Legislative Liaison- Wayne Plemmons         E-mail Me
Legislation
Beach Mining Maps
Gold Prospectors Association of America
  Western Washington Chapter of  GPAA 


Revisions for HPA Permit-  motorized mineral prospecting equipement  Page 1   Page 2
The link to the .pdf file for the new pamphlet is here.
You may download and print the pamphlet from this link or order it from one of the WDFW offices listed here.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has released the 2009 Gold and Fish Pamphlet containing the new rules for mineral prospecting and placer mining in Washington State.
In addition, the WDFW Habitat Permits & Regulations web page has moved to a new address which is linked here.

Do you enjoy WATER HUNTING or PROSPECTING DREDGING????
Clean Water Land Grab (S 787)

Land Rights Network
American Land Rights Association
PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973
E-mail: alra@pacifier.com
Web Address: http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003

Senate EPW Committee Passes Clean Water Land Grab (S 787)
Thursday, June 18, 2009 the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed S 787 as the Baucus- Klobuchar Substitute by a strictly party line vote of 12 Democrats to 7 Republicans. 

The Committee voted to take out the limitation in the Clean Water Act requiring the Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate only navigable waters. 

The modified version of S 787 gives the Corps and EPA the authority to regulate all waters of the United States.  The Committee tried a trick by taking out the reference to “all activities affecting these waters” but everyone agrees that because of terminology elsewhere in the bill, the courts will still rule that the Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency will have the authority to regulate all activities affecting all waters of the United States.

The EPW Committee voted to overturn the Rapanos and SWANCC Supreme Court Decisions of 2006 and 2001 which required the Corps and EPA to only regulate “Navigable” waters. 

As passed, “the term `waters of the United States' means all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, and natural ponds, all tributaries of any of the above waters, and all impoundments of the forgoing.’

You can see the full markup (vote) (called a Business Meeting) by going to the Senate Environment and Public Works website at http://epw.senate.gov/     Look for the Committee Business Meeting on June 18th.

Below is a one page release by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association that is very much worth your read. 

Also below is a full list of the EPW Committee Members.  It is critical that you write them new letters reflecting the new version of the bill.  You can see the full text of the Baucus-Klobuchar Substitute of S 787 as voted out of the EPW Committee by going to www.landrights.org.

Their phones and fax machines must ring off the hook.   You can get e-mail addresses by calling your Senator and asking for the staff person who handles the Environment and Public Works Committee.  Ask for his or her e-mail address.   

Send a new letter opposing the bill to your Senators and the Senators on the Committee referencing S 787 as passed out of the EPW Committee on June 18th.  It is important to write a new letter because otherwise Chairman Barbara Boxer will say that your letter applies to the old bill before the vote on June 18th.  That is the trick she used today at the vote meeting. 

It is very important to write a new letter referencing the June 18th vote to both your Senators plus the Ranking Member of the EPW Committee.  He is:
Honorable James Inhofe, Ranking Member, Environment and Public Works Committee, US Senate, Washington, DC 20210.  You can fax it to (202)  224-5167.
You can write any senator at:  Honorable ________________ , US Senate, Washington, DC 20510. 
Call, fax and e-mail a new message to your Senators and the Senators on the EPW Committee.   
You can call all Senators on the EPW Committee at (202) 224-3121 or their individual offices listed below.
EPW Comm: Democrats:…PH:  202-224-8832…Fax:  224-1273   
Barbara Boxer, CA (Chair)…Ph: 202-224-3553…Fax 224-1454     
Max Baucus, MT…Ph:  202-224-2651…Fax 224-9412                 
Thomas Carper, DE…Ph:  202-224-2441…Fax 228-2190
Frank Lautenberg NJ…Ph:  202-224-3224…Fax 228-4054
Benjamin Cardin, MD…Ph:  202-224-4524…Fax 224-1651
Bernard Sanders, VT (Ind)…Ph:  202-224-5141…Fax 228-0776
Amy Klobuchar, MN…Ph:  202-224-3244…Fax 228-2186
Sheldon Whitehouse, RI…Ph:  202-224-2921    Fax 228-6362
Tom Udall, NM…Ph:  202-224-6621…Fax 228-3261
Jeff Merkley OR…Ph:  202-224-3753…Fax 228-3997
Kirsten Gillibrand, NY…Ph:  202-224-4451…Fax 228-0282
Arlen Specter, PA…Ph:  202-222-4254…Fax 228-4254
EPW Republicans:…PH:  202-224-6176…Fax: 224-5167
James Inhofe, OK (Rnk. Mem.)…Ph:  202-224-4721…Fax 228-0380
George Voinovich, OH…Ph:  202-224-3353…Fax 228-1382
David Vitter, LA…Ph:  202-224-4623…Fax 228-5061
John Barrasso, WY…Ph:  202-224-6441…Fax 224-1724
Mike Crapo, ID…Ph:  202-224-6142…Fax 228-1375
Christopher Bond, MO…Ph:  202-224-5721…Fax 224-8149
Lamar Alexander, TN…Ph:  202-224-4944…Fax 228-3398
Action Items:
1. Forward this message to your entire list if possible. 
2. Write a new letter referencing the vote on June 18 to the Honorable James Inhofe, Ranking Member, Environment and Public Works Committee, US Senate, Washington, DC 20210.  You can fax it to (202) 224-5167.
3.  Write both your home state Senators at Honorable _____, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510.   Write the Senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee using the list above opposing the new version of S 787 as passed by the EPW Committee. 

The Committee failed to hold hearings in this Congress.  You can still ask your Senators and the Senators on the Committee to hold hearings.  Ask them how they could vote on a bill without holding public hearings.  

Background:
Congress Moves To Seize Control Of All U.S. Waters
-----Do you want the Corps and EPA in your backyard?
-----Do you want the EPA and Corps to control your water?
-----Do you want the Corps and EPA to control all your watersheds that means all your land too?
------That’s what will happen if the new Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) (S787) passes Congress. 
-----Besides private property, the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) (S 787) threatens businesses, agriculture, small communities, grazing, forestry, mining and many other uses on private and Federal land.  It will affect many kinds of manufacturing companies and businesses. 
-----The Real Goal of the Clean Water Restoration Act (S787) is to give Corps and EPA Control over your water and all your watersheds.  That means National Land Use Controls as well as control over all your water and land.  That’s because all land is in a watershed. The proposed Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) (S787), which has no House bill number yet, will give the Corps and EPA jurisdiction and control over your property and water. 
-----It will redefine what the term “wetlands” means in the law.  It will eliminate the requirement that the Corps and EPA limit their jurisdiction to “Navigable” waters and give those agencies control over all waters of the US and “activities” affecting those waters.

The Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) will be introduced in the House shortly.
---- Maps showing existing Clean Water Act affected areas compared to the areas affected if the CWRA (Clean Water Restoration Act) if   S 787 were to pass Congress are right on our homepage at www.landrights.org

Your help is greatly appreciated. 

Chuck Cushman
Executive Director
American Land Rights Association
(360) 687-3087
ccushman@pacifier.com
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Thank you very much, Keith Wills
If you care about the future of our hobby, check out www.wwats.org


California Senate Bill 670

Dear John Dykstra

Senate Bill 670 (anti suction dredging bill) is rapidly
moving through the California legislative process with
almost zero opposition from our elected representatives.

Our lobbyists are telling us that our only chance of
overcoming this harmful law is to organize a massive
number of emails or faxes to Governor Schwarzenegger. 
California residents are also being asked to send the
same messages to their Assembly member.

The "contact" links, along with a link to talking points
which you can copy to create your own messages, are
included in our Action Alert at 

http://www.goldgold.com/legal/670_actionalert-06-23-09.htm

This very bad bill is moving through the legislative
process on a fast track, and could be on the governor's
desk in a matter of weeks! 

Thanks for whatever you can do to help us on this right now!

Sincerely,

Dave McCracken,
President, New 49'ers Prospecting Association

The New 49er's, 27 Davis Road, Happy Camp, California 96039, USA

PLP vs State of California Complaint 9-14-2009 agasinst SB 670
Legislation 2010
Subject: Public Hearing

SB 6448 - Concerning permitting of hydraulic projects  will be heard by the Senate Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation Committee on January 20, 2010 at 8:00 a.m.  This bill was introduced to the Senate this morning.

This is the bill that the governor has directed WDFW to put into legislation.  This bill  establishes FEE's to be collected under the HPA program amongst other things.  To conduct mineral prospecting under the Gold & Fish Pamphlet will cost $100.  Those persons who need to apply for an Individual HPA will be charged $250.  If the scope of the project is determined to rise above the level of low complexity, there is an additional fee, starting at $275.  If you have multiple sites the fee's are Twenty percent of the total low, medium, or high complexity category fee for each additional site.


We need all Small Scale Mineral Prospectors and Miners to show up at this public hearing.  Bring your your spousal unit and children.  The more seats we are in, the less for our those who desire to put this legislation forward.

  Please Be sure to "sign In" on the form and put your mark under "CON".  Indicate if you want to speak (Testify) to the committee.

If you can, Please take 3 minutes and testify to the committee your opposition and WHY.  I for one can not see the state generating revenue from a $250 permit when I sure as heck do not find that much gold or other precious minerals.

Please give this email the widest dissemination.  We must be sure that every member of the Small scale mineral prospecting and mining community is aware that if this bill passes, it will cost money to operate motorized equipment in Washington State.

It can not hurt to pass this information onto the other users of the HPA process (such as those in the forestry bussiness) as it affects them also.  A General Permit fee is $5,200.

Location of meeting                                         Information                                           Map of Capitol Campus

Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation* -  01/20/10  8:00 am
Full Committee
Senate Hearing Rm 2
J.A. Cherberg Building
Olympia, WA

REVISED 1/14/2010 2:47 PM

Work Session:  Capitol lake New Zealand mud snail.

Public Hearing: 
1.SB 6386 - Concerning the disposal of dredged riverbed materials from the Mount St. Helen's eruption.
2.SB 6354 - Concerning the regulation of nonindustrial forests.
3.SB 6448 - Concerning permitting of hydraulic projects.

Possible executive session on bills heard in committee. Other business.



2009