Panning the police blotter

[The Gilded Lens]

A co-worker showed me the police blotter today because there was mention of prospecting. Things are getting ridiculous!! No, it wasn't me, I was being a good girl and working.

Calling the cops because someone with an over glorified pie tin stirring up the water is no reason to the cops. I got a huge laugh out of this but it also really bothers me. Granted I don't know exactly where this person was panning. There is a bridge there and a lot of wooded area so it could be private property but it sounds more like this was reported by some doofus passerby who was concerned about "pollution". Not sure why the panner had a wheelbarrow, bad move.


Oh yeah, then they had this article on the front page:
http://www.theunion.com/news/15107931-113/epa-grants-to-allow-contamination-cleanup-in-grass-valley

Discussion?

 

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[RustyGold]

Scary!! Maybe they will use the money to tell people to clear their lot/land of all the polluting trees! "It's obscuring our view"!

 

[goldenmojo]

A co-worker showed me the police blotter today because there was mention of prospecting. Things are getting ridiculous!! No, it wasn't me, I was being a good girl and working.

Calling the cops because someone with an over glorified pie tin stirring up the water is no reason to the cops. I got a huge laugh out of this but it also really bothers me. Granted I don't know exactly where this person was panning. There is a bridge there and a lot of wooded area so it could be private property but it sounds more like this was reported by some doofus passerby who was concerned about "pollution". Not sure why the panner had a wheelbarrow, bad move.


Oh yeah, then they had this article on the front page:
EPA grants to allow contamination cleanup in Grass Valley | TheUnion.com

Discussion?

TGL I know a great place you can at.......

 

[The Gilded Lens]

TGL I know a great place you can at.......

LOL, can what? Use a wheelbarrow as a gold pan?

 

[2cmorau]

WOW
TGL, thanks for posting
“This is to everyone’s benefit,” said Elizabeth “Izzy” Martin, CEO of The Sierra Fund, a partner in the project. “We’re making these properties safer
“There will be a question and answer session following the presentation,” she added.

 

[russau]

After reading the article that TGL posted im thinking everyone should apply for one of those EPA grants to clean up the bad stuff in the streams there! one city got $400,000. Heck I could run my dredge all season for 1/2 of that and have plenty of helpers doing the same!

 

[russau]

and maybe call in a report that someone is out there killing bugs and trampleing on the soil!

 

[goldenIrishman]

To quote the article...

This is the second round of EPA grants for brownfields assessments in Grass Valley. The city previously managed a 2009 grant totaling $400,000 that resulted in the clearing of several properties for redevelopment.

What I wonder is just who were the developers and why didn't THEY clean up the properties out of their own pockets? Would be interesting to "Follow the money" on this and see if they just happen to have ties to "Izzy" and TSF. If they do/did, I would think that would constitute a conflict of interest as well as a misappropriation of government funds since the EPA paid for the cleanups.

 

[Hefty1]

To quote the article...

This is the second round of EPA grants for brownfields assessments in Grass Valley. The city previously managed a 2009 grant totaling $400,000 that resulted in the clearing of several properties for redevelopment.

What I wonder is just who were the developers and why didn't THEY clean up the properties out of their own pockets? Would be interesting to "Follow the money" on this and see if they just happen to have ties to "Izzy" and TSF. If they do/did, I would think that would constitute a conflict of interest as well as a misappropriation of government funds since the EPA paid for the cleanups.

EPA didn't pay for it! You did, I did, We the people did! All our money! FOR WHAT?

 

[BurntBear]

See, if you prospect on private property; you don't have these problems. If you do, you politely ask the officer to either pick up a shovel and get to digging; or kindly fly away.....

 

[meMiner]

Two observations. (1) why would an environmental project promote "brown" fields? (2) How is a tunnel an environmental hazard that a property owner can clean up?

About the poor fellow panning in the creek.
I wonder how many police cars they sent out to bust him? The funny thing is I don't know a spot in Canada where the only reason they would respond to a call like that would be curiosity, just to check out if he was finding anything. Next day, there might be a cop down there on his day off swirling dirt in a green pan. ;-)

 

[goldenIrishman]

EPA didn't pay for it! You did, I did, We the people did! All our money! FOR WHAT?

I hear ya brother! I kind of figured that most of the people on here already knew that it came from tax dollars.

BUT... That did get yet another thought running through my beady little brain here. Shouldn't the EPA be required to checkout who is getting these tax dollars and making sure that there is no conflict of interest with whomever is administrating these hand outs? We as miners are required to do our "Due Diligence" so why shouldn't people that are handling public funds (spelled tax dollars) have the same requirements?

 

[Hefty1]

I hear ya brother! I kind of figured that most of the people on here already knew that it came from tax dollars.

BUT... That did get yet another thought running through my beady little brain here. Shouldn't the EPA be required to checkout who is getting these tax dollars and making sure that there is no conflict of interest with whomever is administrating these hand outs? We as miners are required to do our "Due Diligence" so why shouldn't people that are handling public funds (spelled tax dollars) have the same requirements?

I agree...but then they would have to due some work and be responsible for that work.

 

[Maitland]

It's a sad world we live in these days. I know of a few fellow prospectors where I live who have had law enforcement called on them for panning, the officers didn't do anything because they couldn't think of any crimes they were committing. I suppose calling in such a thing is just another feather in the cap of a tree-hugging liberal. Hopefully they don't wear gold jewelry, own any bullion, or use anything that uses microchips containing gold... where do they expect it comes from if they have a problem with mineral extraction?

 

[2cmorau]

anybody going to the meeting?
Who: Public Meeting, City of Grass Valley
What: U.S. EPA’s Brownfields Assessment Grants program
Where: Grass Valley City Hall, 125 East Main St.
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25

 

[goldenIrishman]

It's a sad world we live in these days. I know of a few fellow prospectors where I live who have had law enforcement called on them for panning, the officers didn't do anything because they couldn't think of any crimes they were committing. I suppose calling in such a thing is just another feather in the cap of a tree-hugging liberal. Hopefully they don't wear gold jewelry, own any bullion, or use anything that uses microchips containing gold... where do they expect it comes from if they have a problem with mineral extraction?

Since we are supposed to have the right to "Face our accusers" I think that the police should be required to divulge just who called in any complaint of these types. Anyone that calls in more than say three complaints where no laws are actually being broken should have to pay a fine (to off set the officers time) and attend a class (at their own expense) on the laws dealing with whatever the complaints were about. In this case it would be mining law. Maybe, just maybe, this would in time teach the wannbe Eco-terrorists to mind their own business or at least get it right instead of doing it out of spite. We can't do the "Cry Wolf" thing and ignore them after all. Even that kid was right from time to time.

 

[The Gilded Lens]

Two observations. (1) why would an environmental project promote "brown" fields? (2) How is a tunnel an environmental hazard that a property owner can clean up? About the poor fellow panning in the creek. I wonder how many police cars they sent out to bust him? The funny thing is I don't know a spot in Canada where the only reason they would respond to a call like that would be curiosity, just to check out if he was finding anything. Next day, there might be a cop down there on his day off swirling dirt in a green pan. ;-)

Agreed. Grass Valley has enough tunnels under that given a large earthquake it would be an underground city. I'm not sure why they would label (well we know why) old tunnels as brown fields or why they are encouraging property owners to mess with them.

Thinking about heading up for the meeting but I work til 6pm on that night. Would be really great for the miners to have a large presence there.

 

[Clay Diggins]

It's a sad world we live in these days. I know of a few fellow prospectors where I live who have had law enforcement called on them for panning, the officers didn't do anything because they couldn't think of any crimes they were committing. I suppose calling in such a thing is just another feather in the cap of a tree-hugging liberal. Hopefully they don't wear gold jewelry, own any bullion, or use anything that uses microchips containing gold... where do they expect it comes from if they have a problem with mineral extraction?

If they made a phone call they used gold. All the packet switching computers use gold as well as the phone they called on. Probably more gold was used by the caller to complain than was found by the person panning.

Lot's of community snoops in California working for free. All of them used mined metals to do their snooping and complaining.

Heavy Pans