa’s preliminary ruling, there are vastly different opinions regarding what it means for this year’s suction dredge mining season.
CDFW, which is charged with enforcing the Fish and Game Code, considers the moratorium to still be in effect until a final decision is issued, according to CDFW spokesman Mark Stopher.
For mining group the New 49ers, the ruling means the exact opposite – that the moratorium is unconstitutional and is no longer valid.
“A lot of the miners are looking at [the moratorium] as being illegal,” Richard Krimm of the New 49ers said to the Siskiyou Daily News recently, “so we’re going to get back to mining.”
The group’s latest newsletter details a recent run-in between one of their members and CDFW wardens, who allegedly confiscated the man’s equipment after telling him he was mining in violation of the prohibition.
Conflicts may continue for the foreseeable future, with no clear path forward, according to Stopher.
He said that the prominent case upon which Ochoa based his ruling has since been taken up by the Supreme Court, negating the original findings in that case.
Stopher said that he believes Ochoa will wait until the case is finished in the Supreme Court before issuing his decision, if it is still necessary at that point.
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