Legislation & Regulation
EPA Reopens Comments on Pebble Project
August 2017 by Associated Press
The settlement did not grant an immediate approval for the project, but it did begin to clear the way for the company to apply for federal permits—a path the Obama administration previously had thwarted.
The Disappearance of State Mining Departments
Unfortunately, mining is politically unpopular and support of the mining industry, no matter how many jobs it brings to a state, even in times of difficult financial need, is never popular among politicians of any stripe.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
- Some mining claim fees increase
- Oregon miners file appeal
- US Fish & Wildlife law enforcement policing powers restrained
SB 838 and the Salem Witch Hunt
In every sense, this was a witch hunt with a preconceived agenda to heavily restrict or outright prohibit most small-scale mining in Oregon.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Oregon dredging bill defeated
• California bill would exempt dredgers from permitting
• Possible ESA listing
• Washington State tries to impose more fees on miners
Feinstein Pushes for Million-Acre Land Grab

New Mexico Reaches $32M Settlement Over 2015 Gold King Mine Spill
The New Mexico settlement marks just the latest reached over the past year. Colorado and the Navajo Nation also have inked multimillion-dollar agreements…
Feds Challenge North Idaho Mining Claims
Fishing, camping and the protection of American Indian artifacts along a 30-mile section of the North Fork of the Clearwater River outweigh the desire of placer miners to search for gold, an attorney representing the US Forest Service said.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts: How would you go about evaluating a silver deposit?
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• How to Make a Rock Sled for Dredging
• More on Detecting Pocket Gold
• The Rochester Mining District of Nevada
• Early Summer Mining in Wyoming
• US Rare Earths: We Have & We Have Not
• National Hall of Fame Names 2017 Inductees
• Over the Divide: Wayne (Jerry) Keene 1934-2017
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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