Hey Jeff, not sure why you are so eager to submit a POO?
The normal process is to try to design an operation that accomplishes your mining goals while creating the least significant surface disturbance. The point being to prove you are within industry standards and technology so as not to cause "unnecessary or undue degradation of the lands". If you can establish that you should be able to proceed with nothing more than a 15 day notice.
2817.1 - Notice of Intent to Operate
Subject to certain exceptions (36 CFR 228.4(a)(1)), a notice of intent to operate is required from any person proposing to conduct operations which might cause significant disturbance of surface resources and who has chosen not to file an operating plan. A notice of intent to operate is not intended to be a regulatory instrument; it is a notice given to the Forest Service by an operator which describes the operator’s plan to conduct operations on National Forest System (NFS) lands. The trigger for a notice of intent is the operator’s reasonable uncertainty as to the significance of the potential effects of the proposed operations.
A POO is actually a waiver that provides permission to cause unnecessary or undue damage to the land. Think of a POO as being like a zoning variance where you are given permission to build something that does not fit within the zoning laws. If you have met modern mining standards and best practices, and establish that in a notice, there should be no need for a POO. A POO that blatantly ignores best practices is very unlikely to ever get Forest Service approval.
I will be addressing the common misunderstandings about the difference between a NOI and a POO in my upcoming series. In the meantime please understand that a properly formed notice can go a long way towards getting you mining in a reasonable time.
AZViper has been giving you hints as to where you are going to run into trouble. Bringing the large amounts of water you are going to need to run 10 yards an hour in that desert terrain will not fit within best mining practices. There are better established ways available in modern mining practices to process your placer. In other words your proposed mining plans are probably "unnecessary degradation of the land" - there is a way to do it without the surface disturbance you will cause with your current plans. Until you can show you observe those industry best practices you are unlikely to get an approved Plan of Operations - ever.
Talk to your neighbor Granville and listen to the difficulty he has had for years trying to get an approval for a plan similar to yours. Don't do as he says but instead try to learn from his mistakes.
I'm wishing you the best Jeff. I want you to succeed in your goals. When you move from a casual prospector to full scale mining there are different standards. Study and follow those standards and you will succeed.
Heavy Pans
