Jul 5

Written by:
7/5/2011 1:02 PM 

A message from Rachel Dunn

Rachel Dunn has been in Sacramento and fighting to get the dredging moratorium in the state of California lifted. She and groups such as Public Lands for the People have been fighting to keep public lands open to prospecting and to keep the waters in CAlifornia opne  to suction dredging. Here is what she wrote:

Please see the attached draft of our letter addressed to Governor Brown regarding AB120. The legislation is seeking unobtainable requirements for our Program, which exceed CEQA rules!

Since we've won a VETO on SB87 last week, our adversaries are now conducting a campaign to the Governor's office to SIGN the AB120 legislation against us. Our adversaries do NOT have the science nor the rule of law on their side, but what they do have is a nationwide base of members who can fill out an on-line comment card and try to dwarf us at the Governors office!

Please communicate to the Governor today either by copying the letter below or writing your own statements of your OPPOSITION to AB120, Section 12.

Thanks again for all of your continued participation,

Rachel Dunn


The Honorable Governor Brown

California State Capitol

Sacramento, CA 95814

FAX (916) 558-3160          

 

5 July 2011

RE: AB120, Section 12 suction dredge mining

Dear Governor Brown,

I am writing to provide additional detrimental affects of AB120, Section 12.

The intent of this legislation was to kill the industry; indeed, it will produce that outcome. However, the legislation will also cause consequences of exponential harm to the State.

If AB120 becomes law, the directive to “fully mitigate all identified significant environmental impacts” will create a new standard which requires that the DFG works outside of CEQA. This deviation will create opportunities for additional litigation by the mining community.

More broadly, it could open up all projects that are conducted in, near or around California waters to be subjected to this new standard.

Both the existing legislative moratorium created by SB670-Wiggins and the legal moratorium imposed by Judge Roesch are in place without time limits.

Please veto AB120, Section 12 and allow the moratoriums to be solved inside of CEQA rules.

Sincerely,

Mike and Rachel Dunn

AB120, Section 12:

 (12) Existing law designates the issuance by the Department of Fish and Game of permits to operate vacuum or suction dredge equipment to be a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and suspends the issuance of permits, and mining pursuant to a permit, until the department has completed an environmental impact report for the project as ordered by the court in a specified court action. Existing law prohibits the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment in any river, stream, or lake, for instream mining purposes, until the Director of Fish and Game certifies to the Secretary of State that (a) the department has completed the environmental review of its existing vacuum or suction dredge
equipment regulations as ordered by the court, (b) the department has transmitted for filing with the Secretary of State a certified copy of new regulations, as necessary, and (c) the new regulations are operative. This bill would modify that moratorium to prohibit the use of vacuum or suction dredge equipment until June 30, 2016, or until the director's certification to the secretary as described above, whichever is earlier.
 
The bill would additionally require the director to certify that the  new regulations fully mitigate all identified significant environmental impacts and that a fee structure is in place that will fully cover all  costs to the department related to the administration of the program.