New permit fees and FAQS about highbanking inCA

[Oakview2]

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/cwa401/docs/suctiondredge/highbank_faq.pdf

 

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[winners58]

Not New, faq is dated sept 2011 if you claim is next to the stream you have riparian rights in California if your not sure pay the $50 "statement of use" NOT
Are Permits Needed For Highbanking In California? - ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal

State Water Resources Control Board

 

[nh.nugget]

WTF! When is enough, enough! I thought it was a pain out here with private land and national forests. But you Cali. guys I feel for ya! Seems like you can't fart without a permit. It could be hazardous or pollution. What no more dredge revenue so now the got come up with some thing else! Look out next you might need a permit to breathe

 

[rockbar]

Tragic, yet also funny.

Answer #1 - Sounds a lot like the permitting scheme the state imposed on dredging. You may not discharge water from your mining equipment back into a watercourse without a permit. However, permits to do so will not be available.
Answer #2 - We may decide to issue a permit for you to discharge your water and sediment onto dry land, but it will cost you approximately one ounce of gold up front… and you will be under our close watch from here on.

 

[Oakview2]

The pdf is off of the current WRB website, and clearly states,

1. 
   [*]You can discharge water and waste sediment from your highbanker or power sluice to land but you must first apply for a permit from the Regional Water Board responsible for the area where you’ll be mining. To apply for a permit, you must file a Report of Waste Discharge with the Regional Water Board. You cannot begin mining until the Regional Water Board approves your Report of Waste Discharge and notifies you that either your permit has been issued or that a permit is not required because the discharge will not create or threaten to create a condition of pollution or nuisance. The minimum fee for the permit is $1120.00 but may be higher depending on the threat the discharge poses to water quality and the complexity of the discharge as determined by the Regional Water Board.
2. [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]See below [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial][/FONT][/FONT]for legal details.

They also did not inlude mining as a beneficial use, I am assuming that is to void our Ca Constutionally recognized rights. These are unelected kings and queens, and have little or no use for law...

Not New, faq is dated sept 2011 if you claim is next to the stream you have riparian rights in California if your not sure pay the $50 "statement of use" NOT
Are Permits Needed For Highbanking In California? - ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal

State Water Resources Control Board

 

[Hoser John]

They can kiss my as this permit bs has been around for awhile. Pay.....no way never-Over 55 years of highbanking and never hurt a thing yet and some water board geek who doesn't know a hi banker from a pumpkin pie is going to tell me if my project is going to live or die AFTER the dogs snake my $1120--hahahahahaha nope-I'll give them a statement all right...John

 

[Goldwasher]

But, what about all the times you........oh, nevermind

 

[ratled]

They can kiss my as this permit bs has been around for awhile. Pay.....no way never-Over 55 years of highbanking and never hurt a thing yet and some water board geek who doesn't know a hi banker from a pumpkin pie is going to tell me if my project is going to live or die AFTER the dogs snake my $1120--hahahahahaha nope-I'll give them a statement all right...John

MMMMM Pumpkin pie, now that is something we should be talking about
ratled

 

[Oakview2]

I LOVE ONLY MY WIFES HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PIE, WITH WHIP CHREAM.....

 

[winners58]

Looks like the waterboard is making its move and sending letters to claim owners to the address supplied by BLM
Don't discharge into a stream and you should be OK, shouldn't have to but now to be a miner you also have to be a Lawyer.
this just isn't right...

from WMA newsletter;
California Central Valley Water Quality
Control Board has begun mailing letters to mining
claim holders. These letters inform the claim
holder if they conduct any type of activity on their
claim they must submit a Report of Waste
Discharge.

letter text;
“Dear John Smith, the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) has informed us you are
the owner of the Happy Day mining claim…”
It continues…
“If your mining activities or proposed mining
activities result in the discharge of mining
waste (i.e., all solid, semisolid, and liquid
waste materials from the extraction,
beneficiation, and processing of ores and
minerals, including soil, waste rock, and
overburden) to land or to waters of the
State, you should first submit a plan of
operation to the BLM or Forest Service and
provide a copy to the Central Valley Water
Board at the address below, and Water
Board staff will notify you if a ROWD is
required under California Water Code
Section 13260.
Violations of the California Water Code and
the Federal Clean Water Act may expose the
owner(s) and operator(s) of mining claim(s)
to enforcement action. Pursuant to Water
Code sections 13261 and 13268, the
Regional Water Board can impose
administrative civil liability (monetary fines)
of up to one thousand dollars per day
($1,000) for each day that a required ROWD
is not submitted or is deficient. Furthermore,
pursuant to Water Code section 13385,
unpermitted discharges of wastes to surface
waters may result in the assessment of
Administrative Civil Liability of up to $10,000
per violation, per day.
.
.
the water code says "discharge to waters of the state" not land, they cant require you to have a "Plan of Operation"
WATER CODE
SECTION 13260-13275

 

[Oakview2]

BLM and the Forrest Circus are breaking the law by providing claim information to the water board. They are to foster the exploriation and harvesting of minerals on public lands. This is collusion at the highest levels.

 

[Hefty1]

Where do you guys get this stuff from?

Lr2000 is public info. WMA news letter...provide a link please.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Hefty is quite correct. The LR2000 information is a matter of public records. It HAS to be or we'd never be able to tell where it's ok for us to prospect without being on an area that belongs to someone else. As public records, ANYONE from the water board to Publishers Clearing House is allowed to access them for what ever reason.

The Forest Circus has nothing to do with the recording of claims. That's all done by the County Recorders Office for the county that the claim is located in and the BLM. Now I wouldn't be surprised if there's a Forest Service employee or two out there that keeps track of claims in their area for whatever reason, but they have nothing to do with the filing and recording of the claims themselves.

The entire situation in California has been way out of hand for years now and we all know who is to blame for that mess.

 

[fowledup]

As this progresses the counties will start to yell foul as folks drop claims and their tax base suffer. Counties like Sierra should start taxing all those mtn bikers a trail use and public restroom use tax. Anybody still think it's only about dredging? I believe recreational boaters and fisherman had better realize their up to bat, with 2 outs against them. In all seriousness how is this going to effect river front cabins or anyone living within a watershed? Why would watering your lawn, washing your car, playing in a sprinker or flushing your toilet anywhere near a waterway be exempt under their defintions or in comparison to running a highbanker? Like most agenda driven legislation this has a very high probability of going way beyond the point of absurdity. Well done Izzy, how about the Sierra Fund setting up a fund to share some of yours and their new found wealth with the folks you've bankrupted, put out of buisness and stole it from? I've always been perplexed that the folks from the generation whose whole philosphy was based on the premise of live and let live, the generation that cried out the loudest for equality, and the right to choose, a group who stood up against the censorship of their rights to free speech and such. The generation who proclaimed louder than any previous they wanted to be left alone, grew up to become the biggest censors and oppressors of personal freedom this country has ever known.

 

[ratled]

As this progresses the counties will start to yell foul as folks drop claims and their tax base suffer. Counties like Sierra should start taxing all those mtn bikers a trail use and public restroom use tax. Anybody still think it's only about dredging? I believe recreational boaters and fisherman had better realize their up to bat, with 2 outs against them. In all seriousness how is this going to effect river front cabins or anyone living within a watershed? Why would watering your lawn, washing your car, playing in a sprinker or flushing your toilet anywhere near a waterway be exempt under their defintions or in comparison to running a highbanker? Like most agenda driven legislation this has a very high probability of going way beyond the point of absurdity. Well done Izzy, how about the Sierra Fund setting up a fund to share some of yours and their new found wealth with the folks you've bankrupted, put out of buisness and stole it from? I've always been perplexed that the folks from the generation whose whole philosphy was based on the premise of live and let live, the generation that cried out the loudest for equality, and the right to choose, a group who stood up against the censorship of their rights to free speech and such. The generation who proclaimed louder than any previous they wanted to be left alone, grew up to become the biggest censors and oppressors of personal freedom this country has ever known.

Dang, I can only get the like button to work once for this
ratled

 

[Oakview2]

Hefty do you think the Waterboard is going to research every claim on LR2000, I doubt they would pay WMA for the information, so going to one central source like BLM and requesting one large file with all claim holders is most likely. Just my opinion but relying on the good will of the unelected members of the Water Board, is akin to asking the Colonel to watch the henhouse.

 

[fowledup]

I have yet to, but if someone has received a letter please post it. The more I think about this the madder I get. How will they enforce it? We can't stop folks from doing what they do when we are not on our claims. How many of us gonna end up in court cuz Ranger Ricky gets a report of dirty water over the weekend and comes out on Wednesday to "investigate", sees a dugout bank on a claim and writes a citation to the claim owner. Ya think because he didn't catch the criminal in action he won't write a citation and put our butt in court to bare the cost of proving our innocense?

The bigger picture:
Why are the rock,gravel, and sand companies not screaming? Granite has a huge plant right on the banks of the Feather River, in fact it's directly across the river from the Oroville Wildlife Area. Oh wait is that because they are "partnered" with the Sierra Fund? How about Mathews Ready MIx - again right on the Feather in Oroville, and they have a plant on Butte Creek in Chico. Hell I can name a dozen gravel companies in my local alone that are right on the rivers and waterways. Think of the potential reach this has.
Hmm.......?? Doesn't a fish hatchery discharge waste and pump water? How about farming, the largest water user in the state? They use their ag pumps to draw water from all of CA's major rivers for irrigation then depost the runoff back into the river they drew it from? Think RICE! How about all the buisnesses along the waterways of this state. Interestingly enough in the central valley the Oil and Gas companies pay for waste discharge permits for the water they use. They then sell the untreated water to the farmers who do not pay for a discharge permit. The untreated water they buy from the oil companies as recycled (only because it changes ownership from one entity to another) comprises about a third of thier total use. According to them the organisms in the soil will consume the toxins making it all better. The water they use and subsequently add to by way of fertilizer, pesticides is than either absorbed into the aquafier or moved by run off back into the waterway. The circle of life is complete. Eventhough we add nothing to the water we use because we haven't played ball we are screwed.
I'm feeling clairvoyant this morning- I predict that in an unprecidented show of cooperation of a private buisness working with the government, The Sierra Fund and Granite Construction will be the first (and only) receipient of the new State Water Board permit, allowing them to dredge.

 

[johnedoe]

Keep yer powder dry people........ It'sa come'n......

 

[rodoconnor]

Granite's major shareholder is Blum, Feinstein's husband. Therefor they are exempt.

 

[chupacabra]

No Clean Water Act permit needed for Klamath drain - Water - Capital Press

READ THAT CLOSELY