Weekly Trump letter - Water agencies

[ratled]

Thanks to everyone for their support on these weekly letters. Remember the objective of these is to get on the radar of the new administration.

This weeks letter is a quick snap shot of the extraordinary issue we all face by whatever water agency we deal with. There is no way we can spell out all of the issues, even on one specific topic, with the 2,500 character cap imposed by the email system of the White House. Nor can I address your specific issue vs mine in that limit. If we all take a moment and send a in a personal note on the same general topic we can show just how out of control it is.

I will also be sending this weeks letter to Administrator Scott Pruitt of the EPA and to Texas Congressman Lamar Smith, Chair of the House Science Committee. As always, your letters to President Trump can be sent here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact#page

ratled

Scott Pruitt, Administrator
US Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460


Representative Lamar Smith
2409 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Trump,

The West Coast independent gold miners and prospectors have been reaching out to you for assistance to get us back to work in the face of the environmental movements massive push to over regulate us out of existence. As we have stated, this affects thousands and thousands of Western gold miners and this week we would like to point out just how absurd our over regulation is.

According to the EPA “the discharge consists totally of stream water and bed material.” This is the pollutant that we have been held to extraordinary standards to adhere to. Let me state that again, the pollutant of concern “consists totally of stream water and bed material.” It has not been treated with anything, there are no additions of any material, it just “consists totally of stream water and bed material.”

To make this complicated, in some states we are over seen by the state water agencies and in some states we are over seen by the EPA. Each has interpreted it’s own set of extraordinary regulations based on the same federal regulations, on our federal mining claims, on federal lands for the exact same process.

To show how crazy this has become, one state run water agency has made the determination that “the indefinite continuation of the existing moratorium is the State Water Board’s recommendation and is the only option that fully mitigates all environmental impacts……… this activity permanently prohibited as an alternative to the indefinite continuation of the moratorium.”

What we are up against is to “fully mitigate(s) all environmental impacts…. of stream water and bed material.” And the only way to do this is not to mine! This extreme political agenda is now spreading across other states

Please Mr. President, we are all hard working Americans who just want to exercise our federal mining rights.

We look forward to working with you to Make America Great Again and get the miners back to work!


CC:
Scott Pruitt, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
Representative Lamar Smith

 

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[Sam_at_Armadillo]

I know that some dont feel this will do any good.

But I challange those people explain how doing NOTHING will do any good.

Thank you all, who send ANYTHING for the support of our way of life!

:-)
Sam



Good Morning,
I am writing to express my frustration with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). I realize that DEQ is a state agency, but they use the Federal EPA as their right to over regulate the mining industry in Oregon. We are required to obtain a discharge permit for equipment that ADDS NOTHING to the environment.
The Oregon miners have been in law suits with the DEQ for over 7-10 years. Always with the same effect, dragging out our cases and draining our pocket books.
The Army Core of Engineers has determined that they do not need to permit us (so long as we are under a certain size of equipment). So how can the EPA allow the states DEQ to regulate and use permits that have been shown through peer reviewed science are not needed?
I am a middle age women depending on the Mining Industry for a living. I work at a long standing Mining shop in RUAL Southern Oregon. (NOT that our vote counted here, WE VOTED FOR YOU!) I am also the sole owner of a mining claim here in our area. We are unable to work most of our areas due to STATE interference on FEDERALLY Held Public Land. (Public Domain when minerals are held under title).
I understand the importance of national security and the mining industry. We are not safe here in the GREAT United States of America if we are out sourcing our military supplies to other countries. STUPID!
Please, we NEED to utilize our natural resources in this country.
Please except this message as encouragement and hopeful support to Make MY Country GREAT again!

Thanks you!
Samantha Everett
Armadillo Mining Shop
2041 NW Vine Street
Grants Pass OR 97526
541-476-6316
[email protected]

 

[Bejay]

When writing about Oregon "water rights" ; one might want to use the following:

might be interesting to see how a State (in this case Oregon) might come to feel they have water rights over the miner, who was Granted those exclusive rights to water per the Federal Mining Laws. In other words where does the State of Oregon get the idea they can require a miner to get a dredge permit.....how is their projected authority derived?

Now the following is from the current Oregon Law Book of Water Resources. (sorry for the poor format but best I could do)

From the 2010 Oregon Law Book:
537.334 Findings.

The people of the State of Oregon find and declare that:
(1) Public uses (of water) are beneficial uses.
(2) The recognition of an in-stream water right under ORS 537.336 to 537.348 shall not diminish the public’s rights in the ownership and control of the waters of this state or the public trust therein. The establishment of an in-stream water right under the provisions of ORS 537.332 to 537.360 "shall not take away or impair any permitted, certificated or "decreed right" (do you suppose the Federal Grant is a decreed right?) which [" is a legislative grant, and being given by act of congress, is equivalent to a patent from the United States to the same."] to any waters or to the use of any waters vested prior to the date the instream
water right is established pursuant to the provisions of ORS 537.332 to 537.360." [1987 c.859 §3]
537.335
Wow....that is pretty dynamic so let us look further
Then on page 152:
APPROPRIATION OF WATER FOR MINING AND ELECTRIC POWER
UNDER 1899 ACT
541.110 Use of water to develop mineral resources and furnish power. The use of the water of the lakes and running streams of Oregon for the purpose of developing the mineral resources of the state and to furnish electric power for all purposes, is declared to be a public and beneficial use and a public necessity. Subject to the provisions of the Water Rights Act (as defined in ORS 537.010), the right to divert unappropriated waters of any such lakes or streams or such public and beneficial use is "granted".

So one might add this information when writing letters condemning the State of Oregon for its' "anti dredging" stance!

Bejay

 

[Johnnybravo300]

I don't know where you live but if you have to plead like that for your rights, then you don't have any. The miners in that area need to organize and do some really deep thinking.
Not to bag on you guys but there are politicians that scoff at federal law everyday. A letter to trump will do nothing IMO. Your wasting your time.

 

[ratled]

I don't know where you live but if you have to plead like that for your rights, then you don't have any. The miners in that area need to organize and do some really deep thinking.
Not to bag on you guys but there are politicians that scoff at federal law everyday. A letter to trump will do nothing IMO. Your wasting your time.

And now you understand why the election went the way it did last November......................

ratled

 

[Johnnybravo300]

I hope things loosen up and it should get better under trump, but the local leaders don't care what he says. They will fight against him every step on everything just out of spite.
I don't understand why they'd wait for trump to save their rights I guess haha. Seems strange to me if they understand the mining laws.

 

[Ragnor]

Keep sending the letters and I will too. They hear the outcry of all the bleeding hearts and liberals. Perhaps just maybe they will hear us too.

 

[Sam_at_Armadillo]

Keep sending the letters and I will too. They hear the outcry of all the bleeding hearts and liberals. Perhaps just maybe they will hear us too.

Thank you very much Ragnor. I agree with you 100% I have NO extra time to spare, and I am personally offended when people say it is a waste of my time. Yet they can waist their time with negative comments.

Oh well... I will keep sending my letters and hope that the sqeeky wheel gets the grease.

:-)
Sam

 

[Bejay]

I don't know where you live but if you have to plead like that for your rights, then you don't have any. The miners in that area need to organize and do some really deep thinking.
Not to bag on you guys but there are politicians that scoff at federal law everyday. A letter to trump will do nothing IMO. Your wasting your time.

I can assure you that a LOT OF DEEP THINKING has been undertaken by miners who are confronted with States who have political agendas (& politicians) who are anti mining and anti utilization of natural resources. In a nutshell; all one has to do is look at the western States with public lands that are BLUE politically. The next thing one must understand is the makeup of the 9th Circuit Court and the natural resource utilization decisions that come from that court. Heck....here in Oregon we have not one Federal Politician who would have a receptive ear to our fight for our mining rights. On the contrary our Congressman and Representatives are anti mining. Our State legislature is liberal (majority). I doubt if one could assume that there could possibly NOT BE deep thinking by the mining community and Mining Districts.

There is one area that miners have hopefully found a receptive ear...and that is under the new federal administration. A federal administration that may alter the federal agencies agendas. Heck...it was the Obama administration who joined in helping Calif fight the miners (Study the Rhinehart Case).

Keep the letters flowing to Trump and his new Cabinet members and Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture. Deep thought has been exhausted dealing with the past era of administrations and BLUE state politicians.

Bejay

 

[Sam_at_Armadillo]

I can assure you that a LOT OF DEEP THINKING has been undertaken by miners who are confronted with States who have political agendas (& politicians) who are anti mining and anti utilization of natural resources. In a nutshell; all one has to do is look at the western States with public lands that are BLUE politically. The next thing one must understand is the makeup of the 9th Circuit Court and the natural resource utilization decisions that come from that court. Heck....here in Oregon we have not one Federal Politician who would have a receptive ear to our fight for our mining rights. On the contrary our Congressman and Representatives are anti mining. Our State legislature is liberal (majority). I doubt if one could assume that there could possibly NOT BE deep thinking by the mining community and Mining Districts.

There is one area that miners have hopefully found a receptive ear...and that is under the new federal administration. A federal administration that may alter the federal agencies agendas. Heck...it was the Obama administration who joined in helping Calif fight the miners (Study the Rhinehart Case).

Keep the letters flowing to Trump and his new Cabinet members and Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture. Deep thought has been exhausted dealing with the past era of administrations and BLUE state politicians.

Bejay

I NEED A BIGGER LIKE BUTTON! PLEASE!

:-)
Sam

 

[Goldfleks]

I'll send a letter.

But I think your issues are simpler than that. Miners simply don't have the support of the public, because the general public is ignorant about mining End of story. And the general public carries the vote. Especially in west coast mining states.

To repeat myself from the Harumph thread. Claims make mining inaccessible to the recreational city prospector. And as long as it's inaccessible and locked behind claims and expensive clubs, the general public isn't going to care about mining or mining rights. Actual mining claim holders are such a negligible percent of the population that the politicians don't have to care about your rights. Trash talking miners and claim owners to a population that thinks you're all strip mining your claims like they do in Goldrush is EASY. Especially to an uninformed public who's never seen gold in a pan. They think your 4" dredge leaves destruction in its path like Tony Beets's bucket dredge in the Klondike. Cool to watch on TV, but NOT IN MY BACKYARD! No city slicker who read's Modern Hiker while sipping his Latte in Starbucks is going to vote yes to bringing back dredging or relaxing mining regulations. He wants the Parks/BLM to stay beautiful and pristine for the twice a year he gets out into the wilderness for a 3-hour trail hike by the river.

And it's not that you guys couldn't increase the awareness of recreational mining. I show people in Orange County California pictures of my gold all the time. 99% of them have NO IDEA that you can even find gold in the ground with a shovel and pan less than an hour away. They all think gold comes from Todd Hoffman, or off the bottom of the ocean in the Bearing Sea. Because that's all they have been exposed too. A few of them are planning to come to EFSG with me and use my extra sluice the next time I get up there. I'm sure at least one will get the fever once they see the flash in the pan.

Recreational prospecting could be hugely popular with the general public as a wholesome way for Mom, Dad, and the kids to get out of the city for the day, sluice some dirt, and find some gold. But it has to be accessible, and not cost a fortune. They need to be able to just pack up the kids, go to a river and run some dirt. All without worrying about if they are breaking federal mining law. Once more people are exposed to the fact that sluicing dirt isn't killing the fish and it's not destroying the rivers and streams, they are going to be less influenced by anti-mining propaganda. And more of them might want to be allowed to dredge or highbank again once the fever hits, and might actually begin caring about their mining rights.

If a city girl from Orange County CA can learn to enjoy prospecting, anyone can.

I do know that if unclaimed land like the EFSG wasn't around, I still wouldn't care. it's only because I was allowed to prospect without fear of claim jumping that my interest was even peaked. If EFSG was under claim (and it ALL WOULD BE if it could), I would have never bothered to buy a shovel and a bucket and go panning for that first time back in Feb 2016.

I'm not saying give up your claims or your rights. But you guys need to start thinking about Modern Mining in 2017, and involving the general public if you want to influence the political process. And only Claim owners can do that. If they didn't get it all back then, we aren't going to get it all today. Having a few more people sluicing dirt on the easy access river/stream claims isn't going to make you lose all your gold. But it might help you get your mining rights back in the future.

 

[wildminer]

In Oregon the majority of our legislators are left wing elitist that got elected ( my opinion here) for many other reasons other than mining issues . These legislators are great at kissing each others behind and if you were to see them in action it is very disturbing. The latest bill is in committee waiting to be passed on for a vote and is sponsored in memory of one of their own, Sen. Alan Bates, who passed away from a heart attack whilst cleaning his catch of trout in the upper reaches of the Rogue River. He was one of their gang against mining. The majority of these legislators including our Governess ? will not work with us. It won't hurt one bit to approach the President and members of his cabinet to seek help for our water rights and oppression of our mining methods on Federal land according to Federal law. It is not a recreational issue at all. The state has failed us and our Federal senators and reps have failed us. They are stuck in the swamp so it is only natural to go over their heads and voice our concerns to an administration that seems open to hear us. After all, we are not the rioters, liars, idiots and anarchists that are working so hard to bring our country down.

 

[Bejay]

Hey Goldfleks, appreciate anything you can do to help overcome the anti crowd. But in California the term "recreational miner" was the very terminology that set the defeat for the small mining community (claimholders/dredgers).

Recent Calif anti mining history can support the above statement without going into endless detail. There is no doubt the act of looking for and finding gold by the public can/could alter the awareness of a voting public, but I have reservations about the "recreational concept". That term simply makes mining laws irrelevant; and was the downfall of the dredgers in California. The question then becomes who is recreational and who is not! A miner is a miner.....and those just learning could be termed other than "recreational".

Bejay

 

[russau]

Yep that term "recreational" has caused a lot of headaches for us , and people even after being advised about it , keep using it ! We are our worst enemy's!

 

[hawkeye39]

Yep that term "recreational" has caused a lot of headaches for us , and people even after being advised about it , keep using it ! We are our worst enemy's!

Realistically, weren't most of the people dredging doing it for fun*? Call it what you want, but it's still a recreational activity for the many.

*recreation

 

[Bejay]

Much today is done for recreation. Basketball, football, carpentry, furniture making, welding things...... etc etc. Doing things for enjoyment often leads to vocational ends or supplementary income. The American miner was afforded something no other individual was given. It was a "Grant". The mining laws were written based on that "Grant". The Grant is specific to miners and mining valuable locatable minerals. Along comes clubs and hobbyists who identify themselves as recreationalists.....and the mining laws are not applicable to "recreation" and "Hobby".

Many of us started out looking for gold because we liked to. We liked finding it (discovery) even better. That; most often led to wanting to find more! And we wanted to protect the discovery so a claim was filed. When and if such discovery proved to be worthy of spending much time extracting it (money) we chose to spend more time and energy trying to prove up on the claim....and that takes effort and time. All this in the hopes of really finding lots of gold. The US mining laws were written to enhance that effort and discovery. Such effort starts somewhere....with some effort. I am sure many pro sports athletes started playing because it was fun and was a form of recreation. At some point they chose to attempt to make the big time...some were successful and many more were/are not. About the same story for miners. Study the Calif Gold Rush (etc) and see how many tried to hit it big. A few did...and yet many more did not.

The term recreational is a valid point....but it is the demise of the mining laws when it comes to issues present in Calif Oregon and Wash...etc.

To say you are going to go look for some gold because you enjoy it is fine. But when wanting to protect that "GRANTED" right one might want to consider simply saying they are a "newbie" or "apprentice" wanting to learn in hopes of making a discovery that gets them even more excited and happy looking for it!

Clubs would be wise in adhering to such concepts concerning recreation.........if they did it would help a lot!

Bejay

 

[Frank Tillman]

RATLED

THANK YOU!!!!!!