At the time the violation occurred, suction dredge mining in the South Fork of the Clearwater River was prohibited to protect critical habitat for steelhead and bull trout under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, the South Fork of the Clearwater River is impaired under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act for sediment. In July, 2015, Mr. Rice operated in the South Fork despite the prohibition in effect at the time.
This guy ignored the rules, and/or took his chances. This is the type of thing that gives gold miners a bad name...during a time when we're trying to fight for legitimate rights.
I don't know this for certain, of course, but I suspect this might be a narrow stream, where a settlement pond would have been appropriate as well. We all need to be vigilant to cross our t's and dot our i's to go beyond what is required...even when permits don't specify additional steps to protect against downstream sedimentation. If this had, in fact, been the circumstances, it's possible that Fish & Wildlife would have noted his attention and perhaps issued a warning instead? Just guessing, of course.
there are no such pics because it never happend
