You do NOT want toput your highbanker in the creek or discharge into the creek. You should discharge into a secondary containment, something as simple as digging a hole, masonry tub or I use a 55 gal. plastic drum cut down to fit under the discharge end of the sluice. What your after is something to allow the solids to settle out. One other thing I highly recommend is putting your pump motor in a cut down drum or masonry tub, stops any question of a fuel or oil spill, I have also seen deep cooking trays bolted to the bottom.
There are no clear answers to this question, some will say you need a permit, some say no. All I can say is do the above, don't cut down the trees or surrounding vegatation, keep your op clean, pay attention to the discharge plume - as that is what will get you cited, and you will most likely be left alone.
There is a ton of threads on the gold prospecting forums addressing this issue and they usually get pretty heated. As to the permits you can call the different regulating agencies and they never seem to be able to produce a permit. It's all typical "Oh so California!"
