People were cited, their equipment confiscated and fines were paid. SB 637 morphed into a de facto prohibition on mining as it then labeled all things as suction dredges high bankers, water pumps, track wheel chairs, trucks and even sluice boxes. We believe the sponsors of SB637, Izzy Martin and the enviro group The Sierra Fund, along with their Senator who brought the bill forward, Ben Allen, a Democrat from Hollywood, believed the CAWB would toe the political line and just slow walk or deny permits all along.

The post was very well read and I’m confidant environmental groups read it as well.įirst, let’s take a look at a few excerpts from the news he posted:Īs a part of SB637 (the Suction Dredge Bill) signed into law in January of 2016, it was mandated that the California Water Board (CAWB) study and evaluate whether permitting should be allowed in the state, and if so, the CAWB was tasked with creating a permitting structure. If this becomes a reality, it could be very welcome news if under the right circumstances. I reached out to him to try to get some clarification just prior to our press time, but he responded that he was going to be unavailable and up in the mountains for several days. In a recent Facebook post, Poe stated that suction gold dredging will be returning to California in 2019. This started up a much needed dialogue with members of the legislature. He was concerned this bill would have made many other types of mining equipment off-limits. In April of this year, Poe met with members of the California Senate Natural Resources Committee over another bill, SB 1222. He-along with many other suction dredgers-did a very good job in presenting the facts and educating Board members.

I viewed one of these presentations by AMRA’s Shannon Poe.

The American Mining Rights Association (AMRA) made presentations at public hearings conducted by the California State Water Resources Control Board regarding suction gold dredging as the agency attempted to dive into this issue. The bill, written by the Sierra Fund, mandated a temporary moratorium on suction gold dredging until a new environmental study could be completed by the California Department of Fish and Game.Ĭalifornia Senate Bill 637, which took effect January 1, 2016, redefined what qualified as a suction dredging device and transferred authority over suction dredging to the California State Water Resources Control Board and directed the agency

Bylaws for Traditional Mining Districtsīack in August, 2009, the California legislature passed SB 670, which was the first ban on suction gold dredging in the state.

Dredging gold mining