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California Fish & Wildlife (Stunningly) Closes Suction Dredge Mining "Loophole" With Emergency Regulations

By Tom Chandler 7/1/2013

California banned suction dredge mining way back in 2009, yet this spring several suction dredge miners decided a loophole existed in the law (an overly specific definition of a suction dredge). They eliminated the sluice box from the dredge (which only made the mercury-in-the-water issue even worse).

As a state, California is not known for its ability to react quickly, but in this case, the Department of Fish && Wildlife proposed emergency regulations and actually got them passed in a timely fashion.

As of today, a suction dredge is defined as any suction system designed to vacuum material from a river, stream or lake for the extraction of minerals.

Yay. Not only does this close the loophole, but it ends the even more destructive practice of piling mercury-rich dredge spoils along the river's edge.

For more information, you can read a press release at the CalTrout website.

See you in the law library, Tom Chandler.

 
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

14 comments
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It's funny, I was fishing up on the north yuba 20 years ago saw dredges everywhere and so many fish you could literally reach down and grab one. Now with a ban on dredging the food is not getting turn and mixed up for the fish they don't have nice beds to lay there eggs and I see no fish.
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Redding Record Searchlight ran the story last week (I think Thursday or Friday). I have a copy of the order if you really need to vomit.
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Interesting. Maybe I'm missing it, but nothing in the Siskiyou Daily yet. Certainly, removing the gravel to the shore kills most of the "it doesn't hurt anything" arguments forwarded by miners. Think Fish & Wildlife can challenge this?
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You are right Tom anytime one changes party affiliation to run for election: voter beware! I now have a copy of the order which in fact grants a TRO preventing CA DF&G from taking enforcement action on new rule change closing the dredging loophole (which is more damaging as the gravel is removed from streambed and often taken to shore to process). Livid! The order includes a finding there is no ... more emergency justifying the rule change. Lopey the "constitutional cop" was there to pander to the crowd.
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andy: And Hon. Karen Dixon today issued an injunction in favor of the New 49eriverapers to permit river dredgstruction pending the outcome of some litigation they filed. Crap. You know when she got elected we were going to get bit on the ass.
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And Hon. Karen Dixon today issued an injunction in favor of the New 49eriverapers to permit river dredgstruction pending the outcome of some litigation they filed.
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That doesn't suck!
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Mark: See? Maybe changing their name from Fish and Game to Fish and Wildlife comes with added agility? You get added points for optimism.
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Andrew: I hope you sent them a Thank You note!!! asg Good thinking.
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In the case of early California mines, the mercury was used at the mines. Now the stuff populates a lot of the streams and rivers in mining territory (basically most of the state). It most sights undisturbed, but miners suck it up. They can retain a vast majority of the stuff (though where did it go after they go it, no points for guessing), but a small percentages ends up back in the water as a "floured" ... more version (believe it's called methyl mercury) that is extremely toxic.
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Here is a quote from the CalTrout article: "The harm done by suction dredging is well documented by scientists and government agencies: It damages habitat for sensitive, threatened and endangered fish and frogs, and releases toxic mercury plumes left over from the Gold Rush into waterways" See? Maybe changing their name from Fish and Game to Fish and Wildlife comes with added agility?
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I hope you sent them a Thank You note!!! asg
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OK, I know mercury is used in extraction of gold after the ore is processed ,but is it naturally occurring in gold/gold ore? Or are these idiots going over old dredging sites and re-working the waste??? There are/where sizable amounts of cinnabar in the Costal mountains of California; the Spanish had many mines in the Santa Cruz area and I think the mines were worked into the early 1900s......
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I wonder what prompted the DFG to act so swiftly? It seems too good to be true!
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